US Youth Soccer Region IV

Reports will be posted when submitted by the team.

Day 7 - July 30, 2005

By: SURF Soccer G15 Team

The entire SURF Soccer G15 Team wants to thank their coaches, Ada Greenwood and Colin Chesters. We also want to thank US Youth Soccer Region IV, Cal South, and the San Diego SURF Soccer Club for their support and financial donations that made this trip to Orlando possible. Most of all, a special thanks to Mom and Dad for your love and support during all of our soccer years!

Rear: Becca, Chantel, Secia, Sarah, Grace, Lindsay, Natalie, Elise
Front: Brittany, Elie, Alex, Caroline, Veronica, Michelle, Megan, Katy

Day 6 - July 29, 2005

By: Alex, Elise and Katy

On Thursday night we went out to eat at “Chevy’s” for Mexican Food. Some of the girls on our team have a birthday during the next week, so they wore sombreros to celebrate. It was great fun!

On Friday morning we played PDA from New Jersey at 11:30 a.m. We came into the game knowing that we had a chance to make it in to the finals. It was a slim chance however we had 16 girls ready for the challenge. We had a pump-up talk analyzing our 8 years of soccer and decided we were going to bring the love of the game back to field. We wanted to play for each other, and ourselves without considering the other team in our game plan.

We dominated the first halve and had countless shots, but were unlucky when it came to scoring goals. We calmed down and represented SURF soccer in the sense that we connected passes on the ground and let the ball do the work. In the second half we had a mental breakdown and it cost us a goal. Even though we lost, we are proud of our performance today.

Day 5 - July 28, 2005

By: Natalie, Michelle, and Caroline

Yesterday, we went for a "pool stretch" in the afternoon and stayed in to rest and get energized for Thursday’s game. Dinner was pasta from the "Olive Garden" in our hotel room.

Our game on Thursday was at 7:30 a.m. at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex against the Dallas Texans. It was hot, but not as bad as yesterday. The slippery field was a factor in our game. We started off well and Natalie headed the ball in off of Caroline’s free kick in the first 10 minutes. Then the Dallas team scored a lucky goal and followed up with another in the first half. After switching our formation and focusing more on our offensive plays, it made it tougher on our back three to defend against them. It left our defense vulnerable and Dallas scored more goals. We never gave up and we were devastated after the game, but we know we can play with these teams.

We still have a chance and tomorrow, we need to score four goals and depending on the outcomes of the other game, we could possibly go on. We will stay focused and control as much of our destiny as possible. What came out of this experience is that we can lose, but we have the opportunity to become a stronger team. We will use this loss to learn from it and make us all better players in the future!

In the afternoon we each got a massage and continued to rest. On Friday we will play PDA from New Jersey.

Day 4 - July 27, 2005

By: Elie and Grace

On Tuesday night the entire team, Ada and Colin went our to eat at the Macaroni Grill for more pasta to “carb up” for the game. It was fun and the food was good. Then we had team meeting to prepare for the game.

Our first game was on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. It was really hot and sticky. We got water breaks after 20 minutes into each half. We played the St. Louis team and we scored in the first five minutes. Michelle passed it back to Elie, and Grace headed the ball into the net. It felt good to go up early. St Louis tied up the game 1-1 before half time. They played around us a lot, with good passing skills. With 3 minutes until the end of the game, St. Louis scored another goal and we didn’t have enough time to get another goal before the game ended. They anticipated a lot of the balls, which helped them get their two goals.

We were all very disappointed in the game today. For tomorrow’s game we need to use our loss to motivate us, so we can come out strong and play our usual game. We have to stick together and WIN!

Day 3 - July 26, 2005

By: Brittany and Lindsay

Last night we walked over to Downtown Disney to have dinner. We ate at the Portobello Italian restaurant. It gave us a chance to eat lots of pasta! We ended the day with a “pool stretch” and in bed by 10:00 p.m.!

We got up early on Tuesday and left for practice at 6:45 a.m. at the “Wide World of Disney Complex” again. This morning we worked on set plays and the coaches gave us a pep talk.

Right after practice we showered and started getting ready for the “US Youth Soccer National Championship” luncheon at the hotel. We got all dressed up and took lots of pictures before it started. Everyone looked beautiful! At the luncheon the guest speaker was the Head Coach from the Kansas City Wizards, Bob Gansler. Then they showed a video with highlights from the final games at Regionals. We saw Elise, Natalie, Grace, Megan, Becca and Caroline in it! It was fun to have all of the 48 boys and girls teams together ages 14 through 18. We cheered on all of the teams in the videos and we felt proud to reach this point in National competition. It pumped us up for starting the games on Wednesday.

The rest of the afternoon we watched movies, read and slept.

Day 2 - July 25, 2005

By: Secia, Megan, and Sarah

On Sunday night we had pasta for dinner and got dressed up to go to Downtown Disney. We walked around the shops and it was really fun to hang out with the girls. Even the coaches were laid back and relaxed. We have such an awesome group! We were in bed by 10:30 p.m.

On Monday, we had to wake up early to meet in the lobby by 7:30 a.m. We went to “Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex” for an hour-long practice.

The complex was impressive and it made us feel so special about representing San Diego SURF, Southern California, and Region IV! It also made us reflect on all of the hard work it took to get here. The grass was perfectly flat and they were the nicest fields we have ever played on. The fields were also wet and fast. It is still very hot and humid and we are not used to sweating so much!

After practice, we returned and had breakfast, and then everyone relaxed. Some of the girls went to the pool and stretched and some of us watched movies and hung out together. Most of us rested in the afternoon. We can’t wait for the luncheon on Tuesday!

Day 1 - July 24, 2005

By: Chantel, Becca, and Vero

We finally left San Diego for Nationals on Saturday morning. After a long haul through the airports in Albuquerque and Kansas City we arrived at our hotel in Orlando at midnight. We unpacked our suitcases and prepared for our morning workout. We took a run at 9:00 a.m.

and jumped into the pool fully clothed afterwards.

We ate breakfast and got ready for the Disney waterpark, “The Typhoon Lagoon”. The waterpark was really fun and filled with tropical trees, It was a good solution since the weather was so HOT and sticky! It even rained while we were at the park! Our favorite rides were the Bananna ride, the wave-maker, and the inner-tubes that held four of us at a time in the water.

It was not only a great start to our week, but a great bonding experience for our team!