End of the Season - Player of the month - thank you to the Coaches
Our regular season is completed!! We won't know for a couple of days yet where we finished, but by winning our final game we ended up either in a tie for second or a tie for third depending on how the other games turned out.
We were the only team all season to put a scare into the division winner Forest Hill, losing a very hard fought 1-0 game. They averaged a three goal margin against all of the other teams.
We had boys playing in several different positions throughout the year as we tried to find the best fit for the players and the team. Our defense and goalies(Chris and Zach M) held strong all year giving up the second fewest goals of any team in our division. In the end we found what boys complimented each other the best and created two lines that were equally effective. We mixed up speed and ball skills on one line with ball control and positioning on the other. We had one constant on defense (and the only lefty) in Jim who locked down the left side of the defense. In the middle Zach M and Chad (and at times Stephen) held the center of the field while Jacob P and Stephen put a stanglehold on the right side of the line.
On offense our late season change of moving Devon to center forward from defense and moving Sam from center forward to wing while moving Kyle from the wing to center forward really seem to make a difference. The end result was two offensive lines with speed on the outside and strength in the middle. We ended the season with a total of 9 goals(eight of which were scored after this change).....Zach H led the team with three goals (all in games we won....a great feat), Devon had two goals (both in a hard fought tie against towson), Griffin had two goals (both in our victory against Bel Air), Sam had one goal (in our victory against Fallston), and Michael had one goal (the game winner against Bel Air). We also had assists from several boys.....Devon led the way with four, Jacob Z had one, justin had one and Sam had one. Our scoring came in a balanced attack from both of our offensive lines.
On another note, the Rampage Player of the Month for October was Devon. He was nominated for taking on the challange of switching positions and making an instant impact. His two goals against Towson were impressive, but his three assists against Bel Air are what this coach gets excited about. We had several boys that could have earned this honor, but in the end Devon put together the best three games of the month for our team.
I look forward to the coming Indoor Season...starting tomorrow. And the culmination of the outdoor season at the Fallston Cup in two weeks. Let's take the Cup and make our mark on the league going into next season.
Thanks again to all of the parents for making all of the practices and games and your support of the boys and the team throughout the season.
i also wanted to give a special thanks to my Coaches, Coach Gary and Coach Walt. I could not have pulled this off without them and together we formed a balance of coaching styles, thoughts and techniques. Thanks again Gary and Walt.
I noticed something yesterday that i wanted to pass along. After our game Coach Gary treated everyone to pizza at Basta Pasta. At the resteraunt the boys seemed to fully bond with each other. In the end what i noticed most was what looked like a group of friends having pizza, making jokes, and playing games with each other. I think this is one of the things that i am most impressed with in regards to the boys and the season. Bringing a group of boys together from all different parts of the county and having them form a bond on the field and a friendship off of it.
