Getting caught up

Sorry folks - we haven't caught up in a while.   The lingering effects from having gotten knocked out of the FWR in Boise, Idaho, along with the un-gloomy "June Gloom" that we are having (I write this as my scalp gets a nice red lobsterish sun burn on the balcony of my tiny little abode), has kept me/us from our updating.  So what's happened you ask?  Well for starters, the GU15 White's run at a National Championship was derailed by a very determined Slammers FC team in the semifinals of the Region IV tournament.  The US Men were given a nice lesson in soccer from our friends south of the border in the Gold Cup final in Pasadena.  The US U17 Men, were finishing in 2nd place at the U17 World Cup in Mexico, behind....you guessed correctly: Uzbekistan!  Finally, the US Women, got off to a winning start in Germany at the Women's World Cup vs a slightly secretive North Korean squad.  Today, if you are couch potato, the US U17's are on ESPNU at 1:00pm, taking on group winner Germany, who have steam rolled everyone so far in getting to the round of 16.  Wilmer Cabrera's young men will need to get everything right if they are going to knock off the German giants today.

Back to Boise for a minute.  What an amazing run this really was.  This team had numerous reasons to think that they didn't belong.  They were never considered a favorite to get out of their group at Cal south National cup (that would have been Albion).  They knocked off favorites like: Surf White, Arsenal, and Eagles.  The team had players getting "emergency surgeries" a week before the Regionals (the "Official" reason given was appendicitis, but word on the street was Janae getting bionic lungs for the altitude in Idaho....); while another having to leave the country for family reasons...  This team was the under-dog wherever it went.  Well folks, that label is now OTW - out the window.  Foothill MVLA knows who they are.  Oregon Rush knows who they are (both will be group opponents once again at Surf Cup), and the teams in Southern Cal know who they are.  Well done ladies - you represented The Beach!  Get ready to play as a favorite from here on out!

Besides the GU15's, who have gotten so much attention lately, we need to recognize others who have put the club on the So Cal and National soccer map.  First there was Rich Perez's GU10's winning Beach FC's 1st State Cup title.  And this wasn't the 2nd flight Governor's Division - this was the TOP flight President's Division!  Then there was Danny Pena's BU13's who went to the Q-finals at the most prestigious youth boys tournament in the country - the Dallas Cup, losing to the eventual champions.  Finally, we need to recognize all of the young women earning college scholarships for the 2011 and 2012 graduating classes.  These are the 1st graduating classes from Beach, with many more to come in the future.  Our coaching staff has done such a phenomenal job in such a short time.

The Beach FC Pioneers:

GU10 Beach FC Cal South State Champions

BU13 Dallas Cup Quarterfinalists

GU15 White USYS Far West Regional Semifinalists

Far West Regionals from a player's eyes:

Boise, Boise, Boise...where do we start? Well, our journey started after we made it to the finals in National Cup.  We trained 5 days a week for the 4 weeks leading up to the Far West Regionals.  We worked on our fitness, techniques, set plays, etc.  We give a big thanks to our coaches who helped us prepare  for this tournament; Sebastian, Jeff, Fred, and the one and only Mauricio. They helped us grow as a team and as individual players. 

Day 1 in Boise started with an amazing 5:30 a.m. wake up call. We ate breakfast at 6 and we were off to the fields at 6:45.  We overcame jet-lag, nerves, butterflies, uncertainty and came out with a 2-0 win over New Mexico.  For dinner, we had PASTA(of course)..thanks Sebastian :).  Then lights out was at 10:30.

The next morning, we woke up at 7:15 to be down at breakfast by 7:30.  Our game was against MVLA Cal North.  We left everything on the field...literally.  Poor Katie Pratt.....Thompson.  They were a strong team that tested our ability to play.  Even though the score came out to be 0-3, we still gave it our all and fought until the last second.  We learned a lot from this game and hoped to truly improve and learn from our mistakes.  To escape from our lovely hotel rooms, we went and saw an inspirational $1 movie- Soul Surfer.  It truly hit home with some of our tough teammates..oh Haley.  And once again, we had pasta for dinner.  After dinner, we ventured down to the Conference Center and went over our first game against New Mexico.  It was really helpful to see what we did right, and what we needed to work on. And lights out were at 10:30. 

On Wednesday, we had another 10 o'clock game which meant we had to be up at 7:15 meaning breakfast was at 7:30.  We were determined to make a come back from our last game.  We played against Oregon Rush which was another close game.  We had our chances but we just couldn't put them away.  We got our 1st goal off of a marvelous PK by Samantha Reinhard that was caused by Shannon Shier taking a big fall in the box.  With a win from that game, we were on our way to the quarter finals.  Wednesday night, we were free from our coaches' watch and were free to explore Boise with our parents and/or teammates.  Many of us went to the Music Festival and went to dinner and roamed around downtown.  We came back to the hotel and our curfew was a whoopin' 11 o'clock. 

Thursday we were able to sleep in as long as we wanted and were free to do what we wished until 5 o'clock.  Many of us just relaxed and rested any small injuries we might have picked up.  So at 5 o'clock, we walked down to a nearby field and played a very intense game of Soccer Tennis.  This got us on our feet and moving without getting exhausted.  For dinner, we went to Red Robbins where we were allowed to make our own choice for dinner within reason.  That night, we came back and had a very funny but serious recap of the Oregon Rush game.  Mauricio, Fred, and Jeff pointed out some key points that we needed to work on for our next game.  After that, we went to bed at 11 o'clock. 

Today, Friday, we woke up at 8:20 and had to be downstairs at 8:30 for breakfast.  After breakfast, we rested in our rooms for our match at 2.  Around 11, we met up and enjoyed a team snack of: luna bars, uncrustables, bananas, and watermelon.  At 12:45, we left to go to the fields where we played Eastside from Washington.  At half, it was 0-0, but we came back with an overall score of 2-1.  We advanced to the semis to play the Slammers who we lost to in the finals of National Cup 2-0.  We are very excited, anxious, and ready to redeem ourselves and play our game.

Thanks for all the support and for all those who helped make this journey possible.  We will keep you updated and hopefully tomorrow we will move on to the finals of the Far West Regionals.

And remember...GO BEACH! Signing out - Allie, Janna, Sami, and Katie Pratt...Thompson

Is there really a Beach in Boise?

Today - there was a sighting of the Beach White GU15s in Boise, Idaho.  Thru 3 games in the group stages, the Beach girls hadn't put together a complete game.  There were flashes of brilliance here and there, but not 80 full minutes worth.  This afternoon, the run thru the US Youth Soccer Far West Regional Tournament was a complete team effort for 80 minutes.  Celeste Dominguez scored 2 fabulous goals in the 2nd half, and the team defensive effort kept the Eastside FC girls from Washington off the board until the final 10 minutes where they cut the final score down to 2-1.  Beach is now on to the semifinals on Saturday morning (10:00am mtn time), to face a rematch of the Cal South National Cup Final vs Whalid Khoury's Slammers FC.  After having lost to Slammers in the Cal South Final, the girls are determined to turn the tables and get to the Final here in Idaho.  The semifinal match ups are: Washington Premier vs So Cal Blues, and Beach White vs Slammers.  Oh yes - MVLA, the defending USYS National Champion was eliminated this afternoon by Washington Premier in penalty kicks.  No one is crowned a Champion until the end....every team has a chance here, as many had done with the fantastic MVLA girls previously.

2 goal scorer - Celeste Dominguez

Make it happen.

To quote the great Michael Jordan - "Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen."  Today, we are hoping that this spirit is with the girls here in Boise.  At 2:00pm, Beach White is going to try and MAKE IT HAPPEN.   No more getting used to the fields; the environment; the traveling and the weather.  A special vibe is permeating thru the hotel this morning with everyone hoping to continue this run.  Check in later for an update!

On to the knock-out stage here in Boise!

Beach is in to the quarterfinals!  This morning, the GU15s took on the Oregon state champs - Oregon Rush, and came out on top 1-0.  It took a penalty kick by Sammie Reinhard to put the team into the elimination rounds here at Far West Regionals in Boise.  On Friday, the girls take on Washington's Eastside Soccer Club, who won their group with 3 wins vs Washington Premier, Las Vegas Premier, and Outrigger (Hawaii).  Beach was awarded the penalty kick after a brilliant run into the box by Shannon Shier, beating 3 Rush players, before getting chopped down around the top of the box.  Sammie stepped up with confidence and hammered the ball past the Rush goalkeeper.  Beach had numerous opportunities to score after the PK, with Domanique Duron having the best chance.  Only a great save by the Oregon goalkeeper denied the Beach girls from winning by more.

Tomorrow is a rest day for all of the teams, and everyone will surely need the rest day.  All of Friday's quarterfinals are at 2:00pm.  Continue to check on the scores via twitter ("MISoccer" or "BeachCoachFred"), and light candles, cross fingers, and wish the girls the best!

A lesson to learn from

Today, the girls faced their toughest opponent to date - the MVLA Lightning, from Northern California.  After facing the likes of Albion, Surf; Arsenal, Eagles, then Slammers leading up to Far West Regionals, the team felt confident facing the defending Regional and National Champion.  Both teams created chances in the first 25 minutes, with Shannon Shier barely missing the opening goal in a 1v1 opportunity, and MVLA hitting the crossbar off a wicked shot in the opening minutes.  At the 28th minute, the referee decided to award a penalty kick on a - shall we say "soft" foul - and MVLA went up 1-0 from the penalty spot.  Four minutes later, MVLA won a ball inside the Beach 18 yard box and the quick shot went over goalkeeper Hayley Magana's outreaching arms, making it 2-0.  The 2nd half was a better display of soccer by the Beach girls, with quality chances being created more often, testing the MVLA back line and goalkeeper on several occasions.  Beach could have cut the score to 2-1, but unfortunately, the shot from Celeste Dominguez hit the bar and not the back of the net.  MVLA secured the win and the group, by scoring their 3rd goal with roughly 15 minutes left on a cross from a very poor angle, that inadvertently ended up sailing into the Beach goal.  The game would end 3-0 to MVLA. Hats off to the MVLA GU15s - their movement, composure and reading of the game was fantastic today.

On Wednesday morning, the girls will decide their own fate, when they face the Oregon Rush from Bend, Oregon at 10:00am.  Win or tie - and move on to the Quarterfinals.  Any other result, and the girls fate is out of their hands, and decided by too many tiebreakers to list here.

First day at Regionals in the books!

It's Monday afternoon in Boise, and the Under 15 Girls are off to a great start!  Alli Emmons got the team off to a dream start with a goal from outside the box mid way thru the 1st half.  The 2nd goal, which put the proverbial dagger into the Rio Vista squad from Albuquerque came off the foot of Shannon Shier.  The rest of the day is being spent with team meetings, down time to to get much needed naps in, and a team video break down of the game in preparation for the MVLA Lightning showdown tomorrow at 10:00am.

Some thoughts about the tournament so far: Boise is a great "small city" with a cool downtown area full of restaurants and coffee shops, including a block with authentic Basque restaurants, and museums.  Nothing seems to be more than 5 minutes away, including the Simplot Soccer Complex - which is fantastic, with over 20 "lush" grass fields - although the grass may be a bit too high for our tastes.  So far - knock on wood - the weather has been perfect - highs of 80's with lows of 60's.

Inaugural first post!

Welcome everyone!  This blog will be a place where we keep everyone updated on our day to day activities within the club, the latest on the happenings around the world of soccer, and our own musings on coaching and player development.  We hope you enjoy the blog, and continue to check back to see the latest news and musings from our coaches at Beach FC.

This weekend, the Under 15 Girls White team, coached by Mauricio Ingrassia and Fred Velez, will be traveling to the US Youth Soccer's Far West Regional tournament in Boise, Idaho.  Although the GU15s lost in the Cal South National Cup Final, Cal South and the GU15 age group had the "wild card" berth and Beach received the wild card berth.  The girl's opponents in Boise, will be the New Mexico State Champions - Rio Vista SC on Monday morning, followed by the Cal North State Champions (and defending Region & US Soccer National Champs at U14) - MVLA Lighting on Tuesday, finally playing the Oregon State Champions - Oregon Rush, on Wednesday to round out the opening group stage.  Two teams will advance to the Quarterfinal stage on Friday, with Semifinals and Finals on Saturday and Sunday.  You can follow the team's progress, by clicking here!

GU15 White