Triumph Update

The Season So Far
We're off to a great start! We've got two games under our belt now and I can already see the girls improving in both personal and team skills! We played a strong game last Saturday, smoke and all, and although the game ended in a tie, we were able to hold the other team to zero goals and we were so close to scoring a few times. It felt like we had possession of the ball for a majority of the game.

Going Forward
This week we'll continue working on our offense, striking on the goal and the goalie position. We went into the first game without a goalie. Catherine has really stepped up and filled that spot for us but our goal is to give some of the other players experience in this spot and allow Catherine to move up and play some defense or forward. One thing we've worked on is how to throw the ball up the field and I've asked the girls to practice this at home. Please ask them to show you how a goalie cradles and throws the ball.

Upcoming games
They will be putting the rest of our game schedule together soon, after they see how everyone's doing. We could get moved up to the top bracket, down to the third, or we could stay in position #2. My guess is that we'll stay put. As soon as they get the rest of the schedule out, we'll get the snack schedule updated and posted to the blog. Please remember to always look at the official schedule, also posted on the blog, to make sure there haven't been any game changes. Remind friends and grandparents to do the same, so they don't miss a game or show up at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Ugh, I've done that before!

Thanks,
Coach Ben

Fall 2017 Soccer Season

Team,

If this is your first email from me, welcome to the team! I'm coach Ben Yung. I've been coaching CWSA Soccer for about 10 years and I have my US Soccer National E and F Licenses. I really enjoy coaching the kids and spending time with my Daughter, Catherine Yung, out on the field. We've got a great group of girls and parents and we're excited that you've joined us!

Team - Our regular season games start the beginning of September and we're going to start practicing next Monday. I'm still working to secure a field and time, so I'll get back to you with that, ASAP. It looks like our practices will either be on Mondays & Wednesdays or Monday & Thursdays and I'm hoping we can have them at Goot Park in East Camas/West Washgougal.

Equipment - We'll be using a size 4 ball this season and I'm hoping every player can get their own ball for our practices and game warm-ups. If this is your daughter's first season and you need additional information on Jerseys and other equipment, please let me know. Each player will need a jersey, cleats, pads and, if possible, matching shorts and socks.

Coaching - Rick Shaffer will be co-coaching with me again this season. His daughter, Kylie, is on the team and Rick is great with the kids. This is our second season together and we went through the E Certification program together. He's fun to work with and he's a great coach. Your kids are in good hands!

Team Mom or Manager - Nettie Weaver, Ella's Mom, has offered to help us with managing the administrative side of the team, including reminder calls, snacks, end-of-season party, trophies, etc.. Thank you so much Nettie!

Team Blog - I haven't updated it in a while, but we do have a team blog, where I'll post our game schedule, game rules, field locations & maps and pictures from our games and practices. People love our blog because it gives a central place for information for parents, grandparents, etc.. *Please let me know, ASAP, if there are any concerns with pictures being posted on our blog.

Pictures - If we have a parent or two, who enjoys taking pictures, we can always use help taking pictures at practices and games, for our blog. If not, we can all just snap pictures and share them to a folder, so we can enjoy the pictures and memories later.

I'll follow up with more information soon. I just wanted to get this initial email out, so everyone knows what's going on. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone next Monday.

Thanks so much,

Coach Ben Yung

Team Update - 4/28/17

This Week's Game (4/29)

Tomorrow's game is at Doc Harris, Field 1, at 9am. Please have the girls there by 8:45am, for warm-up. Rick Shaffer (Kylie's Dad) put a nice Game/Snack schedule together for us, which also shows the field, jersey color, etc.. I've added it to our blog and this schedule is very handy but please remember to double check the official league schedule for any possible game-time and location changes. They sneak them in on us from time-to-time.

Team Blog URL

http://cwtriumph.blogspot.com

Assistant Coach

I wanted to let everyone know, Rick Shaffer (Kylie's Dad) will be helping me coach. This is a huge stress off my shoulders because I know there might be a game or two I can't make or a practice, here and there, where I'm going to be late because of my job. Rick is a great guy and he's an experienced coach. In fact, we both got our Soccer E License, for coaching, together a few years ago. He's had a lot of the same training I have. He's a great fit and I'm happy to have him helping out.

Last Saturday's Game

Congratulations to the girls for an amazing game last Saturday! What a turnaround from the week before. We would have typically had a scrimmage or two, prior to our first game, but with the lack of available practice time, with all the bad weather, we just didn't have time to prepare before that first game and it showed. But... last week, despite the weather, the girls came out to play and they really had their heads in the game. They did amazing!

This Week's Focus

Although we only had one practice this week, we were able to spend some time on our passing and dribbling skills. We're encouraging the girls to stop kicking the ball up the field when they get it, and to doing more dribbling and passing. I don't mind the defender clearing the ball and sending it up the field but I'd like to see more ball control and team-work from the girls. We'll spend more time on that in next week's practices as well.

Team Pictures

I apologize, I haven't had time to schedule our appointment yet but the plan is to do our official team picture on Saturday, May 13th. If anyone wants to call and get that scheduled for me, that would be awesome. Otherwise, I'll try to get that taken care of in the next week.

Thanks everyone!

Coach Ben

Update, Blog & Game Reminder

Team Triumph,

Tomorrow's Game & Snack Schedule

Just a quick reminder on tomorrow's game. Our game is at Doc Harris, field F4, at 11am. Please have the girls there at least 15 minutes early, for warm up, and for a pre-game discussion. I haven't had a chance to get our snack/drink list together yet. Is anyone willing to go first, who can volunteer for this tomorrow? We would typically have someone bring a snack and drink for after our game. Something on the healthier side, if possible.

Team Blog

I've added our game schedule to the team blog. Please visit our blog at http://cwtriumph.blogspot.com and click on the link under Important Links. If you print this schedule or share it with friends and/or grandparents, please make sure the league schedule is checked before each game to make sure there haven't been any changes.

Help!

I'm in serious need of an assistant coach and/or team manager, who can take over for me when I can't make a game or can't make it to practice on time due to my work schedule. Please let me know, ASAP, if you can help.

Team Photo

Team photos are on Saturday, May 13th. I haven't scheduled a time slot for us yet but will take care of this soon and get an update out. Here's the flyer the league sent out a day or two ago, and the order form which shows the options. 

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B00zyeTAfCCPQVhpZ0pPejJabWc/view

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B00zyeTAfCCPWVVDSk85eTN1U2c/view

Thanks,

Coach Ben

Spring 2017

I want to welcome everyone to the blog and to Team Triumph! I'll be updating our team picture soon and I'll add new pictures as we get them. I have updated our game schedule, that can be found under the Important Links on the right side of the blog. I'll be adding a new update soon, along with our snack/drink schedule, so please bookmark this page and check back often.

Thanks,
Coach Ben

 

September 10th Game - Video Link

Triumph Update 10/5/16

Practice Times

I wanted to start off with our practice time change. Starting TODAY, we will be practicing from 5:15 to 6pm, at Goot Park. The league changed the field practice times, for pretty much everyone, so the teams that practice after us will be practicing earlier. I know this is short notice, so please help spread the word. In fact, please respond to this email, ASAP, and let me know you got the message.

Update on the Season

I think the girls are doing very well and Catherine and I are having a blast out there! We've had a couple tough games but we've also had a couple really competitive ones. The girls appear to be having a great time out there, which is the most important thing. I have to say, I really love our group of kids (and parents) and I'm hoping we can keep everyone together for future seasons. The most competitive teams have been playing together for a couple years (for the same coach(s)) and they've learned together and know each other well.

Up to this point, we've pretty much worked on the basics but, now that we're half way through the season, I'd like to take the next step and try to introduce a little positioning. This will require me to teach the girls a specific position, or two, so they can get used to it. With only 4 kids on the field, we won't be trying to cover the whole field but my goal is to have the girls spread out a little, draw the defense when they have the ball, and pass it to a teammate. Imagine that, team ball!  :-)  This requires the girls to assess where they are on the field and make quick decisions to get open for the ball. It also requires the girls to be willing to share the ball. We have a couple who may be a little resistant to this. Please help me by having a quick discussion with the girls, if you find it appropriate, on sharing the ball. Soccer is a team sport and when someone scores, the team scores regardless of who kicked the goal.

Team Bonding

I first want to say that, for the most part, the girls have been very positive on the game and practice fields and I think all of them get along great. However, I do want to mention that there have been a few hurtful comments between the girls. At this age, kids often say things without thinking and I believe this to be the case with what has been said amongst our girls. Please also discuss this with them, if you feel its appropriate.

On another note, I'd like to create some additional bonding time for the girls. Since we're at mid-season, would anyone be interested in getting the girls together for an activity or maybe a get-together at someone's home? I, unfortunately, don't have time right now to organize something like this but I think it would be a great idea. Perhaps we can do this instead of, or in addition to an end-of-season party? It always seems silly to me that we have this big get-together at the end of the season when we're saying goodbye. I'd almost rather do something really fun, beginning or mid-season, and something small at the end. What are your thoughts?

End of Season Party

If everyone would like to have a get-together at the end of the season, is there anyone who'd like to head this up? Any ideas on this, as well? We're at the half way mark already and we should start tossing ideas around if we're wanting to do it.

Team Blog

I've updated the Team Blog with pictures and videos. A special thank you to Yunsong, Sophia's Dad, for taking pictures and videos of our games and practices. Please check out the blog when you get a chance.

http://cwtriumph.blogspot.com/

Thanks,

Coach Ben