Thanks to Our Family

Girls and Parents,
A bit of a long thank you letter, but I can sometimes vocalize things better on paper than in person. So allow me to get all mushy & wax philosophical with you in what could be our last communication this season

I was having trouble finding the energy and words for this last post-Surrey game email to you because I am still disheartened (depressed) over our results vs. Surrey; because I tend to replay losses for a couple of days thinking about what things we could have done differently; what did we do?; what didn’t we do?; etc. I still can't put a finger on any one thing in that game except to say it was probably a combination of many small things and was just “one of those days” (I hate that term). It was one of those games when we did not play our usual brand of soccer and Surrey brought their "A" game.

We will accept that Surrey beat us this past weekend and on another day I am confident that things would be different. We will accept it ... but we don’t have to like it! Your response at the field to the loss was the response of a winner / champions! It was a response of a team who knew the result should have been different on most days. Surrey had a good run beating the top three teams to win the Coast Cup (i.e. us, Richmond and Vancouver). Cup play is a crapshoot at times ... one just has to look at the Premiership / FA Cup as a good example.

The fear of losing is what makes competitors so great. Show me a gracious loser and I'll show you a permanent loser. ~Football Hall of Famer
... and to quote my favourite coach ...
We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time. ~Vince Lombardi

With the above said, my heavy-heart has been brightened by going through the past year (via the website and pictures) and reviewing our accomplishments; our successes and the fun we had (both Super Y and Metro).
I would recommend going back through the year and remember some of the following ...
Our Metro Camp up in Campbell River / Miracle Beach:
• What a fantastic start to a fantastic season. Great leadership, great fun, great training, great soccer and great memories.
• camping under a huge blue tarp (doing it West Coast style)
- our games vs. the local teams (especially the boys team) with Ken Garraway watching
- Saratoga Speedway – the excitement, the thrill, the speed (and Soraya!)
- Card games and junk food around the fire
- Robyn’s fixation (obsession?) with Zip- lock bags
- The Russ Frawley caravan/equipment shed/4-wheel-drive/do-it-all big-ass truck/camper.
- Our "fans" and camp visitors who also travelled up to camp and watch the games
Our Metro Season:
• You are League Champions!
- We saw improvements in just about every statistic over last season
• Place (1st vs. 6th) and Points (48 vs. 32)
- more wins (15 vs. 9)
- less losses (2 vs. 6)
- less draws (3 vs. 5)
- same goals-for (37 vs. 37)  mmmm ... Something to work on next year?!
- less goals-against (7 vs. 26)
- better goals differential (30 vs. 11)
- more shutouts (15 vs. 4)
• We beat Semiahmoo (3-times Provincial Champs and Nationals runner-up) 3 times. We not only beat them but we shut them out all game! (3-0, 2-0, 1-0)
- We made it to the Coast Cup Final.
For Many of You We Had the Super Y Season
• We came a very close 2nd place in the league of combined metro teams (e.g. Coastal WFC is a combination of Vancouver + Richmond + Semiahmoo + Surdel)
• What can I say ... North American Champion finalists!
• Florida ... lots of memories for many of the girls.

So looking back, we have a season that was very successful. But, what I take away from it most of all is our team spirit and our ability to get the job done through some turbulent/confused times. These things make us stronger; make us grow/mature; make us better people; make us closer … make us a better team. I admire the truly special “gifts” that each of you brought / received from the team and from each other. These are that are only possible by being on a high-performing team. As I told you a while back ... This team is a family and although families do have their small fights/differences/disagreements - in the end there is an unbreakable bond and love that comes with being a family. It provides the ability to go forward through tough times.

In closing, I would like to thank...
Robyn. She has done so much work for the coaches and the team. She has worked hard organizing us, keeping us going, making sure things go smoothly so we can concentrate on the soccer. So Robyn, on behalf of the team “thank you” we appreciate you and your hard work. Best of all, it is always with a smile!

The Parents. I thank you for your support and for lending us your daughters for large chunks of time; and for (re)arranging your busy lives around the team; around the soccer and around the coaches’ whims (at times). I hope you know most decisions were made for the benefit of the team and sometime the decision are very difficult to make; and are not easily understood due to lack of context (i.e. things we saw at practises, in previous games, things specific to our opponents; specific game tactics; etc). Thanks for the support you have shown to the team (coaches and players). Mistakes were made at times and I apologize for them ... but that is part of a team (and my/our learning).

Finally to the Players. Looking at the above, I hope you will find fantastic memories that follow you next season and beyond. I hope you can see your improvements and accomplishments both as soccer players and as people. Some great lessons have been learned the last season ... this is one of the beautiful things about team sports. Sport is a small snapshot of life ... sometimes played out in one season.  Sport provides life lessons and solutions to problems.  I thank you for your dedication to the team, your attention throughout the year and I have enjoyed the special individual qualities you have each brought to our family/team.

Thanks ladies …. I will cherish this season and it has been an honour and my privilege to be with you on this year’s journey.
Cheers and enjoy!
Brad

Love the game.
Love the game for the pure joy of accomplishment.
Love the game for everything it can teach you about yourself.
Love the game for the feeling of belonging to a group endeavouring to do its best.
Love the game for being involved in a team whose members can't wait to see you do your best.
Love the game for the challenge of working harder than you ever have at something and then harder than that.
Love the game because it takes all team members to give it life.
Love the game because at its best, the game tradition will include your contributions.
Love the game because you belong to a long line of fine athletes who have loved it. It is now your legacy.
Love the game so much that you will pass on your love of the game to another athlete who has seen your dedication, your work, your challenges, your triumphs... and then that athlete will, because of you, love the game.
Love the game.