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