So, this coaching soccer thing takes up a lot of time…..and then there’s that darn work thing that gets in the way. But, now that the ECU season has wrapped I am officially out of excuses….it’s time to get back to bloggin’. A lot has happened since my last post so let’s catch up a bit. Since it was ECU that was taking up all my time, let’s start there.

Eau Clare United

After a lost season, ECU was back for the Spring/Summer season in 2021. Fielding Boys and Girls teams from U9/10, U11/12, U13/14, U15 and High School Boys, the season ran April – June. After a year of zoom training, socially distanced training and no contact training….everyone was ready to get going this spring. Players, coaches and I think especially parents. It was time. Glad we were safe, but yes, it was time!

Most of our teams kick started the season with some Friendlies in La Crosse against Rush Wisconsin. And that was a real test of where we were as a club. I think a few teams fared well, but for many of us, it was a reminder, we had a little ways to go, to catch back up to clubs who had been playing during the year we took off from games and tournaments. Rush being one of those clubs that didn’t shut down much over the year. But I must say, it was good, it gave us a real sense of where we were as a club, as a team and individually, as players and coaches. Our plan on getting back going was to have teams play in the Southwest Classic League, with one exception, a talented U13 Boys team who we set up in MYSA League 1. And we trained. And we focused on a new training philosophy of small sided games with a focus on possession soccer and forcing players to adapt and make quick decisions. And we got better. The players and coaches bought in. And during our League portion of the season our teams fared very well. We won a lot more games than we lost and even when we lost, we played well. And then we shifted to Tournament play for the back half of the season. And with more training and more improvement, the results started to happen. Our first tournament as a club was Apple Valley. I think I have it right….4 teams took home the titles. Now to be fair, we were in Silver and Bronze levels, but hey, first tournament in a year and we took home 4 trophies. I’ll take it!

The Moment We Were Back

It was at Apple Valley when I think I realized we were back as a Club. The final Sunday and on side by side fields over the course of two hours we had quite an afternoon. First up, U13 girls in a tough game where they took a lead, but then it was tied after regulation. On to a PK shoot out. Drama, excitement, a lot of nerves, and players from 3-4 other ECU teams with their parents all gathered around the field. When the shoot out started, the girls from the U14 team all ran to that end of the field to cheer on the U13 players. Very cool! And the U13 girls came thru, scoring all 5 of their shots for a PK Shoot Out win!! I think officially, our first tournament championship post covid. And then playing at the same time on the two fields, the U13 Boys and the U14 girls playing for a title. The U13 boys finished it off first, winning in regulation. This is one of our best groups and the first of a few titles for them. And then, the team I coached, U14 Girls, tried to wrap their game up in regulation, a bunch of shots and a few good opportunities, but the game ended 0-0 and went to a PK Shoot Out. Yes, back to back ECU girls games going to PK Shoot Outs. Crazy! Exciting! and yes, lots of drama. At this point I looked beyond the nets and saw 4-5 of our coaches watching. I saw players and parents from several teams also watching. It was a real club experience. And just like the U13 Girls, our players came through and hit all 5 of their shots and we took the trophy as well. I can tell you the cheering, the yelling, (maybe a few tears thrown in) and the team huddle after that win was like releasing an entire year of pent of energy. Talking to parents….the excitement, the nerves, the cheering, were dripping off everyone. We were back, we did it, and we did it in style!

After the ECU Tournament, St. Croix Cup and Appleton tournament I did a little calculation after chatting with the coaches. Tournament Championships: 7 Tournament Runner Ups: 4. Here is the best part, 6 teams are included in the total. U12 Girls-2 titles. U13 Girls-2 Titles. U14 Girls-1 Title. U13 Boys- 2 titles. U12 Boys-2 Seconds. U19 Boys 2 Seconds. And just sayin, the girls did pretty good. Who Runs the World….Girls!!!! So now we build from here. If you watched our teams during the Friendlies and then you watched our teams during the Appleton Summer Shoot Out, you might not have believed they were the same teams. The improvement was massive! The possession soccer we were coaching was on full display. Playing against older and/or higher quality teams, our Girls teams really showed their stuff. We pushed many of these clubs right to the edge. Our Boys teams stepped up as well, with some high quality games and a Tournament title for the U13 Boys and a very tough PK Shoot Out loss in the finals for the U19 Boys. What a way to finish off the season. I’ll leave you with one image that for me sums up the season. Can we give players an experience they will remember. Can we help build good kids. You be the judge.

Season Stats

Look at those smiles, a cold rainy weekend for sure, but I’ll always remember those smiles!

International Updates

UEFA Champions League. Chelsea! Chelsea! Chelsea! It you were not aware, I am a Chelsea fan. And I know, you are thinking bandwagon since they just won Champions League. But the story is a little better than that. When I first started getting into soccer in the early 2000’s, I started coaching my sons in AYSO. My second was a left footed player and his first year of ECU was in 2006, where he played left back on his team. And his number was 3. One weekend we were channel surfing and came across a Premier League game. We started to watch and the team in Blue (my favorite color) had an amazing player, playing left back, and he was left footed, and you guessed it, his number was 3. Bingo, Karma, Fate, not sure what to call it, but it felt right. We have been Chelsea fans since that day. Thank you Ashley Cole for helping shape my soccer passion. 2021 marks Chelsea’s second Champions League title, their first since 2012 after just missing out a few years earlier on a painful “slip” on a PK that would have clinched their first. Sorry John Terry for that memory. What a year for Chelsea. They start strong, then sack their legendary coach and all time Chelsea scoring leader Frank Lampard mid season. Thomas Tuchel takes over and starts to make some magic happen. A change in formation to 3-4-2-1 and a change in their defensive prowess. From leaking goals, to basically not giving up any goals. And their rise up the standings started. And then Champions League where they just dominated, taking out Athletico Madrid, FC Porto, Real Madrid and then, arguably the best team in the world, Manchester City. And just in case you were thinking it was just a one game fluke….Chelsea took down Manchester City three straight games over 6 weeks to end their season. April 17 a 1-0 win, May 8 another win by 2-1 and then in the Champions League final 1-0. A deserving champion and Kings of Europe!!

Women’s Champions League Winner this year was FC Barcelona who claimed their first ever Champions League title. The Spanish National team is really good, so no surprise they have top teams in Spain. And in an interesting twist, Barcelona took down Chelsea in the finals. That would have been something, if the Chelsea Women had won, both titles to Chelsea, but it was not meant to be. FC Barcelona took the title and provided some great news for the club as the mens team struggled a bit this year. Way to go FC Barcelona!

Copa America Championship. Argentina takes the title over Brazil 1-0 on a goal by Angel Di Maria. This is significant because it is the first major title for Argentina in the Lionel Messi era. 15 times champs of Copa America, but the first with Messi. It has been many years of frustration for Argentina, having the best player in the world, but not being able to get any trophies for the National team. And for Messi, trying to live up to the expectations of Diego Maradona and his World Cup glory. But it is done….Messi has his trophy for Argentina.

European Championships. What an amazing tournament. So much drama and excitement. Let’s look at a few of the storylines. Denmark–on the first day of the tournament, tragedy strikes. Christian Eriksen collapses on the field, during the game, has CPR, and reportedly is brought back, after his heart stopped, and after getting the paddles. OMG! I did not see it live, but even the replays blow your mind. It rocked the tournament. It rocked the announcers. It rocked UEFA officials. What to do. Amazingly, after just hours of delay, the game resumed. Still not sure that was the right move. In case you have not heard, Eriksen is recovering and improving. Not sure his next move or if he’ll play soccer again, but we are all thankful for his improvement. After losing the match, no surprise there, players were crying coming back onto the field to play….Denmark rallies and makes it to the Semi-Finals. England–the mother of soccer, the birthplace of the game, but a long history of frustration. Prior to this tournament, their last big final in an international competition…1966, when they won the World Cup. Yes, 1966. No titles, and not even a finals appearance. Shocking really considering all the great English players over the years. England is in a renaissance of sorts with a ton of young and talented players trying to write a new chapter of English success, and making a finals is a good start. A painful way to lose for sure, especially given the way the PK shoot out went down and the substitutions by Southgate. But hoping they can build on this and get a title soon. Italy–what a story for Italy. After a very humbling and humiliating experience 4 years ago, not making the World Cup, Italy reinvents itself. Adds new players, starts pressing and counter attacking with speed and playing a new game for them. And from the very first game, they look like the best team in the tournament. Their old school defense is clicking, their young and talented GK is hot and their offense is overwhelming teams in attack. Impressive. They make quite a run through this tournament and take down England in a nail biter. The worst thing that could have happened to England, scoring in the first 2 minutes, a record, happens. They sit back and absorb the rest of the game until Italy finds an equalizer. Italy was the better team that day, and wins in PK’s, but man, what if England had keep pressing for a goal. Just me, but felt like after that first goal, they played for a 1-0 win. Ugh. So close!

League Champions

Premier League-Manchester City

FA Women’s Super League-Chelsea

Major League Soccer-Columbus Crew

National Womens Soccer League-Houston Dash

La Liga-Athletico Madrid. No, it was not Real Madrid or Barcelona. They had won 16 of the last 19, but a new champ this year.

Serie A- Inter Milan. No it was not Juventus who had won 9 in a row, another new champion.

Bundesliga-Bayern. Yes, I know, boring, that’s 9 in a row for Bayern Munich. Come on Bundesliga, let’s make it a little more balanced. Every time a team starts to get good (Borussia Dortmund) then Bayern swoops in a buys their good players, uff da!

WIAA High School Girls State

A quick wrap on the girls High School season. In the Big Rivers the story this year was Hudson. Undefeated in conference play and with several top quality players, rumors are three signed D1, so they had high expectations. And they delivered. Memorial certainly tried to make it tough on them in the sectionals, but just could not find that goal to put pressure on them. I think 2022 might be their year, some really strong players returning.

Hudson wins the Sectionals and makes it all the way to the State finals, undefeated at 16-0, but then suffers their first loss of the season against DSHA…Divine Savior Holy Angels. Quite a run for Hudson, and a tough way to get the first loss of the season, but they represented Western Wisconsin soccer very well. Well done ladies!

Other fun stories…Regis, Rice Lake and River Falls all fall just 1 game short of making it to State, each losing in the Sectional Finals. Watch out Wisconsin….Western Wisconsin is coming for that State title.

A new Premier League season is right around the corner, Boys High School Soccer is coming and ECU fall season is about ready to go. I’ll promise to keep things updated…..thanks for checking us out.