Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Some Soccer Talk
So here's the set-up. 4 weeks ago we (Aidan's team, which I coach)
lost a game. That meant that with 3 weeks to go in Provincials
qualifying, we were 9 points out of the 2nd (and last) spot for the
city. The team of us only had 2 games in Provincials qualifying in that
stretch, since they played an out of town team one night. We had 3
games. The first week we were monsters, and won 7-0. The second game
should have been an easy lock: Only 8 boys for them (indoor season is
half field, 8 a side) and 3 were call-ups from a younger age group. And
yet they held us to a 1-1 draw for almost the whole game. And what can
you say, except that it was final exams week, and the hearts and minds
of 15-year-old boys can be fickle things. But with about 1 minute left
we got a corner kick, and I threw everyone up; only a win would keep us
in striking distance, as it counts for 3 points, and a draw only for 1.
Sure enough, Josh dropped in an amazingly sweet corner, and Arsh, my
leading scorer, got his head on the ball and it dropped into the corner,
and after that we hung on for a very nervous few seconds.
Cue tonight's game. As can only be presented in cheesy Disney movies, we were now three points behind SUSC, and they were the team we were playing. We'd beaten them in the preseason, in a game that didn't count towards anything. But during the season, we'd taken a 3-0 lead into the half and had badly fallen apart, losing 4-3. All this meant that if we beat them tonight, we would be tied on points, and also tied head to head, with each team having won one and lost one. Which meant that it would have to go (at least) to the next level of tie breaker, which was total goals against in direct play with the other team. Which meant that we had to beat them by at least 2.
The night was filled with unlikely heroes and some of the nicest work I've seen these boys do. Another excellent corner by Josh and a run by Arsh resulted in a header for 1-0. Then later, a hard cross somehow found Nimish (not exactly my best player, but a hard worker) and he drove in a smoking hot volley from just inches out.
In the second half, another great corner from Josh found Collin's head, and he smashed it just inside the post and then slammed his body off that post and then another that was further off the field. A little later Collin again, this time being sprung free by a sublime pass across the middle, and he smoked it into the opposite corner.
Did I mention Collin is awaiting knee surgery, and I have to use him sparingly?
Then, closer to the end, Arsh somehow kept a ball in that everyone was sure was going out over the goal line, took one step out, and found Nimish (again!) standing all alone in front of the net. A great solid pass along the ground and it was in, 5-0.
Now, of course, is when the boys let their collecting boot off the gas pedal. SUSC scored a nice goal, somehow splitting our defense and catching the keeper wrong-footed. And then, a little later, Aidan and Arsh had for some reason traded positions, and a cross hit one of our boys and went in for an own goal. I think Arsh may have been trying to set Aidan up for a goal (Aidan is my central defender), and indeed he did break loose but couldn't get a good enough shot away, and the keeper parried it. There keeper actually saved their bacon many times. In the end, the score probably could have been 8 or 9-2.
But 5-2 is how it ended. I was spitting nails as I walked off the pitch, because my math skills had failed me. But one of my assistant coaches told me I was talking with my head up my butt, and indeed, our math shows that we lead the second tie-breaker 8-6. So now I await word from the league, confirmation that we did indeed make it.
But in the meantime, colour me relieved. The boys have sucked it up very nicely, which, considering the remarkable talent on this team, is pretty much expected. I'm proud to be their coach, and pleased with their hard work, especially tonight.
Cue tonight's game. As can only be presented in cheesy Disney movies, we were now three points behind SUSC, and they were the team we were playing. We'd beaten them in the preseason, in a game that didn't count towards anything. But during the season, we'd taken a 3-0 lead into the half and had badly fallen apart, losing 4-3. All this meant that if we beat them tonight, we would be tied on points, and also tied head to head, with each team having won one and lost one. Which meant that it would have to go (at least) to the next level of tie breaker, which was total goals against in direct play with the other team. Which meant that we had to beat them by at least 2.
The night was filled with unlikely heroes and some of the nicest work I've seen these boys do. Another excellent corner by Josh and a run by Arsh resulted in a header for 1-0. Then later, a hard cross somehow found Nimish (not exactly my best player, but a hard worker) and he drove in a smoking hot volley from just inches out.
In the second half, another great corner from Josh found Collin's head, and he smashed it just inside the post and then slammed his body off that post and then another that was further off the field. A little later Collin again, this time being sprung free by a sublime pass across the middle, and he smoked it into the opposite corner.
Did I mention Collin is awaiting knee surgery, and I have to use him sparingly?
Then, closer to the end, Arsh somehow kept a ball in that everyone was sure was going out over the goal line, took one step out, and found Nimish (again!) standing all alone in front of the net. A great solid pass along the ground and it was in, 5-0.
Now, of course, is when the boys let their collecting boot off the gas pedal. SUSC scored a nice goal, somehow splitting our defense and catching the keeper wrong-footed. And then, a little later, Aidan and Arsh had for some reason traded positions, and a cross hit one of our boys and went in for an own goal. I think Arsh may have been trying to set Aidan up for a goal (Aidan is my central defender), and indeed he did break loose but couldn't get a good enough shot away, and the keeper parried it. There keeper actually saved their bacon many times. In the end, the score probably could have been 8 or 9-2.
But 5-2 is how it ended. I was spitting nails as I walked off the pitch, because my math skills had failed me. But one of my assistant coaches told me I was talking with my head up my butt, and indeed, our math shows that we lead the second tie-breaker 8-6. So now I await word from the league, confirmation that we did indeed make it.
But in the meantime, colour me relieved. The boys have sucked it up very nicely, which, considering the remarkable talent on this team, is pretty much expected. I'm proud to be their coach, and pleased with their hard work, especially tonight.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Champions!
As I may have mentioned around here before, this outdoor season Aidan was playing for the Aurora Diablo of the SPSL (Saskatchewan Premier Soccer League) They had a remarkable season, going 11 wins, no losses, and 1 draw during the regular season. They had a few close calls, but a good team always finds ways to win, I believe, and these boys did. The lone blemish was their last game of the season, when they allowed a late goal for a final score of 1-1.
There were six teams in the league, three here in Saskatoon, three in Regina, and one in Prince Albert. The boys played home and away to each, which meant some travel during the season. This level of play also required a lot more commitment than most of the boys were used to, including four 1.5 hour practices this past week alone.
Today was the provincial championship. Unlike BC (where friends of Aidan's from when we lived in Prince George recently competed unsuccessfully in their own provincials), there is no round robin here. Instead, it's a 1st vs 2nd showdown, winner take all. And so the Diablo went into today facing REU Ginga from Regina, who went 10-2-2 on the season, their only two losses coming against Aidan's team, 3-2 home and then 6-1 away.
REU started with the ball, but Diablo stripped them of the ball and Aidan's teammate Austin scored at the 20 second mark. By the half they had a 3-0 lead, and probably should have had more. There were some minor blips in the game, short periods of time when REU put on some pressure, but in the end it was obvious which was the stronger team, and the game finished 6-2.
That's the end of a great season, but only kind of. In October, Aidan's team will travel across the country to Moncton, NB, for the Canadian club nationals. They'll be in tough, against teams from across the country, some of them having played together for a good long time. And we're all in tough, as well, since there will be a significant amount of fund-raising involved (I've heard estimates that we may need to raise as much as $30,000, which is not small change). But it'll be worth it; an experience like this may indeed be once in a lifetime for Aidan, and he needs to reach out and grab it while he can.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Final numbers
We lost the semi-final 2-1, and a missed PK and a struck crossbar didn't help. The last half was thrilling, though, with Aidan out of the net for most of the last 5 minutes and only a defender on the half line, but couldn't break through.
As noted in my previous post about the team, I'm donating to a charity based on wins, shutouts, and goals scored. The total, after $50 from the PK competition win and $7 from fines on the boys, was $250 even. The boys took a vote at the end of the last game and the money will be going to Right to Play, a worthy international organization to help kids learn what it's like to be kids.
Anyhow, here are some of the numbers from the season, including preseason and tournament games:
Won 21
Lost 7
Shutouts 8
Shutout by other teams 2
Goals for 109
Goals against 38
12 of 14 boys scored at least once, and three, maybe four scored their first goals ever. The leader finished with 25 goals, followed closely by another boy with 23. Aidan, our main keeper, scored 8. A successful season!
As noted in my previous post about the team, I'm donating to a charity based on wins, shutouts, and goals scored. The total, after $50 from the PK competition win and $7 from fines on the boys, was $250 even. The boys took a vote at the end of the last game and the money will be going to Right to Play, a worthy international organization to help kids learn what it's like to be kids.
Anyhow, here are some of the numbers from the season, including preseason and tournament games:
Won 21
Lost 7
Shutouts 8
Shutout by other teams 2
Goals for 109
Goals against 38
12 of 14 boys scored at least once, and three, maybe four scored their first goals ever. The leader finished with 25 goals, followed closely by another boy with 23. Aidan, our main keeper, scored 8. A successful season!
Labels: Aidan, charity, soccer
Monday, June 22, 2009
The State of Play, or, Giving From Winning
As some folks reading this know, I am something of a soccer fanatic, to the point that, at one time earlier this year, I was playing for one team while coaching two others, both Aidan's U14s and Brennan's U12s. When the outdoor season arrived I gave up on coaching Brennan - it's far easier for he and I to get along when I'm just watching as a father and a fan - but I still play, and am coaching Aidan once again.
Aidan's team, the Aurora Blaze, are a great group of kids. There are normally four divisions in each age group in Saskatoon - PSL, Divisions 2, 3, and 4 - but this year in two age groups Div 4 was canceled due to not all city clubs putting forward teams. Aidan, who had been one of the last cuts for Div 2, is on a Div 3 team, but as coach this meant that suddenly I found myself with a much wider variety of playing and athletic ability as I also had to take on players who belonged in the lower, less competitive division. It also meant that there were a lot more players to have to choose from, and therefore more teams. I ended up attending a draft with four other coaches, a very slow process where all of were unfamiliar with a wide swath of kids, even though most of them had attended a viewing session for us to evaluate them.
Through a combination of good sense and luck, though, I came out on the other side of the draft with one of the best teams in the city. Indeed, I managed to get my hands on four players (including Aidan) who were considered for Div 2, one that was out of town when those tryouts happened and would have been a lock, and a classmate of Aidan's who didn't show well but who I picked in the sixth or seventh round based on Aidan's advice, and who has proven to be one of the top ten players in the whole league, probably even top five. That core, coupled with a bunch of players who have shown to be keen and athletic or willing to listen and play above their self-perceived skill level has meant we've carried the day more often than not.
In fact, early in the season it was looking like it might all be too easy, with a couple of 11-0 wins and very few goals being conceded in even our toughest games. And so I instituted a rule for regular season games, that when we take a five goal lead the team is required to get five consecutive touches on the ball before they score. It's been good practice for ball control, and it's delight to watch them take it seriously enough to make it work more times than not. It also has the added effect of bringing in the less skilled players, either forcing them to consider making a pass rather than kicking it away, or forcing the talented boys to look for new targets. Several of the lads have scored the first goals of their lives while playing on this team.
Not counting pre-season, but including the three tournaments we've entered, the boys have now played 19 games, with three to come in addition to post-season. In those 19 games they've scored 74 goals and allowed 25, a +49 goal differential. They've allowed 5 goals once, 3 goals twice, 2 goals four times, 1 goal six times, and had shutouts another six times. They've lost 5 games in total, 4 of those times in tournament play, one of those losses coming on the weekend they won a gold medal, another the next tournament when they lost the gold medal match, and then two this last weekend, both close games, and one on a goal in the last thirty or so seconds (to make up for it, they won the shootout competition at that tournament later the same day, beating two teams 5-3, with Aidan stopping three shots and another hitting the crossbar. He was also one of our shooters, and scored an excellent top corner goal).
This all leads somewhere other than the random bragging of a proud parent and coach.
Just after the season began, I tired of assigning pushups for grievances committed on the practice field, or for shoelaces coming untied during games, and so, on the advice of another coach, started to charge a dollar for each infraction. Instead of putting that money towards the team party, though, I thought it would make sense to do something else with it. And so I made the boys a deal.
For each game they win during the season (not counting the four preseason games, though), I would donate five dollars. For each shutout they attain, I would donate an addition five dollars. And for each goal they score in a game, to a maximum of 5, I would cough up another five dollars. A total of fifteen dollars per game was therefore available, all out of my pocket. Their fines, which are actually pretty low, would be added to that amount. At the end of the season the boys will then get to choose between two charities, and I will send the money off in the name of the team.
So far this season I'm $160 out of pocket, and the boys have another $12 or so in the pool, plus a bit more is coming from one more source (and more on that shortly).
One of the charities is a local one, for which I can't currently find a link. It helps pay the costs involved in getting a low-income child into the sport of his or her choice. Even soccer, which doesn't require tons of specialized gear, still costs money, both for cleats and shin pads and also for field rentals, ref fees, and the costs involved in buying team uniforms and balls. Not every child is lucky enough to have parents who are able to afford these fees (in the $300 realm for indoor soccer, more than $150 for outdoor, and that's not counting your footwear and pads).
The other charity is an organization called Right to Play. As stated on the group's website, "Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Working in both the humanitarian and development context, Right To Play trains local community leaders as Coaches to deliver its programs in countries affected by war, poverty, and disease in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America."
The boys have taken to this idea, and are keen to hear updates on how broke they're making their coach. And on the weekend, their prizes for winning the shootout competition were small medals, a plaque, and $50. The immediate suggestion for the cheque was that it go towards the charity pool, followed, of course, by jokes that they should each be paid $10 for their troubles, but they knew where they really thought the money should end up.
There's a lot to be proud of with these boys, and the fact that they've taken so easily to this idea gives me lots of hope about their futures. They'll make their choice soon (one charity, the other, or a combination) and they'll know that their decision has made an impact. I'll keep you all updated.
And in the meantime, I would suggest that if anyone reading this approves of the ideas behind these charities, perhaps you would consider making your own small donation. If I can find a link for the local org I'll post an update, but there are always other local charities that do the same thing (as a matter of fact, Fugees Family is a fabulous choice as well). And if you want to do it in the name of the Aurora Blaze Boys U14 Division 3 team as well, I can tell you they'd be mighty pleased to hear about it.
Update July 9/09: The name of the local charity is KidSport Canada. The boys play in the semifinal tonight, and once it's all done I will blog a final number that comes from their games.
Aidan's team, the Aurora Blaze, are a great group of kids. There are normally four divisions in each age group in Saskatoon - PSL, Divisions 2, 3, and 4 - but this year in two age groups Div 4 was canceled due to not all city clubs putting forward teams. Aidan, who had been one of the last cuts for Div 2, is on a Div 3 team, but as coach this meant that suddenly I found myself with a much wider variety of playing and athletic ability as I also had to take on players who belonged in the lower, less competitive division. It also meant that there were a lot more players to have to choose from, and therefore more teams. I ended up attending a draft with four other coaches, a very slow process where all of were unfamiliar with a wide swath of kids, even though most of them had attended a viewing session for us to evaluate them.
Through a combination of good sense and luck, though, I came out on the other side of the draft with one of the best teams in the city. Indeed, I managed to get my hands on four players (including Aidan) who were considered for Div 2, one that was out of town when those tryouts happened and would have been a lock, and a classmate of Aidan's who didn't show well but who I picked in the sixth or seventh round based on Aidan's advice, and who has proven to be one of the top ten players in the whole league, probably even top five. That core, coupled with a bunch of players who have shown to be keen and athletic or willing to listen and play above their self-perceived skill level has meant we've carried the day more often than not.
In fact, early in the season it was looking like it might all be too easy, with a couple of 11-0 wins and very few goals being conceded in even our toughest games. And so I instituted a rule for regular season games, that when we take a five goal lead the team is required to get five consecutive touches on the ball before they score. It's been good practice for ball control, and it's delight to watch them take it seriously enough to make it work more times than not. It also has the added effect of bringing in the less skilled players, either forcing them to consider making a pass rather than kicking it away, or forcing the talented boys to look for new targets. Several of the lads have scored the first goals of their lives while playing on this team.
Not counting pre-season, but including the three tournaments we've entered, the boys have now played 19 games, with three to come in addition to post-season. In those 19 games they've scored 74 goals and allowed 25, a +49 goal differential. They've allowed 5 goals once, 3 goals twice, 2 goals four times, 1 goal six times, and had shutouts another six times. They've lost 5 games in total, 4 of those times in tournament play, one of those losses coming on the weekend they won a gold medal, another the next tournament when they lost the gold medal match, and then two this last weekend, both close games, and one on a goal in the last thirty or so seconds (to make up for it, they won the shootout competition at that tournament later the same day, beating two teams 5-3, with Aidan stopping three shots and another hitting the crossbar. He was also one of our shooters, and scored an excellent top corner goal).
This all leads somewhere other than the random bragging of a proud parent and coach.
Just after the season began, I tired of assigning pushups for grievances committed on the practice field, or for shoelaces coming untied during games, and so, on the advice of another coach, started to charge a dollar for each infraction. Instead of putting that money towards the team party, though, I thought it would make sense to do something else with it. And so I made the boys a deal.
For each game they win during the season (not counting the four preseason games, though), I would donate five dollars. For each shutout they attain, I would donate an addition five dollars. And for each goal they score in a game, to a maximum of 5, I would cough up another five dollars. A total of fifteen dollars per game was therefore available, all out of my pocket. Their fines, which are actually pretty low, would be added to that amount. At the end of the season the boys will then get to choose between two charities, and I will send the money off in the name of the team.
So far this season I'm $160 out of pocket, and the boys have another $12 or so in the pool, plus a bit more is coming from one more source (and more on that shortly).
One of the charities is a local one, for which I can't currently find a link. It helps pay the costs involved in getting a low-income child into the sport of his or her choice. Even soccer, which doesn't require tons of specialized gear, still costs money, both for cleats and shin pads and also for field rentals, ref fees, and the costs involved in buying team uniforms and balls. Not every child is lucky enough to have parents who are able to afford these fees (in the $300 realm for indoor soccer, more than $150 for outdoor, and that's not counting your footwear and pads).
The other charity is an organization called Right to Play. As stated on the group's website, "Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Working in both the humanitarian and development context, Right To Play trains local community leaders as Coaches to deliver its programs in countries affected by war, poverty, and disease in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America."
The boys have taken to this idea, and are keen to hear updates on how broke they're making their coach. And on the weekend, their prizes for winning the shootout competition were small medals, a plaque, and $50. The immediate suggestion for the cheque was that it go towards the charity pool, followed, of course, by jokes that they should each be paid $10 for their troubles, but they knew where they really thought the money should end up.
There's a lot to be proud of with these boys, and the fact that they've taken so easily to this idea gives me lots of hope about their futures. They'll make their choice soon (one charity, the other, or a combination) and they'll know that their decision has made an impact. I'll keep you all updated.
And in the meantime, I would suggest that if anyone reading this approves of the ideas behind these charities, perhaps you would consider making your own small donation. If I can find a link for the local org I'll post an update, but there are always other local charities that do the same thing (as a matter of fact, Fugees Family is a fabulous choice as well). And if you want to do it in the name of the Aurora Blaze Boys U14 Division 3 team as well, I can tell you they'd be mighty pleased to hear about it.
Update July 9/09: The name of the local charity is KidSport Canada. The boys play in the semifinal tonight, and once it's all done I will blog a final number that comes from their games.
Labels: Aidan, charity, soccer
Sunday, May 24, 2009
One Great Team
The Aurora Blaze, who won the Lakewood Kickstart tournament gold medal in their division this weekend. I'm the coach, and Aidan, in the middle with the grey jersey and the gloves, is the keeper. The results this weekend:
Game One - Lost 1-0 to the Aurora Bulls, on a bogus hand ball call that resulted in a penalty kick.
Game Two - Won 3-1 over the Hollandia Titans.
Game Three - Won 5-0 over the Lakewood Thunder.
That meant we finished in 2nd place and therefore moved onto the semifinals, which ran Sunday morning. The Bulls, 1st place from our pool, faced the Hollandia Heat from the other pool, and we face the Al-Misbah Youth, the first place team from the same pool as the Heat.
Semifinal - The game finished 0-0. Most of the action was in their end, and there were probably a dozen corner kicks in our favour, but we couldn't put it away, once even beating the keeper but a defender getting in the way. On the other end, Aidan let one squib under his diving body, but our own defender was there to clear it away. And so it went to penalty kicks. The first kicker for us, Mido, put it firmly into the top left corner, then their first scored. Our second, Arsh, put it hard to the right, and then their guy kicked it right into Aidan's chest. A save! Aidan kicked third, and scored easily, then let in another. We were up 3-2 at this point. Ryan kicked 4th, and managed to squeeze it under their keeper's arm and body, and then Aidan read it perfectly, dove far to his right and knocked down the ball. We won, 4-2 in PKs, 1-0 official score.
Final - Hollandia Heat beat the Bulls, which was a surprise, but we were happy to face them. The final was 3-1 for us. Aidan was forced to make one huge save, lined up for a screamer that curled to his right on a perfect line for the top corner, but he managed to dive over and get his fingers on it to send it just wide of the post.
This is, I believe, the best team I've yet to coach.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Another Crazy Soccer Weekend
The boys had another tournament this weekend, and being the coach, that meant I did as well. Brennan played three games, a 3-2 win on Friday, and unfortunate last-minute 2-2 tie on Saturday (in which Brennan played his heart out), and a pasting on Sunday, losing 10-2 to the eventual winners, a team from Humboldt that ravaged everything in its path. These kids were like ancient Vikings, leaving burning villages and stacks of bodies behind. They scored something like 35 goals in 4 games, allowing only 5. It was ugly.
Aidan's team played twice on Saturday. They lost the first one 6-2, but it was a weird one, seeing how they could have just as easily won 6-3. Bad luck on both ends and a lack of finishing got us. But the size of the pools meant we only had to win our next game to guarantee a spot in the semi-finals, and so we did, manhandling the host team 9-3. Aidan, our keeper, actually played out for that game, scoring once and assisting on one or two.
So the next day we faced the other team from Aurora, our club. We took the lead 5 whole seconds into the game, and then they scored the next two, but it would have been far worse if not for Aidan slamming the door. Then, with only two or three minutes left, we scored to tie things up, and so when the whistle blew we went to penalty kicks. Of our five kickers, only one missed the net. One of the players from the other team also missed the net, but the difference was that Aidan also made a save, and just like that we were on to the final.
As luck would have it, the final (which was this morning at 9, today being a holiday for some) was against the team that beat us. Today we reversed that, two quick goals followed by a later one taking the wind out of their sails, and when they scored one to give themselves a new lease on life, Aidan promptly shut them down, making all sorts of huge saves (although none as big as in the semi-final, when he stopped them on a two on nothing rush). Then we scored one more in the second half, and after that the boys did all they could to keep the defense nice and tight. I was very proud of them. And pumped, of course, to say nothing of being pleased that as coach I actually got a gold medal as well.
Aidan's team played twice on Saturday. They lost the first one 6-2, but it was a weird one, seeing how they could have just as easily won 6-3. Bad luck on both ends and a lack of finishing got us. But the size of the pools meant we only had to win our next game to guarantee a spot in the semi-finals, and so we did, manhandling the host team 9-3. Aidan, our keeper, actually played out for that game, scoring once and assisting on one or two.
So the next day we faced the other team from Aurora, our club. We took the lead 5 whole seconds into the game, and then they scored the next two, but it would have been far worse if not for Aidan slamming the door. Then, with only two or three minutes left, we scored to tie things up, and so when the whistle blew we went to penalty kicks. Of our five kickers, only one missed the net. One of the players from the other team also missed the net, but the difference was that Aidan also made a save, and just like that we were on to the final.
As luck would have it, the final (which was this morning at 9, today being a holiday for some) was against the team that beat us. Today we reversed that, two quick goals followed by a later one taking the wind out of their sails, and when they scored one to give themselves a new lease on life, Aidan promptly shut them down, making all sorts of huge saves (although none as big as in the semi-final, when he stopped them on a two on nothing rush). Then we scored one more in the second half, and after that the boys did all they could to keep the defense nice and tight. I was very proud of them. And pumped, of course, to say nothing of being pleased that as coach I actually got a gold medal as well.
Labels: Aidan, Brennan, soccer
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Enough Excitement For One Day
A little after 1pm today, and work was going fine, when my mobile phone rang. On the other end was Aidan's teacher. Seemed he was having an allergic reaction, probably due to soy from a KFC meal they'd had at lunch. Only thing was, it was sounding much worse than normal, and since he is anaphylactic to peanuts, I rushed right over to the school and then took him to the ER at the nearest hospital.
Say what you will about the Canadian health care system, as soon as I told the triage nurse that he was anaphylactic and that this was a likely allergic reaction, Aidan was hustled in to a bed and within minutes a doctor and several nurses were swarming around him, hooking him up to an IV shunt for medicine (Benadryl, epinephrine) and saline solution. He was shivering from shock and is now covered in scratches from long fingernails and a nasty itch, but within an hour everything had settled down. Only thing was, they needed to keep him for another three hours to make sure that all the allergens had cleared his system. And sure enough, several times while we were there he would flare up briefly with a rash of some sort, but never as itchy as before. And now we're home, and safe, and I'm feeling somewhat chastened.
When the school phoned, my suggestion was that Aidan be given a dose of Benadryl, which turned out to be right. However, I really should have pressed for him to be given a shot of his epipen. As the doctor said, the epinephrine in the dose won't do him any harm, and in the end it may save his life. So, lesson learned. The good thing, though, is that we're all home, and aside from the scratches and being exhausted, Aidan is just fine.
Say what you will about the Canadian health care system, as soon as I told the triage nurse that he was anaphylactic and that this was a likely allergic reaction, Aidan was hustled in to a bed and within minutes a doctor and several nurses were swarming around him, hooking him up to an IV shunt for medicine (Benadryl, epinephrine) and saline solution. He was shivering from shock and is now covered in scratches from long fingernails and a nasty itch, but within an hour everything had settled down. Only thing was, they needed to keep him for another three hours to make sure that all the allergens had cleared his system. And sure enough, several times while we were there he would flare up briefly with a rash of some sort, but never as itchy as before. And now we're home, and safe, and I'm feeling somewhat chastened.
When the school phoned, my suggestion was that Aidan be given a dose of Benadryl, which turned out to be right. However, I really should have pressed for him to be given a shot of his epipen. As the doctor said, the epinephrine in the dose won't do him any harm, and in the end it may save his life. So, lesson learned. The good thing, though, is that we're all home, and aside from the scratches and being exhausted, Aidan is just fine.
Labels: Aidan, allergies, hospitals
Friday, June 06, 2008
The Boys at Track and Field Day
Brennan competed in relays and triple jump, Aidan in relays, 100m and long jump. Brennan got 1st in the triple and 3rd in relays, Aidan 1st in relays and long jump and 3rd in 100m. But the story gets, in my opinion, better when the day is pretty much done.
Triple jump had been my "specialty" when I was in school, and so I've spent the past few weeks coaching Brennan on technique, as well as giving Aidan as much input as I can on long jump. Therefore, it came as no surprise to me when Aidan won his competition with a jump of 3.53m, 11cm longer than 2nd, and Brennan won with a jump of 6.11m, which was a whopping 53cm longer than his closest follower. What did surprise me was that Brennan's jump was shorter than what he'd been managing in our backyard, without a sand pit to jump into.
Later in the day, I was helping two of Aidan's classmates with their jumping, and one of them had chosen to start his jump from a board that was further from the pit than what the teacher in charge was recommending. This made sense to me, as the closer board was so close that any child who knew how to stretch out the step part of the hop, step and jump would end up stepping into the pit (or at least right to the very edge) and would therefore have a shorter jump. But both boys managed jumps long enough to put them into 2nd and 3rd (with 7.08 and 7.00m), but they had to wait for one more boy who was just coming over from the 100m final (where he beat Aidan). That boy managed to reel off a 7.21m jump, and once it was settled they all headed off for their ribbons.
I asked the teacher in charge if Brennan could try one more time, just for fun, from the further board. He said yes, and so Brennan tried another jump, which wasn't so good, and then Aidan ran in with another long jump. And then they both tried again, and here's where it gets good. Aidan's long jump was 3.6m, which meant a personal best and another 7cm on top of what he'd done earlier in the day.
And then Brennan jumped. The teacher made the measurement, then muttered "That can't be right" and turned the tape measure over and looked to make sure that the start of it was at the board. I asked what it said, and his answer almost made my eyes pop out: 7.60m. A 9-year-old in grade 3 had jumped almost 40cm further than the best grade 6 competitor, and well over a meter further than I had thought he was capable.
We'll find a track and field club when we move to Saskatoon.
Labels: Aidan, Brennan, sports
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Just Sitting Back, Enjoying Some Calvin and Hobbes
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
The Last Kodiaks Soccer Tournament
As mentioned elsewhere, we were in Edmonton this last weekend for the third of three soccer tournaments for Aidan's team. In Burnaby they played three games and got hammered all three times, and in Kamloops they won one, got smoked in another, and lost a tight one. In Edmonton, the pattern looked to repeat itself, with a tie (leading 2-0 with ten minutes, the boys fell asleep) followed by a 12-0 scorching by a team I remember well from when I was a kid, since I still sport burn marks from every time we played them.
But next day at breakfast I asked Aidan how he felt that day, and his response was "I feel like stopping shots." And true to his word, he got two clean sheets that day, a 5-0 win and a 3-0 win. Since there were five teams in their group, there were no gold medal or bronze medal games, and instead points decided placement. If a team was tied on points, then the next decider would be goal differential. Obviously the team that walloped Aidan placed first (they gave up one goal all weekend), but we had the same number of wins, losses and ties as the team we had tied on Saturday morning.
However. While these teams get one point for a tie and three for a win, they also get a bonus point for every shutout. And so, while the other team had a better goal differential, we had one more shutout than them, and so took the silver.
This being Aidan's last game with the team, seeing how we're skipping town and all, the coaches went and got him a special keeper's jersey and had all the kids sign it, which you can see him proudly demonstrating up above. He's going to miss that team and those boys.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
First Tournament
Aidan's team went to Burnaby this past weekend and played against teams that are just finishing their seasons (as opposed to our boys, who before the weekend had managed to have two practice games against a girls' team). They lost 8-0, 8-2, and 11-1. I should also note that the team is a U12, as in no one on the team can be any older than 12 this calendar year. Aidan and one other boy on this team both turn 12 this year, but the rest of the team are turning 10 or 11. For the most part, that wasn't the case with the other teams; yes, they grow them big down there, but they also have a bigger population to choose from.
The tournament was hosted by the South Burnaby Metro Club, and we ended up playing the host team in the 8-2 game. They were good kids with a fair coach, and the second half was actually a 2-2 draw. Could have been worse, but I think they were surprised the boys fought back. Aidan had one glorious chance just go over the crossbar, and another got stopped by the keeper reaching way out, but the rebound fell to our smallest player and he popped it in.
The first game, when Aidan played goal, was a bit more problematic. I thought the coach was fair, but the kids were overly rough (their coach actually pulled one of his boys off when the ref did nothing - more on the refs later), especially considering the size difference. Aidan, like his friend and fellow keeper Jordy in the second game, managed to keep it much closer than it could have been, with saves coming out of the blue. He let in a couple of stinkers, too, but he knows that the best pros do the same, so it's never a reason to feel down. The third game a different boy played in net, and while he's a good athlete, he's not been trained in the nuances of the game and how to properly play that position. He did start to get down on himself, but the other boys are remarkably fair-minded and I think worked very hard to keep his spirits up.
The fields were abominable. It was outdoor artificial turf, and the little fake grass blades rubbed off on everything. During lunch after the first game Aidan had it constantly dropping in his food. My shoes were a good half-inch thicker from the stuff piling up when I was working as a linesman (and again, more on that soon), and during the second game Jordy kept having to run to his mom to get his face wiped, and he was sneezing like mad. They also played on a full size field cut in two, with small pylons marking where the goalie boxes were. And Aidan still has a nasty rug burn on his thigh from sliding to make a save.
And now the reffing. The boys were drilled on rules that were new (or else previously enforced in a more mild manner) for the young ones, and they did admirably in the face 0f it all: offside was to be called, if the keeper had the ball you couldn't go digging in hard, don't knock down opposing players, no high kicks, don't jump in front of the keeper when he's drop-kicking, keep your hands off the ball, if a player is injured rely on the ref to call the play dead. Perhaps not surprisingly, there was none or little of that bothered with.
The refs appeared to be surly teens or young adults, not wearing proper kit (uniforms), and the first one didn't even bring a whistle. There were no referee's assistants, so they looked for volunteers to work to sidelines, which I did for the first two games. In that case, the position is considered a "club linesman," and that person is only allowed to call out of bounds. No offside, no infractions, not that they took the time to explain that to anyone. Now, perhaps this wouldn't be so bad if the ref actually kept up with the game, but in all three matches he was out for a casual stroll and quite happy to miss all sorts of things. In fact, everyone assumed after the first game that there were no offside calls being made. At half time of the second game I went to the ref to ask him about that, since the other club linesman had tried to call our boys offside (which they were, but only in reaction), and he somewhat surprisingly assured me that he was calling it. Which he did, a couple of times in the second half. Probably 1 in 4 goals were scored against us from an offside play, as well as another when one of our players was fouled and hurt and nothing was done about it until after the goal.
It pains me to see kids have to deal with this. I worry they're going to get jaded about the quality of the officiating and the state of their own games. So far, happily, they seem okay. They knew they were going to be schooled on the weekend, and they were happy with the fact they weren't always shut out. I just hope the next two tournaments see more attention paid to making it fair for all.
(Pictures above: Aidan making a save - taken by Brennan, which explains the acute angle, and Aidan heading on a ball to safety from in front of his own net)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Three Baskets, One Helper
That's Aidan with the ball, wearing the Away jersey since they ran out of Home uniforms. His team is not really a team, but rather a collection of grade 6 kids who got impatient with the fact that only the grade 7s get to play, so they whined and fussed and cajoled and wheeled and dealed and convinced their gym teacher to let them form a practice team, and one the dads and one of the moms actually do the coaching.
Then, still not satisfied, they put on the pressure again and got themselves an exhibition game with a school from down the road. So the other school pulls up with 7 boys and sees that Aidan's team has 8 boys and 6 girls, and they all get to play. Lots of subs, and a surprising amount of skill. We won, 42-29, I think, and all the kids had fun. As noted, Aidan got 6 points, and since basketball really isn't his game, that was nice to see. Plus, even though soccer is still in my blood, it was nice to see him play another sport.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]