Monday Morning Report: September 21

There is only one way to start this week's report, and that is by congratulating Parham and Meetra for the birth of their little girl, Soraya. The girl looks so peaceful right now, but I wonder how long it'll be when she displays daddy's partying skills. Ooh, watch out!

The men's squad won the biggest game in the squad's 3-year history on Saturday! Not only did we beat the league leaders; we also assume the league-leading position after the game, while improving our record to 2-0-1 with 7 points. Recalling the days when we were routinely blown out by opponents, and had to fight relegation season-after-season, this squad has come a long way. To your left, you'll see a slide show of the pictures by Carlos documenting our victory.

Some reasons for our improvement are obvious and it's not about signing new players. The team is arriving at the pitch early this season. We are focusing when the game starts and no longer conceding early goals. That alone has made a huge difference. On Saturday, instead of conceding early, we attacked with force and rhythm, and Mumbles sent an absolute cracker past their diving goalkeeper. What a strike!

As the game settled in, some of our weakness began to reappear. We tended to pass the ball off like a hot potato, and the hasty passes went astray frequently. As our composure on the ball got better, the passing did as well. When we used the wings on attack, the quick 1-2s yielded great results. Clearly we need to do more of that this season.

We unfortunately conceded a goal before half from a set piece, and then a moment of utter insanity in the second half left us with 10 players. Curiously, the game changed at that moment and not in the way one would have expected. Either our opponent stopped playing (did they think they've won?), or we decided to turn it on. Passing and movement off the ball both got better for us, and a brilliant group effort yielded our second goal, smartly driven home by Peter.

Sunday's co-ed game was a completely different story, unfortunately. We stunk up the pitch so badly that skunks in the Shenandoah National Park were asking each other, "Whew, where is that stench coming from?" Part of the fault was mine. I was expecting a different opponent since UMFC never had a strong squad in the past. However, the team that showed up for them was fast, skilled and well-organized.

But, it doesn't help when one of our players with "fresh legs" shows up and tells me, "I woke up naked on the floor one hour ago!" Aiy, where do we get these guys? The first half was a stalemate, and the second started with Imi hitting the post. Our men clearly got tired by as the second half wore on and our fatigue pulled us out of defensive shape. They put in two through balls that got behind our defenders and scored.

Our fatigue also meant that we were unable to get back into the game. In the end, the score line of 2 nil is probably a bit flattering to our opponent, but we must play better the next time we play these guys later in the season.

In closing, I want to address the many yellow and 2 red cards on Saturday. It's often said that football teams take on the personality of the manager. Not that I want y'all to be obsessive-compulsive, control-freak insomniacs, but I do hope that you can harness your passion. (There is only one thing/one person who makes me lose my cool, and you all know who I'm talking about!)

One needs passion to succeed in football and in life, but uncontrolled passion can only do harm. Nine years ago, my shi-fu (mentor) said to me, "Never let [the operation] deteriorate into a personal battle between you and the tumor." This can be modified to apply to football. You weekend opponents and the refs are not out there to do you personal harm. Screaming at them, or hacking them, won't help you win or get you better calls.

Harness your passion for the game, and play the game. Stop talking to the referees. And let's play better next weekend.