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!