2007-08 NEWPORT HARBOR SOCCER SEASON
5/9/08
New Season Is Here
Don't have a lot of time to update you all on what is going on. Real quick until there is more time to write in detail.
Spring soccer classes begin at Harbor for returning players. The classes will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:45 until 3:15 pm at Harper School. We will do some technical work and then play small sided games.
Summer camp for returning as well as new players has been scheduled. You can download your flyer below.
NHGS Summer Camp Flyer Download
Last but not least our 2008-2009 game schedule has been put together for next season and although it is tentative you can get a look at it here. More to follow but until then we will be expecting straight A's on your finals.
Still looking for photos from the awards banquet.
1/19/08-2/8/08
A Wonderful Experience!!!
Well unfortunately for the players and me the 07-08 season has come to an abrupt end with one exception; the Girls Soccer Banquet which will be held on March 3 where we will come back together and say our final goodbyes until next season.
I want to formally thank everyone involved in helping to administer our program. Our Athletic Director Coach Tweit who does so much work behind the scenes, Judy Ayres in the Athletic Office who puts up with all of our inquiries and gets us all of the necessary information, the Boosters for volunteering their time and all their hard work organizing the program, the Coaches (Jaycee and Cory) for their dedication and thankless efforts (we will have to add another zero to their paychecks), the Parents for their cooperation and patience, and the Players for their hard work and sacrifice.
Thank you all so much for giving me this wonderful opportunity to be part of the community. In all my work with soccer teams I have always received as much as I have given and this experience has been no different in that respect. I have learned so much from you all and want to thank you again for improving my life and making me a better person/coach.
The only serious regret I have about this season is that our league record did not completely reflect the quality of our talent and that our Seniors (pictured below) did not have the opportunity to play for the CIF Championship. For one reason or another things did not turn out the way we would have liked.
I believe in life it is best to look forward as it has been said "after the season is before the season". I am of the attitude that I would like to begin preparations for the following season as soon as possible. Nevertheless in reflection and without excuse as our Sunset League is filled with many deserving competitive teams and players, still, we faced a lot of adversity this season with a new rookie coach who made many mistakes and is looking forward to the challenge of improving. There were scheduling conflicts, illness, and injuries throughout the season which did not lend themselves to establishing much continuity in league play. Of course our opponents also deserve much of the credit for our lack of results as they were able to take advantage of our shortcomings.
Hopefully our players gained some positive experience out of our difficulties and the hopeful understanding of how hard one has to work as a team in order to be successful in this competitive world.
A Disappointing Second Half Of League Play
The second half of the season began with some hope only to quickly turn to reality. In Larry's absence Jaycee took the team to an overtime replay win in an away game vs Esperanza scoring two goals and giving the team the final 4-2 victory and a valuable two extra points in the standings. The team could not, however, capture the subsequent game playing well but coming away short in a 1-0 loss.
The wheels of the season really came off in the next match at home vs Edison as against the run of play and with good offensive pressure we gave up three counterattack goals on defensive errors. We fought back to score a goal but it was not enough...Edison would bend but not break and we went down to defeat 3-1.
With the understanding we would have to win our remaining three games in order to have any chance to qualify for CIF the team put in a great effort in our away game vs Fountain Valley. FV scored a first half goal and we put relentless pressure on them the rest of the game before scoring the equalizer in the last minute of regulation play. We were unable to score in overtime, however, and ended up with a hard fought 1-1 tie. It would not be enough to keep the playoff hopes alive. We could only play for pride.
We came out extremely flat and uninspired against Los Alamitos at home while they on the other hand had much to play for in that they were chasing first place in league. We were soft in the middle on two throw-in plays and they scored two quick goals, the half finishing 3-0. We fought hard in the second half but could not finish a goal as they scored again giving them an easy 4-0 win for the second straight game. This season we were just not able to match up with Los Alamitos' physical play.
In our last game of the season going in we knew Marina at home needed a win to make the CIF playoffs and we could be in the position of spoiler. We played hard on both sides of the ball but Marina took a 1-0 halftime lead. We came back in the second half to score two goals to take the lead and put a scare into Marina. It was not to be, however, as Marina came back to score twice and take the game 3-2. Congratulations to the deserving teams that will represent our league in the CIF Playoffs (Marina, Los Alamitos, and Esperanza).
In closing the season...lets keep this great game in perspective. Even through disappointment we grow if we learn from our mistakes and then make adjustments. If given the opportunity I for one am looking forward to working with everyone to help build a successful Newport Harbor Girls Soccer Program.
See you all at the banquet on March 3!!!