Peninsula Pirates play tough in Canada

The Pirates soccer team returned from Victoria with a good showing but no stats to prove it. On Monday the Pirates played University of Victoria, losing 3-0. UVIC scored in the first half at about 30 min. in. The Pirates gave up two more goals late in the second half. We played hard for 90 minutes against UVIC and we looked really good. We had some really good performances from John Troka in the midfield and Jase Hall in the goal.

On Tuesday the Pirates started a little flat against Vancouver Island University and it cost them a goal 5 minutes in. Vancouver Island scored 3 more in the first half. But, the Pirates rebounded to play Vancouver Island tough in the second half and hold them scoreless with the final score ending at 4-0. We had one bad half but besides that we played them very tough. We had two really good chances in the second half by Ernest Boham, just missing the goal.

Both these University’s allow their players to play for 5-years. If you ask me how I feel about these losses and how we played, I would say “We started the same way last year, losing 3-0 and 5-1, but yet we ended up winning 14 games in the season”.

Andrew Chapman

Head Men's Soccer Coach

Peninsula College

North Kitsap kids get fresh look at soccer

POULSBO — The North Kitsap Soccer Club’s youngest shooters will soon be playing on a new field: equality.

NKSC coaching director Chris May said in reviewing the club’s programming, too much time was being spent perfecting the skills of the older players and not enough focus was on the needs of the little ones.

In the past the young-uns would compete against one another on teams, which looked similar to a confused, yet enthusiastic, school of fish darting to and fro. They played on bumpy and sloped fields at Port Gamble. Not all of the athletes were taught at the same skill level, as the coaches are all parent volunteers and not all are proficient in soccer’s rules and skills.

The results: Several kids who didn’t have much fun, the playing field wasn’t equal and the competition was too intense.

“It wasn’t very much fun and they weren’t learning,” May said. “Kids are way too young at that age to play soccer on a competitive level. Trying to have 5-year-olds compete is crazy.”

Experts say competition at 5 and 6 can be detrimental to learning.

Therefore this fall NKSC is launching a new program for its U6 and U7 players, aptly titled the “Micro Academy.”

The new focus is fun, the basics, and equal learning opportunities for all with an emphasis on child development.

Read the rest here.

College Soccer Bloggers Wanted

www.GOALSeattle.com, www.GOALTacoma.com and www.GOALKitsap.com are looking for bloggers and / or reporters to help us cover college soccer this Fall!

We have been in contact with many of the Sports Information Directors around the Sound and are lining up players and coaches to send us exclusive blogs about their clubs.

If you are a player and would like to blog for one of our websites, please contact your coach and your SID. They can contact me: David Falk at goalseattle@gmail.com.

If you are a fan, parent or friend, please consider sending some kind of report when you go to a match. It doesn't have to be anything lengthy or professional, just your own view of what went down in a few words.

Here is how our coverage looks so far...

www.GOALSeattle.com
we've got coverage coming from Seattle University Redhawks

www.GOALTacoma.com
we've got coverage coming from Tacoma CC, Pierce CC and possibly South Puget Sound CC.

www.GOALKitsap.com
we've got coverage coming from Peninsula CC

If your local school isn't listed under one of the websites above, please let them know so we can give them some extra love, too!

SK loses girls varsity coach as season approaches

It wasn’t so long ago that South Kitsap High School had just one coach guiding its soccer teams.

Now the Wolves have two, and they’re looking to fill both positions.

Girls coach Scott Sodorff announced his resignation last week after two years.

Sodorff, who had a 19-10-4 record, and his wife, Jamie, decided to move back to California.

The Sodorffs welcomed their first child, Isabella, on May 26.

Sodorff’s departure follows that of Eric Bergeson, the Wolves’ boys coach, who resigned in June.

Bergeson was also the girls soccer coach prior to Sodorff’s arrival.

“I loved being at South and loved teaching there,” Sodorff said. “It’s very hard to step away.”

Read the rest in the PO Independent