By Luis Campillo
The wind blew in both directions for AC DC this weekend… This past beautiful yet windy Saturday afternoon, the men’s team was back at Bishop McNamara HS. For the first minutes of the game our team did a descent job at distributing the ball but did not create many offensive opportunities on the attacking third. While the defense held its own, a strange “ball over the shoulder” turn allowed the opposing attacker to get a decent shot off that sneaked past the juggernaut keeper. Despite the goal, the team maintained its composure. In the second half, with the wind on our sails, AC DC made a number of runs at goal. The equalizer came via a deep ball from Lasershot Lominska to Speedy Mumbs who raced past the last defender to float the ball over the keeper. While the momentum of the game changed with our goal, Paul’s knee injury and the lack of subs took its toll on the team; an error in the back led to their second goal…the third goal came on a breakaway towards the end of the game when we were pushing up to even the score.
On Sunday, under similar condition the Co-Ed team took to the field at Dunbar HS against OpNet. Both teams started the game with 10 players as both were missing a female player. But even before our fashionably late Morgan jumped into the field, AC DC dominated much of the passing thanks to Krissy and Imi in the midfield, and with the full eleven we created a number of clear opportunities on goal. Nonetheless, it was a tied affair by the end of the first half and a controversial handball by one of their defenders that prevented Opus from taking a shot of a beautiful crossed ball by Matt W. In the second half, with the wind on our face and a couple of injuries already plaguing the team, we continued the runs at goal. One of these dashes by the injured juggernaut midfielder resulted in a corner kick that led to a powerful header by Justin that was slowed by the keeper but put in the ol’ onion bag by yours truly---sweet! The second goal came in a nicely coordinate breakaway by Imi and Justin. Kudos to Anna for being her usual solid self in goal and to the defense that repelled the many attempts by our opponent to score towards the end of the game…particularly with four injured players on the field and no subs.
This weekend demonstrated that despite the difficult playing conditions and personnel issues, AC DC is still a contender. The rest of the season will not be smooth sailing and we need to continue on a winning course to avoid decession (Men’s) and have a shot at the postseason (Co-Ed). If we play for each other and remain determined, we will reach both of these objectives.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Monday morning report: May 3
Manager's reflection after 7 years of AC D.C.
When a "bomb" goes off in one's life, one has to let the dust settle before the assessment of real damage. Such a bomb went off for me about 3 weeks ago, and though I'm still picking shrapnel out of my body, I'm finally able to see the after-math.
In truth, the problem I had was with one player only, but while reacting in pain and anger, I had involved the whole team, which I regret. I retaliated like a human, and not a cool-headed manager. This club exists for sharing the passion of football with friends, and I question the loyalty of no one. I only ask that everyone be up front with their schedule conflicts so there are no unrealistic expectations.
The after-math tells me that I must detach myself from the club. I have become too invested, financially and emotionally, and everything related to the club has become very personal for me. This is counter-productive for both me and the team. This involvement was born out of necessity over the years. I took control of the club in 2003 because I thought better organization would make the team more fun. The team needed uniforms, so I designed a logo and made the first uniforms. The team needed a keeper, so I played in goal. The team needed players to fill in now-and-then, so I paid the dues of these occasional players. It needed a morale boosts, so I made parties. It needed organization on the sidelines, so I stopped playing and traffic-controlled the substitutions.
Gradually, my tasks that were to make the team fun, became chores that were distinctly not fun for me. In retrospect, I've been unhappy for many seasons, but now, I'm in too deep to extricate myself. The club has become my child, and despite how unhappy I am, I work for its survival. My compensation had been, once the club operation ceased in the summer, I can enjoy the company of my teammates without the burden of day-to-day chores. My friends on the team justified the work running the club.
The conflict I had with my teammate and friend 3 weeks ago was emotionally damaging to me. Although it was a team matter, it quickly turned into a deeply personal insult. A matter of schedule conflict became an issue of personal loyalty to me, and the pain was all-consuming.
Once I realized that, and now that the healing process has started, I know it's time to me to back off. Obviously, the detachment cannot be overnight and the delegation of duties, has to be carefully considered so everything still makes sense. This is what I intend to do. How this will work step-by-step is still unclear. Rest assured I will not hand the "keys to the kingdom" into the wrong hands, or allow the team to tear apart during this process.
Thanks for your support of our great club, and I hope we can continue to share our passion for football and our friends.
When a "bomb" goes off in one's life, one has to let the dust settle before the assessment of real damage. Such a bomb went off for me about 3 weeks ago, and though I'm still picking shrapnel out of my body, I'm finally able to see the after-math.
In truth, the problem I had was with one player only, but while reacting in pain and anger, I had involved the whole team, which I regret. I retaliated like a human, and not a cool-headed manager. This club exists for sharing the passion of football with friends, and I question the loyalty of no one. I only ask that everyone be up front with their schedule conflicts so there are no unrealistic expectations.
The after-math tells me that I must detach myself from the club. I have become too invested, financially and emotionally, and everything related to the club has become very personal for me. This is counter-productive for both me and the team. This involvement was born out of necessity over the years. I took control of the club in 2003 because I thought better organization would make the team more fun. The team needed uniforms, so I designed a logo and made the first uniforms. The team needed a keeper, so I played in goal. The team needed players to fill in now-and-then, so I paid the dues of these occasional players. It needed a morale boosts, so I made parties. It needed organization on the sidelines, so I stopped playing and traffic-controlled the substitutions.
Gradually, my tasks that were to make the team fun, became chores that were distinctly not fun for me. In retrospect, I've been unhappy for many seasons, but now, I'm in too deep to extricate myself. The club has become my child, and despite how unhappy I am, I work for its survival. My compensation had been, once the club operation ceased in the summer, I can enjoy the company of my teammates without the burden of day-to-day chores. My friends on the team justified the work running the club.
The conflict I had with my teammate and friend 3 weeks ago was emotionally damaging to me. Although it was a team matter, it quickly turned into a deeply personal insult. A matter of schedule conflict became an issue of personal loyalty to me, and the pain was all-consuming.
Once I realized that, and now that the healing process has started, I know it's time to me to back off. Obviously, the detachment cannot be overnight and the delegation of duties, has to be carefully considered so everything still makes sense. This is what I intend to do. How this will work step-by-step is still unclear. Rest assured I will not hand the "keys to the kingdom" into the wrong hands, or allow the team to tear apart during this process.
Thanks for your support of our great club, and I hope we can continue to share our passion for football and our friends.
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