Final Red Barons Update

Team Red Barons,

I wanted to reach out and let everyone know that, after much pondering and discussion with my wife and with my son Evan, I've decided not to coach the Red Barons this Spring. I've been coaching this team for 7 or 8 years now and it's very hard to walk away. This has been an extremely difficult decision to make. I absolutely love coaching, love the kids I've had the opportunity to work with and the friendships and bonds we've been able to cultivate over the years!

This last season was one of my favorites! We had an amazing group of boys (and parents), Leslie DeShazer was awesome as our Team Mom, and I had Don Lowe and Eric Austenfeld helping me out with the coaching. This Fall, we played up a year, so we could keep Tanner and TJ on our team (with the new age restrictions) and unexpectedly got put in the top division, where the most competitive teams were. I was initially concerned that we we'd have some difficulty but the boys worked hard and stepped up their game, winning more than half of them. I couldn't be more proud of them.

I can't say I won't ever coach the Red Barons again but for now I'm going to step away and focus on coaching my 7 year old daughter's soccer team. Evan has talked about wanting to play baseball this Spring as well, so I might help out a little with that if he plays and I'm planning on continuing to coach the 5/6 grade basketball team for the rest of this Winter season and next year as well. I'm also looking forward to having a little more time with my wife and kids. Coaching two teams at once has been as difficult on them than it has me. :-)

Anyway, I hope everyone will stay in contact and keep me posted on how they're doing. If we're not friends on facebook, please reach out, so we can keep in touch. Spring Season Soccer Registration is coming up in a couple days (January 15th) and my hope is that all of the boys will continue to play, even if it's with a different team and coach. Soccer has become one of my favorite sports and it's so good to have the kids out there working hard, exercising, learning teamwork, making decisions, and establishing good friendships!

Please take one last look at our team blog, when you get a chance, and download any pictures you'd like to have from last season or the last few seasons. You don't have to sign up for Dropbox to view or download the pictures, just skip the registration part. www.cwredbarons.blogspot.com

Thanks again everyone!

Coach Ben

Fall 2016 Update

Team Red Barons,

I wanted to send a quick update:

Practices

The practices have been going great and I think last Wednesday was our best so far. We're starting to get into a rhythm and the boys are working hard out there. One of the things that's really exciting to me is that I don't see ANYONE walking, when we're conditioning. I've challenged the boys to at least jog when they're tired and they have been doing this. We'll be doing more conditioning as we get closer to game time but please have the kids exercise at home as well. The better conditioned they are, the more fun they're going to have in our games and practices. They should also be kicking a ball around every day!

Game Schedule

The game schedule should be out later this week. As soon as I get it, I'll post it to our blog so everyone can start planning for this Fall. If possible, plan around our games and practices so your son can participate as much as possible. Every boy contributes to our team and when games and practices are missed, it throws everyone off. Especially if we don't have enough boys to run our drills or to scrimmage during practice.

Team Dynamic

I'm really excited about our team! We've got some great kids and they seem to get along really well, so far. I'm not quite sure how the season is going to go but I'm confident, after a few practices, that we're going to be competitive and that it's going to be a lot of fun. As you may know, most of our team is playing up a year. On top of this, the league put us into the 1st division, which means we'll be playing the toughest teams at the U12 level. This season will definitely be a challenge but I think we're all up for it! If it ends up being too competitive for us, we can always ask them to put us into a lower division in the Spring.

Jerseys & Equipment

Everyone should have ordered their jersey by now, unless they already have one from a previous season. If not, please let me know if you have any questions on how to get what you need. As far as equipment - it looks like everyone has cleats and pads. Along with these, it's preferred that you have blue shorts and socks to complete the team/league uniform. Please do your best to get these before our games start. Also, there are a couple boys who don't have a size 4 soccer ball. They need their own ball, not just for practices but for practicing at home as well. Please get them one ASAP, if you haven't already, and if for any reason you can't, please let me know and I can help you out.

Jersey Numbers

Please let us know what your jersey number will be. We have a few kids waiting to pick up their jersey, but can't until they know what the existing jersey numbers are. Please reply to this email with your jersey numbers, ASAP.

Thanks everyone!

Coach Ben

Red Barons Update - 5/13/16

Can you believe we're at the half way mark already? I apologize for the lack of communication this season. It's so difficult when there isn't a Team Manager/Mom to help me out but I have been able to get an email out, from time to time, and I've been able to talk with many of you out on the field, so I hope that's helped fill in some of the gaps.

The Season So Far...

We're having a blast out there and I love the dynamic of the team! We've got great kids and they get along and have so much fun together! We haven't won as many games as we've been used to in the past but the boys are definitely improving as the season goes on. I'm not sure if I mentioned this but I filled out a questionnaire, prior to the schedule going out, asking that we not be put in the top tier. We ended up in the top bracket anyway, and we're playing the best teams at the U10 level. With that said...we've played some really good games and I've seen some really good things! We're very proud of the boys!

I'm sad to say we're going to be losing a couple boys because of the new age changes. If any of the boys have a birthday before January, they will be moving up a year this Fall. I'm really hoping we can keep as many of the boys together as possible, for this Fall. I talked to Coach Eric and we'd like to get an early start, this Fall, for the boys who are in town. It's been so hard with only a couple practices before our first game and it seems like we've never gotten into a routine this Spring, as far as lessons go. We've only had time to work on the basics, which is okay but not ideal. I'd typically like to be more organized and have a game plan and prepared sessions for each practice.

Our Next Game

Tomorrow's game (5/14) is at Daybreak Middle School, in Battle Ground, at 1:30pm. Please have the boys there by 1pm, for warm-up, and we're the visiting team so we should be wearing blue. As always, have the boys bring their white jersey as well, just in case. It's also supposed to be cooler and possibly wet tomorrow. Please have the boys dress accordingly.

Practice Schedule

Starting next week, our practices will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 6 to 7:30pm. This isn't a typo this time. :-)  So...Tuesdays and Thursdays for the rest of the season, still at Danielson Field. It looks like it might be rainy this week. Please make sure the kids bring a jacket with them to practice, as well as a ball.

Pictures

I'm going to ask Melissa Houston (Ben's Mom) to take another team picture this Saturday, if the weather is decent. The last picture she took only had 8 out of our 12 boys in it. Please try to have the boys wear blue socks, black if you don't have blue and have them ready for a picture between 1 and 1:15pm, during our warm-up.

End of Season Party

We typically have a party at the end of the season. The default will be a BBQ at our house, unless there are other ideas. Last season we all went to Local Girls Hawian and that worked out well. Let me know if you have any other ideas or suggestions.

Plug for Cub Scouts (Boy Scouts of America)

Some of the boys were talking about Cub Scouts last week at the end of practice, and a couple of the boys, and at least one parent, were interested in hearing more information about it.  So...after some investigating, I've found that we have five boys on the team, who currently participate in Cub Scouts (two different troops) but most of them meet on Wednesday afternoons from 2:30 to 3:30pm. They also have a really fun day camp coming up this Summer, if any of the boys are interested. If so, please reach out to me for more details or your son can also get additional information from Evan, TJ, Tanner, Ben or Titan.

Thanks everyone,

Coach Ben

Red Barons Update - First Update of Spring 2016

Practice Schedule

Practices are still Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Danielson Field - 6:30 to 8pm. There was a little confusion yesterday and I think it's because I mentioned, at our first practice, that we might be switching to Tuesdays & Thursdays. That hasn't happened yet but I'll let you know when there's going to be a change.

Practices

Yesterday (4/12), we worked on some of the basics. This was for our new players and a refresher for our returning players (which I found out was very much needed). It was an interesting practice with the windstorm that came through and with the rain. The boys were very distracted and talked a lot and I think the weather had some to do with it but, if you can please talk to your boys about not distracting the other players when the coaches are talking, I think that might help. The most important thing is that we all have fun but I do require the boys to work hard during practice, to pay attention, and to be respectful. Overall, I thought it was a good practice and we got some scrimmaging in, which we'll be doing again today, to try and get the boys ready for our first game. When we have such little practice time, before our first game, it seems to be easier to teach them a lot of what they need to know on the fly (in a game-like atmosphere). I'm hoping to get into more organized lessons/practices once we get through the first game or two.

Weather

Many of the boys weren't prepared for the weather yesterday and they were cold. We did a lot of extra (short) runs to try to keep them warm but they still had cold hands and ears. I was really close to calling the practice but then realized there were only a few parents there to take the boys home. Please make sure they dress for Spring weather, which can be pretty much anything. I'd rather have them bring too much clothing than not enough. It's always good to have practices in the rain, to prepare them for wet/cold games, but I feel bad when they get cold like a few of them did yesterday.

Pictures

Melissa Houston (Ben's mom) has volunteered to be our Team Photographer. Thank you so much for volunteering Melissa! She will be snapping some pictures at our games and practices and we'll put the pictures on our team blog (which I'll share below). Melissa is going to take an "unofficial" team picture for our blog today. The boys can wear their jersey (either color), if they want but it's not required. I'd like to encourage everyone to take their own pictures at our games, as well, and if you want to send some of them to me, I can add them to our blog.

Team Blog

Our team blog can be found at cwredbarons.blogspot.com. Please bookmark this URL or add a shortcut to your desktop. You can also sign up as a follower and receive updates in your email, if you'd like to know when something new has been posted. I've updated some of the links, including our game schedule, but the rest should be updated toward the end of the week or this weekend (including the main team picture). Please feel free to poke around when you get a minute.

This blog will be our central place for communication and, along with team pictures, we'll have links to the game schedule, field maps, game rules, etc.. This blog is also great for sharing with any aunts/uncles, grandparents, etc. Please let me know, ASAP, if there are any parents who'd prefer not to have their son's picture(s) on our team blog.

Game Schedule

Our game schedule can be found on our team blog, by clicking on the "Official League Schedule & Maps" link, under Important Links. You can print our game schedule but, if you do, please be sure to check back, before each game, to make sure there hasn't been a change. You'll want to relay this to any friends or family members you share the schedule or blog with as well. Speaking of changes, I think I mentioned that there is already going to be one on our first game. The team we're supposed to play (the Wookies) can't play on Saturday and we're trying to line another game up. This game could be on Saturday (time currently unknown) or it could be scheduled for a day during the week. I'll keep you posted on that. Most of our games are scheduled for around Noon on Saturdays.

Jerseys

I sent an email out to everyone, regarding the ordering of jerseys. If you didn't get this information or need me to resend it, please let me know.  If there are any boys who don't have a jersey yet, you'll want to pick it up this week. Also, blue socks and shorts, to match the blue jersey, is suggested. I've compiled a list of jersey numbers, that should help us avoid duplicates, and emailed that to you. If you haven't given me a number yet, please do so, ASAP, so I can finish up the list. The old, reversible one-piece jerseys should still be ok to use but they must have a number on them (both sides).

Thanks everyone,

Coach Ben

Fall 2015 Update

Team Red Barons,

A quick, long overdue update.

Thank you for the help!

I first want to thank Leslie for everything she's been doing for our team, especially for handling all of the communications for me lately. I've been really busy and, on top of that, my Stepmom has been in critical condition at OHSU for the last couple weeks. She's doing a little better the last few days and we're hoping and praying she's on the road to recovery.

I also want to thank Eric and Jess. Eric has been helping me out with coaching and has been amazing! The kids really enjoy him and he he's great to work with. Jess put together a fundraiser for us and has done a great job with that as well. Thank you both so much!

How are we doing?

I think the boys are doing GREAT! We've definitely been playing our best soccer the last few games. Week before last was one of the most entertaining games we've had. Sometimes I wish I could just sit, watch and be entertained. It was so close and we could have easily come out on top. Last Saturday's game was great too. We've been spending a lot of time working on passing and working together as a team and that is really starting to show. We lost and received a few players at the beginning of this season and it's taken us a month or so to get used to the change but everything seems to be settling, and everyone is finding their place on the team. I love the group of boys we have and they all seem to be having a great time out there, which is obviously the most important thing.

Fall Jamboree

The season officially ends on the 7th but we have an opportunity to sign up for a Fall Jamboree, which takes place on Saturday, November 14th. We participated in this Jamboree last year and we were very successful and had a lot of fun. Please let me know, ASAP, if you would like to participate again this year. I need to get us registered in the next day or two if we're going to play. All games will be on Saturday, no Sunday games, and we can use money from our fundraiser to pay for it.

End of Season Party

Our end of season party is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 10th, at Local Girls Hawaiian Café, in Camas/Washougal. This is a great spot for our party. Lots of space, good food, and amazing Shave Ice. Leslie will be sending more information out on that soon, along with information on our upcoming game.

Upcoming Practices

This Thursday, we'll be practicing from 5:15 to 6:30pm, at Danielson (our usual spot). Next week, after the time change, we'll need to move our practices to 4:30 to 5:45pm. This is going to be tough for me, and probably some of you as well, but it's the only time we can get our practices in.

Spring Soccer

Spring Soccer registration will be here before we know it. Please let me know if you're planning on playing with us again in the Spring. I need to know if we're going to have enough boys or if we'll need to pick a couple more players up.

Thanks everyone,

Coach Ben Yung

Here's our silly team picture! I'll be picking our team pictures up soon and will hand them out at our team end-of-season party.

First Update of the Fall Season (2015)

The Season - So Far

I'm excited about our team this Fall. It's always interesting to see what happens when a few players move out and we get a few new players and families joining the team. The dynamic of the team always changes a little but I really feel like we've got a great group of boys and parents. It's going to be a great season!

Practices

Our practices have been good so far. I feel like we've been a little out of Rhythm but that's my fault. I've had a little difficulty figuring out the practice field situation and with transitioning back into the soccer season with my super busy schedule. Our practices will get better and we'll catch our stride soon. The boys are doing great and, if you haven't noticed, they're already starting to get back into shape.

Starting today (September 8th), we'll be practicing from 6:30 to 8pm, at Danielson Field (Jemtegaard Middle School). The field isn't quite as nice as the one at Goot Park but we'll have more open space and possibly some goals & a place to have some scrimmages. This field DOES NOT have a restroom available, so please make sure the boys use the restroom before they leave the house. One more thing - I'm canceling Thursday's practice (this week) because of a conflict with Curriculum Night.

Our First Game & the Game Schedule

I just got our game schedule and I've posted it on our blog. You can find it under the "Official League Schedule & Maps" tab, under Important Links, on our team blog. We'll get another schedule posted soon, that's easier to read and that includes our snack/drink schedule. Speaking of snacks, are there any families who'd like to volunteer for the first game, until we can get the official shack schedule put together? It appears that our first game is THIS Saturday at the JDZ (North #1 Field) in Camas, at 10:30am. There's a map available on the schedule.

By the way - the league has put us into the top division again (out of 5 divisions). I think this was probably automatic, after we won 10 out of 10 games last fall. We'll be playing the most competitive teams in the league, but we've got this!

Volunteers

Here are the things that I typically need help with. If you can help with any of these, please let me know.

• Team Mom (Manager) - already filled by Leslie DeShazer (Harry's Mom). Thanks Leslie, you're amazing!
• Assistant Coach - someone who can help out at practices and coach the team at any games I can't make. I've had a couple Dads offer to help me out but I can't remember who.
• Team Photographer - we like to post pictures and/or videos on our team blog & put the pictures in Dropbox, so everyone can enjoy and download them.
• A family to bring a team bench & canopy when needed. Padilla family - would you be willing to do this for us again? They've been doing this for three years now, so if there are any other volunteers, I'm sure they wouldn't mind a break. :-)
• Fundraiser Organizer - I've been thinking it would be nice to do a small fundraiser to purchase a few team items ( a few more practice balls, pinnies for scrimmages, an official team bench & canopy, end of year trophies, etc.. I don't have time to head this up but if anyone is interested, I have a couple really good ideas and the fundraiser would only take a week or two.

Team Blog

I'll do my best to keep the team blog updated with pictures, updates, news, etc. If anyone takes pictures of our games or practices, even if they're only of your own son, please shoot them to me to add to dropbox. I will add them to our folder, so they can be accessed through the blog. I can also add anything else that's news worthy, such as accomplishments, service opportunities, etc. Please visit the blog often and feel free to share it (and the game schedule) with friends and grandparents.

Thanks Everyone,

Coach Ben Yung

Fall 2015 Season is Upon Us

Team Red Barons,

I hope everyone's having an amazing Summer! We just got back from a family camping trip to the Oregon Coast, Thursday night, and had a great time. It amazes me how fast the summer goes by but the good news is...the Fall soccer season has arrived and we're going to have a blast!

We're going to start practicing this Tuesday, August 18th, and our practices will be at Goot Park in Camas. The address for this park is 299 Se Zenith St, Camas, WA 98607. This week we'll practice from 5:15 pm to 6:30pm but that could potentially change to a later time in the near future. If it does, I'll let you know.

This week, we'll practice on Tuesday only and the following week we'll start practicing on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I believe our first game will be September 19th.

I want to welcome Brandon Austenfeld and Koby Johnson to the team and welcome Luka and Harry back. We've got a great group of boys (and families) and this is going to be a fun season! We're going to miss Sam, Justin & Mason and I hope they can re-join us in the Spring. 

 

Please look for another update soon and I hope to see everyone this Tuesday at 5:15pm.

Thanks everyone,

Ben Yung (Coach Ben)

360-904-6380

Our first update of the Spring Season!

I first want to say how much fun me and coach Andrea are having, coaching the boys. It was fun to get most of the kids back and our two new players (TJ and Justin) are just awesome kids and they fit right in!

Saturday's Game

Our first game of the season was a tough one. This is partly because it was our first game and we didn't get a chance to scrimmage with another team prior, but I thought the boys played their hearts out and we're very proud of them! The team we played was really good, came better prepared to play, and their ball movement was amazing! I could be wrong but my gut feeling is that they were a U8 Academy team playing rec for the Spring season, but playing up a year. They were both experienced and well coached! I would love to play them again a little further into the season, after we've played a few games. As we continue to practice and play more games, we'll get into a better rhythm and we'll play much better. Overall, the boys were awesome!

This Weeks Practices

I don't know how many open shots we had in that game, that we missed, but if we would have hit just two more of them, we would have tied or won that game. So...we'll be working on goal shots and offense on Tuesday. Wednesday, we'll be reviewing these things and we'll also work on positions (fielding), ball movement & we'll do a refresher on defense.

Red Baron Blog

I've updated our team blog. It's got our new team picture, our game/snack schedule, the official league schedule (with maps to the fields), our game rules, etc. Please find our blog at http://cwredbarons.blogspot.com. Also, did anyone get pictures of our first game or any of our practices? If so, please email them to me or I can share our dropbox file with you, so you can drop them in there. I like to share these pictures with everyone on our blog and everyone has the ability to download any pictures they want to keep.

Upcoming Game (next Saturday)

Next Saturday's game is at Danielson Field (11am) and it's against the North Dragons. The North Dragons took third place in Division 1 last Fall. So...we've got our work cut out for us but I know we can compete with these guys!

Thanks everyone!

Ben Yung

Spring Registration Due this Friday - February 7th

Spring Registration is now open and I just realized, everyone needs to be registered by this Friday, if wanting to return to our team this Spring. Please see the two links below. The first is a flyer with details of the upcoming season. The second is where you need to go to register. Please let me know when your son is registered, so I can mark him off of my list.

Flyer - http://www.washingtontimbers.com/doclib/CWSA%20Spring%202015%20Flyer.pdf

Registration - https://www.secure-sam.com/www.washingtontimbers.com/sam/registration/login.php

Thanks so much,
Ben Yung

10-0 A Perfect Fall Season!

Congratulations to the boys on a perfect season! And for going undefeated in the tournament! I know it's not winning that's most important but I also recognize that winning is often the result or working really hard! The boys did just that, they showed up to nearly every practice & game and they put everything they had into it. What more can a coach ask for? And...most importantly...they learned a lot and had a blast in the process. That's what it's all about!

I want to, again, thank everyone for the fun, amazing season and I'm looking forward to handing these "Division Champion" medals out at the beginning of the quickly approaching Spring Season!

9 Wins - 0 Losses!

This might be our final update for the season. :-(

Last Week

Wow, what a great game we had last Saturday. We started out a little on the slow side and ended the first half down 3 to 1. I think we were kind of in a funk to start out and we were also forcing the boys to stay in their positions, which they're not really used to. We've been teaching them that when they're in position, on offense, they spread the defense out which opens the field up a lot more. When the field is more open, we have more opportunities to advance the ball and score goals. After some adjustments, after the half, the boys started passing the ball better and we got some great goals. It's so satisfying, as a coach, to see the boys carry-out things we're teaching them and to see the light come on when they truly get it! Oh, we also ended up winning the game 6 to 4.

This Saturday

Our game this Saturday is at Harmony at 12pm. Please have the boys there at 11:30am to warm up. We're the Home Team, so we should be wearing white, and I'd like to get a volunteer for the snack/drink, if someone is willing.

Next Week

Ok, we've got a busy week next week. Here's the plan:

• Tuesday - our team end-of-season party is at 5:30pm at Mill Town Pizza in Camas/Washougal. Please call in your pizza order prior to our party, if you're ordering pizza for your family. http://milltownpizzacamas.com/menu-page-2.html
• Thursday - our final practice. In preparation for our tournament, we will be practicing at 4:30pm at our regular spot, due to the time change. Please have the boys bring their jersey because we will be doing a team scrimmage toward the second half of our practice.
• Saturday - we will be playing in the Jamboree (tournament). I don't have a schedule for that yet and probably won't until a day or two, before the tournament. Please plan to make it an all day thing. The good news is...it's a one day tournament and there shouldn't be any Sunday games.

End-of-Season Party

These parties are so much fun! It gives us a last opportunity to hang out (both players and parents) and we hand out trophies to the boys. There's also a rumor that the league might be providing some "Division Champion" medals, that we can hand out to the boys. Please don't tell the boys because I'm not sure we'll get them and if we do get them, they might not make it in time for our party.

The Jamboree (Tournament)

Just a heads up - during the regular season I try my best to play every boy at least half of the game. In the post-season (tournament) it can be a little different, depending on how things go. The boys are looking for the win and we do our best, as coaches, to give us the best chance to advance to the next game. So...we still try to give equal playing time but I don't guarantee it. For example, I may keep a boy or two on the field longer if the game is close. On the flipside... I may rest some of the boys for the next game, which gives some of the others more playing time.  If anyone has questions on this, please give me a call, prior to the tournament, and we can talk about it.

Thanks so much for giving me and Coach Andrea the opportunity to work with you and your amazing kids!

Ben Yung

7 Wins - 0 Losses!

Just a quick update:

Last Week

What a fun and exciting week of soccer! We won our Saturday game and tied the Rascals in our scrimmage. I couldn't be more proud of the boys. I may have said this before but the Rascals are in first place in Division #1 and the coach (Will Swanson) said we're, by far, the best team they've played all season. 

I want to thank everyone for coming to the BBQ! We almost had everyone there and it was a huge success. The whole idea was to get everyone together, to eat good food and have fun so the kids and parents could bond and get to know each other better. It sounds like everyone had a great time, so we'll have to do it again next season if our team is still intact.

This Week

We had a really good practice on Tuesday and we're planning on scrimmaging with the Rascals again tonight (Thursday) at 5:30pm. Please have the boys there, ready to warm up at 5pm. I would like to go over a few things with them prior to the game as well.  We might be in need of a referee - if so, are there any volunteers? Maybe Nate or Petar?

Saturday's Game - Our game this Saturday is at 3pm at JDZ. We're the Home team for this game, so we'll be wearing white and I can't remember but someone offered to bring our snack/drink. Please remind me who that was and also let me know if you haven't yet had a chance to do bring a snack, so we can plan for our next two games.

Remainder of the Season

We've only got 3 games left in the season. I can't believe how fast it's gone. Time flies! We're looking forward to the Jamboree in November. So far, I've only heard of one family that won't be able to participate. So... I'm going to go ahead and get us signed up and we'll let everyone know what the cost will be. We're also looking forward to our end-of-year party at Mill Town Pizza. Please watch for more information on these events, which will be coming soon!

One More Thing (not soccer related)

Evan started Cub Scouts this year and he's having a BLAST! There are several boys from Gause Elementary in his Den, which he's very excited about, but they have room for more boys. Cub Scouts is a very important part of the Boy Scouts of America and it's geared toward 7 to 10 year old boys. It's a great program that teaches the boys citizenship, compassion, courage, faith, health & fitness, honesty, perseverance, positive attitude, resourcefulness, and responsibility. All very good things, while having a blast with their friends!  If you want more information, I can get if for you. I believe the meet once a week on Wednesday afternoons. You can also visit the following link for more information.

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts.aspx

Thanks everyone,

Ben Yung

5 Wins - 0 Losses for the First Half !

Red Barons Update

What a great first half of the season! The boys are playing together very well and we couldn't be more proud of them! What a great group of kids and parents!

Today's Game
I thought the boys did an outstanding job in today's game. I asked them to go out and play strong defense and we ended up holding the other team to zero. The second half, I asked the boys to pick up their passing and we saw some amazing passes, which resulted in some goals. The boys are getting better with each game, which is good because we're going to have some great competition in the second half!

Season 2nd Half
I haven't heard back from the league yet on the 2nd half schedule. My guess is, we'll be moving up to one of the top two divisions and there are some good teams out there! We'll be preparing this next week by doing a scrimmage on Tuesday, after our picture session, and with our next practice on Thursday.

Pictures This Tuesday
Just a reminder - we've got team pictures coming up this Tuesday at our practice field (5:15pm). Please have the boys wear their blue jerseys. I sent out an email, that has an order form attached. Please let me know if you didn't get this email or if you couldn't print the attachment. We'll have some extra forms at the session but things go so much more smoothly when the forms are filled out ahead of time.

Team Photo Gallery Added to our Blog!
Please check our picture album on our blog and keep sending the pictures to me. You can view the pictures and download them as well, if you want any for yourself. A special thanks to the parents taking and sharing pictures. Especially Petar & Jessi Obradovic.

Our Blog
Please sign up to be a follower of our blog. Or...sign-up for the email notifications, so you receive our updates. The link to our blog is:  cwredbarons.blogspot.com

Thanks everyone,
Ben Yung
360-904-6380

Our Photo Album has been posted to the blog. You can click the picture, above, to get to the Gallery or you can click on Red Baron Pics - 2014, under Important Links. Please keep the pictures coming, so we can add more to the blog. Enjoy!

Well, here's our first post of the 2014 Fall season and I've also added our first team picture. It was a great first week and I thought our practices went very well. I think this is the first year ever, where we've had more than half of our players show up to the first practice and we had 7 or 8 players (out of 9) show up to both practices. And...the boys showed up to work and play hard! I'm so excited about this season!

A couple things:

1) We will only be practicing on Tuesday this week because most of the boys will be going to "Back to School Night" on Thursday. I'll announce this again at Tuesday's practice, just to make sure everyone knows.

2) I want to thank the following for volunteering to help:

Andrea Crowe - Assistant Coach
Leslie DeShazer - Team Mom (Manager)
Jody Evers - Team Treasurer
Jessi Obradovic - Team Photographer
Jess Lowery - Team Photographer


3) As soon as we get our game schedule, we'll be sending out the snack schedule as well. Are there any allergies that we need to be aware of? If so, please reach out to me or Leslie (Harry's Mom) and let us know, as soon as possible. 

4) If anyone has something they'd like to add to our team blog, please let me know. This can include announcements, pictures, stories, accomplishments, etc.

Thanks,
Coach Ben
360-904-6380

Red Barons Update

Game Schedule - I've posted our game schedule under Important Links - "Game Schedule - Fall 2013" on the right hand side of this blog. Please be aware, this schedule is still subject to change. They'll still be making tweaks for the first week or two.

Snack Schedule - We'll be getting the snack schedule out this week. Any allergies we need to be aware of? Anyone want to volunteer to bring the snack/drink this Saturday?

Last weeks practice - We had a great practice on Thursday. I had one of my buddies, who coaches High School and Premier Soccer, join us to help for a day and to provide input. The boys had to work hard but it was a great practice! Kudos to the boys for stepping up and working hard, while still having a great time out there! We have a great group and this is going to be such a fun year!

Pictures & Videos - I'd like to ask everyone to take pictures and maybe some videos of the girls, throughout the season, and I'll post them on our blog. We might also have a private group on Facebook where we can post them.

Practice this week - We're only practicing on Thursday this week. Next week we'll start practicing on Wednesdays and Thursdays. So...this Thursday at 5pm at Danielson Field.

Thanks everyone,

Ben Yung

360-904-6380

Red Barons Update

We're all signed up and ready to go for this Saturday's Jamboree/Tournament. I don't have details or a schedule yet but it's going to be a lot of fun! As soon as I get information, I'll forward it on to you.

Practice this Friday (August 30th) - As you probably already know, our Thursday practice is cancelled this week because many of the kids have "back to school night". So...I am going hold a light practice on Friday evening, mainly to go over the new rules for U8, we need to make sure a the boys are ready to play the goalie position (which we've never played before) and I want to do a quick refresher and get ready for Saturday's tournament. The other teams will be ready to go and we've only had one good practice. Yikes!

I realize Friday is a tough day for some of you but we really need this practice. Please do your best to make sure your son is there and, if you've tried and it can't be arranged, I totally understand.

Future Practices - I keep getting asked if we're going to keep practicing on Thursday evenings at Danielson Field, at 5pm. This practice is set in stone and will not likely change. We will also be picking up a Wednesday evening practice starting on September 11th. This practice will be at the fields behind the Doc Harris Stadium, in Camas, (where we practiced last year) and will be held at 5:30pm. Here's our regular practice schedule going forward:

• Wednesdays 5:30 to 6:30pm - Doc Harris fields in Camas (beginning September 11th)
• Thursdays 5 to 6:10pm at Danielson Field (Washougal)

Please confirm that you've received this email and that your son can make our practice on Friday and will be available for our tournament on Saturday. I'm looking forward to this tournament. I don't think the boys have played in any of these yet, so it should be a great experience!

Thanks so much for your support and for allowing me the pleasure of coaching your son!

Ben Yung

360-904-6380

Red Barons Update

Parents,

I talked with Jeff, CW Director or Coaching, and he said the Kohl's Cup is a "one day only" tournament. All games are played on Saturday, August 31st. It's going to be a really fun day for everyone. If you haven't looked at the flyer yet, I've attached it again.

So far we have 5 boys committed. That's enough to play but, with at least 3 games in one day, the boys are going to get tired with only one sub. I'd like to have all of the boys playing with us, if possible. If you haven't reached out to me about this yet, please let me know if your son can join us. If it's a busy day for your family, we can probably figure something out, so your son can participate.

Practices - we will have our regular Thursday practice this week at 5pm (at Danielson Field in Washougal). I am also considering a practice for next Saturday, especially if we're playing in the tournament and we need to learn how to play with goalies. We had some Saturday practices last year and it seemed to work out really well for everyone. Perhaps even better than practicing during the week, in the evening.

Beginning September 11th, we'll start practicing on Wednesdays, in addition to our Thursday practices. I've got Danielson Field reserved for that day as well but I'm hoping to find an available field in Camas to practice at, for those that live on the West side. No guarantees, but that's what I'm shooting for. FYI...we're not practicing on Wednesdays until the 11th because I'm working on my Coaching Certification. I figured it's about time I got that, since I've been coaching for 6 years now. :-)

Fall Prep Camp - If you haven't signed up for the Fall Prep Camp, it starts tomorrow morning at 9am. If you still need to register, please do so ASAP. Here's a link to the flyer:  https://camaswashougal.korrio.com/files/2013/08/Fall-Season-Rec-Prep-Camp-2.pdf

By the way, our first regular season game will be on September 7th. I'll get the schedule posted as soon as I receive it.

Thanks Everyone,

Ben Yung
360-904-6380

 Red Barons Update

Fall Soccer Registration is already here!  Please read the email below (carefully -  there are some deadlines) and register your children at https://www.camaswashougal.korrio.com/programs/start-registration  We have two new boys that would like to join our team this Fall so please get registered quickly to ensure your child is able to play with us again this fall!

I'm also seriously considering the idea of coaching a girl's U5 team this Fall (with my daughter), so if you have or know of a 4 year old that wants to join us, please request me as a coach and let me know. If I do, we will be coordinating practices to make it easier on everyone and I'll request that we don't have conflicting game times. 

 ___________________________________________________________________________________

Email from the League:

"For Fall season, returning 2012 fall players have until June 15th for return team placement.  You can request the coach from fall season, and we do our best to place players on teams requested.  If you have a certain team you wish to be on, please register early. Please remember that registration is not considered complete unless fees have been paid and a birth certificate or passport is on file. 

Washington Youth Soccer requires that all players submit either a State Issued Birth Certificate or a Passport to verify legal name and birth date in order to be assigned to a team. Hospital issued and Baptismal certificates are NOT accepted.  New for Fall 2013 - ALL Players (new and returning) must submit a copy of their birth  certificate.  Registration will not be complete until a copy of a state issued birth certificate is received.  Hospital certificates are not accepted.

For more information about our recreational program, click HERE, or go to www.camaswashougal.korrio.com, click on the About Club menu option on the left, and then Registration.

Thank you,

Michelle Beard

CWSA Registrar