European football leagues are the greatest competitive leagues in the world - specially because there are divisions of play in the professional leagues and promotion and relegation that dictate where teams play from year to year.  Play poorly and finish in the bottom three, and you drop from the top league to the second division! No team is exempt from relegation! 

In fact, the 2016 champions of the league, Leicester City, were relegated last year and played in the second division this year (today they earned promotion back to next year's Premier League.)

This year, alongside massive clubs in the Premier League is tiny Luton Town FC, who in 2010 were in the fifth division of English football! Many brilliant and successful seasons later, they have been promoted five times all the way up to the Premier League! Alas, they look destined for relegation at the conclusion of this season.

Since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, only six teams have been in the league the entire time...and hearing that, you might think it would be the "Big Six" - Liverpool, both Manchester clubs - United and City - and Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal from London.

But little known fact is that...Manchester City was out of the Premier League from its inception until 2002 (it has not been relegated since, and is surely the premier club in the league for the past ten years.)

Meanwhile...ahem...Everton (from Liverpool) has been in the league every year, and has the second longest running streak in first division football in England, having been in the top flight since 1954. (Arsenal has been in the top division since 1919.) 

Today, Everton (can you tell I am a fan of the Toffees?) won their third game in a row, thereby clinching a respectable mid-lower table finish and that they would be in the Premier League in 2024-25. I would say it was never in doubt, but...it was definitely in doubt.

Nonetheless, Go Toffees!

My older brother, younger sister, and I were all fortunate enough to play soccer from a very early age. My parents both loved the game, and my father, a college soccer player himself, coached my youth teams into my high school years. All three of us went on to college soccer careers.

(Small note of pride in our family is that my mother, in the mid-1980's, despite not having played the game herself, started a middle and then high school GIRLS soccer program - previously the girls had to play on our boys teams - in advance of when my sister would enter the HS so that she had her own team to play on. It was one of the first programs in the state of NJ.) 

My parents also took our education very seriously, and we had wonderful role models and understood the primary importance of attending to our studies, both as a discipline and as an intellectual curiosity. 

As it so happens, I progressed as a soccer player to be, for that time, a very high level player on a state, regional and even national level. So, as I moved into my senior high school years, I was recruited to play at the collegiate level at a number of schools. Foremost in my mind, above finding the best soccer program, was finding the appropriate challenge and fit for me academically. Thankfully, I was able to parlay my playing ability into a commitment at a school that indeed provided both.

People ask me all the time if it's possible to balance academics with athletics, specially if you strive to play at an NCAA level. And, sometimes players will tell me they don't want to play at a college level because they think it would just be too much to balance. To which I usually reply with one of the following:  A) tell me how it goes to balance your academics with the carousing you might do instead, B) the discipline instilled by athletics will only help your time management with your studies, C) how come athletes are usually the highest GPAs on campus? or  D) personally, my worst academic quarters were when I was out of season, and I had plenty of time for the aforementioned carousing, or for sand volleyball, and weekend trips to the city, but not so much for actually studying.

I pretty much always got a 4.0 during season. I am sure I never got one in the off-season. Huh?

If you are done with soccer, or don't want to play your sport in college, or your heart is set on a college that you would be unable to play at, I 100% respect that. But, find something to do at that university or college that helps give you the discipline that your sport currently helps to provide.

Lecture finished.

And now allow me to segue...into offering my time and advice with meeting with you and your parents to discuss your options at the next level. There are so many different levels of play, so many different fits. And there are so many reasons to do so - health, friends, discipline, honing teamwork skills for your future career, and yes, better grades.

I know your clubs offer "college advisory programs" and this should be your best resource, but sometimes, those same clubs are too big to offer you personal advice, or you feel ignored by them. Let me know if you want to chat and I will make an appointment. I will offer honest and practical advice, and am thrilled when players tell me, "Hey Coach, I committed to play at ..."

Final note: perhaps you have stopped by my office at the school and seen the college and professional jerseys on the wall. Hidden in there is indeed my own college jersey. But I am way more proud and honored to hang the rest - jerseys of players who played at EHS. I would love to add your future jersey to my classroom beginning next year, which will feature a more expanded section than I currently have room for!  

Over the past two weeks we have had two games that ended with a 10-0 scoreline for us.

Here is my approach in those games - ask our players to respect the other team enough to... play at their best, both collectively and personally, to pressure the other team and win the ball back, to play pretty soccer and use good patterns of play, to be respectful toward the other team, commit no fouls, tolerate absolutely no laughter or demeaning behavior, and to celebrate our successes professionally.  I also attempt to get everyone involved as equally as possible. In one of the games we put a hard 1 goal per player limit, and subbed players off as they scored. In the other, as long as a player was playing at a high level, playing unselfishly, they remained on the field, but we made sure all of our players got significant playing time.

I was pleased with our attitude and our professionalism in both of those games, and, per the above, I think we succeeded at holding those ideals.

Hopefully our opponents respect that approach. 

The other benefit to OUR team of these game is the need to rehearse certain attacking plays and try to improve our efficiency in the attacking end. Our game this week, for instance, will be very competitive, our chances limited, and thus, we will need to be very efficient in cashing our chances into actual goals this week. 

Haha. But, amazingly, we are only two weeks from the end of the regular season, and have only four remaining regular season games, three of them league contests.  And two weeks from today, we will be meeting to celebrate the end of the regular season at our annual banquet.

The banquet is a great chance for an all-program "team dinner" - we celebrate our successes, take stock of where we are as we head into the playoffs, and mostly, we honor our senior class. And the Class of 24 has so much to be proud of. Mary Cox (4), Mallory Ellington (3), Brooke Gimbel (4), Kenedy Jiron-Baker (2), Gretchen Lynch (3), and Stellan Stewart (2) have earned 18 Varsity letters, have been to a Final and two Quarterfinals in the State Championship, and have won two league titles, in 2021 and 2022. 

And we have a chance for those seniors to get a third league title. The Jeffco 4A league is very strong this year, and as we head into the last two weeks, FIVE teams have one loss - us, Golden, Green Mountain, D'Evelyn, and defending champion Dakota Ridge. There are lots of big games to be played, and while we do not ultimately control our destiny in the league, we can give ourselves a very good chance if we win our remaining contests - Standley Lake and Wheat Ridge this week, and Dakota Ridge on the final day of the season, Thurs, May 2.

My approach to these final weeks is on improving every game or practice - in all elements of the game - possession, shape, movement, decision-making, technique, managing the games, and mostly, sharpening our mentality into that of a champion. If we are focused and competitive at our games, and at our training, we will be getting better, and will be a tough team to beat! 

Sko' Cougs!

I really enjoyed the entire afternoon and evening Monday - an Evergreen classic. I went outside at 3:30 in T-shirt and shorts and thought I was perfectly dressed. More on that later. We had a teacher appreciation event before the JV game against Develyn, and our teachers were very thankful for your invites and your engaging with them. They all stayed to watch parts of both games...and many of them came by this morning to tell me how impressed they are with your skill, enthusiasm and obvious passion for the game.

First came the JV game against Develyn, in which we came from behind to claim a win. Well done!

And then it was time for the Mountain Bowl. I am not a meteorologist, but 72, relatively calm and sunny at 3:30 PM...became a zephyr and I am pretty sure the wind chill at 8:00 was -10 degrees, but that might just be my advancing age. Let's call it air temp of 42 and feels like 25. 

Before the game, we talked about an overall respect for the opponent, for their players and coaches, and for conducting ourselves in a sporting manner. The girls did amazing at taking their opponents seriously, never being disrespectful, and playing to a high level against a weaker opponent. We stressed patterns of play and our shape, pressuring the opponent to win the ball back, and playing selflessly. 

Our seniors led us onto the field and I thought we played a fantastic game, and were it not for the amazing saves of their goalkeeper, the game would have ended much sooner. We had ten different players score goals, including some first Varsity goals for some of our players! Congrats. Here's a great shot of the team holding the trailing trophy for the Mountain Bowl.

At the end of the year, the Jeffco coaches get together to vote for the players from Jeffco 4A who will be selected All-Conference. Additionally, we select players of the year- Offensive, Defensive, and Overall League MVP. I lobby hard for our EVG players to be recognized, and feel the conference does a great job selecting and honoring those players.

There is one vote for which there is no lobbying at the meeting - the Sportsmanship award. Coaches may choose three opponents they feel are the most sporting in the conference...and the choice is determined in advance - by our conduct and actions on the field, and in the stands. While many votes go to schools who are less competitive, and garner sympathy votes, it really says a lot if our program is included in the Top 3 at the end of the year, precisely because we are  a top finisher and play so competitively. I am happy to say that we have a respected program and that we traditionally are in this Top 3.

With that in mind, I feel it necessary to remind our program that playing in a sporting manner benefits us - it implies discipline, not giving up needless fouls in dangerous areas, not incurring yellow or red cards, and staying focused on positively impacting the game through our skill, positioning and soccer IQ. Finally, it keeps the tenor of the games at a competitive but not violent or out of control level, thus insuring better safety for our players.

On the other hand, on-field play...AND off field behavior from the stands that is unsporting...often accomplishes the opposite - it ratchets up the heat of the game and almost always endangers our young athletes. It also leads to undisciplined play that will be punished at crucial times in big games.

With that in mind, here are a few things to repeat after yourselves as you enter the stadium - whether as a competitor or spectator.

Honor and respect the coaches, the referees, the opponent, the stadium crew, and, yes, the opposing team's fans.

Ignore the worst behavior of your opponents or their fans, and trust that personnel (referees or administrators) will handle it. At the least, if we are behaving well, it makes it a lot easier for administrators and referees to know who or what it is they are addressing.

Be leaders and be courageous - ask OUR spectators and guests to be better, to be positive, and to represent our school and community well. If someone asks that of you, understand how difficult it is for them to have done so, and double down on your efforts to be POSITIVE and sporting.

Demand of ME and my coaches that we are true to this word - that if we see unsporting behavior from OUR players, that we will discipline, correct, counsel or correct that behavior. We have already done so on multiple occasions this year.

I want to win games, and I want to win our conference, but at the end of the season, I sit in a room with my fellow coaches and some administrators, and it is a lot more important to me that we are genuinely respected as a program. There is NOTHING better than pulling off the double of being named Conference champs AND Most Sporting Team.

Thanks much for reading and continuing to work on our program's culture! Coach
 

In addition to the 8 conference teams we will play this year, we have 7 non-conference foes. I choose the opponents we opt to play very carefully, playing against coaches and programs who are among the most respected in the state - from both a sporting and a competitive standpoint. These challenging games allow us to measure ourselves against the best in the state, keep us in sporting environments, and help us to prepare for the difficult games we will face in the playoffs.

This Tuesday we will play Ralston Valley for perhaps the 10th or 11th straight year. They are a very competitive and talented program - annually one of the top teams in Jeffco 5A, and a perennial state playoff entrant, with frequent deep runs in the 5A playoff. But, that describes us as well on the 4A level, so i believe the overall record for us in this game is around .500, and I believe neither team has beaten the other by more than a goal in the history of this rivalry. I expect a terrific game once again, and may the team that executes better win, or as often occurs, DRAW.

That game will serve as the perfect lead-in to conference play. While one eye is always on the playoffs, the most important regular season goal is to compete and hopefully win our Jeffco 4A conference, historically the top conference in the state over the past 15 years. In my tenure, we have been fortunate to win Jeffco 4A on five occasions - 2015, 2019, 2020*, 2021, and 2022. Last year we finished third, behind both Green Mountain - our opening conference opponent Thursday - and the champion, Dakota Ridge, who indeed went on to win the State Playoff last year.

On years that we are fortunate enough to win the 4A league, we make T-shirts for the girls. I know I am not exactly a fashion hound...but it goes without saying that these are among my most prized clothing possessions. Simple Cotton T's that say "Jeffco League Champion" with the year on them. Now, that's a T-shirt I would like to be wearing at the end of the year! 

​Let the games begin!

Which way will your fitness go during this Spring Break? It can get worse, stay the same or actually improve. 

One of the most challenging aspects of High School soccer is the ratio of games to days in the week. There are just so many games and in such challenging conditions, that it is very difficult on a HS athlete. That in turn creates the need for recovery days, both mental and physical.  

Thus, it is hard to fit in all aspects of fitness during our training; flexibility, aerobic and anaerobic cardiovascular training, strength and core work. So, Spring Break actually presents a great opportunity, absent the pressures of playing in matches, to work on your overall fitness and set yourself up for healthier, more fit months of April and May. And it doesn't have to be a misery to do so.

Here is my suggestion:

Every other day - aerobic workouts  of 30-35 minutes of distance running (4 miles) or 45 minutes of stationary biking (12 miles). 

On the alternating days, begin with 20 minutes of personal soccer ball work and then do an Anaerobic workout such as the 800-600-400-200 yard challenge we have done, or 6 sets of 40 second 200 yard sprints with 1 minute breaks in between. These workouts will take you only 15 minutes tops.

NOTE: You can substitute a hard day skiing or hiking for either of these aerobic or anaerobic workouts.

And then get in 4 to 5 yoga, core workouts, or extended stretching sessions at a studio or with the use of an online app such as peloton or youtube.

Doing this with a partner that you are on vacation or stay-cation with, will really help.

This will have an immediate impact on your ability to play better and for longer, to not get injured, and on your mental resilience on the field. Your coach will notice! It will also help our team as we approach the closing months of the season.

Accountability - record your workouts and show your coach what it is you did over the break. I too plan to record what it is I did over the break and share with the team. Hopefully even your coach is a little less sore and a little more fit as we exit Spring Break. Have fun!

...is to watch MORE soccer. Players who regularly watch the highest levels of the game, and have a purpose behind it, will improve more than if they do not do that. Tactics, positioning, decision-making, mentality, even techniques can actually improve just from regular viewing.

So, here is my suggestion for how to actually make that work. Pick a professional English club to support, get to know their players, and watch specially the players who play your position, or who you resemble and want to emulate. You will start to learn what to DO, and also to NOT DO what professional players never do (if that makes sense.) 

Why English clubs? Their leagues - the men's Premier League and the women's Super League - are the best in the world by far and also are the most easily accessed on your TV. And their clubs are historic and iconic and are improving.

Pick one of the BIG six clubs: Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, or Chelsea - their teams are always competitive, the most featured teams on TV, and are rarely if ever in danger of being relegated to the second division. Right now, those six clubs are first through sixth in the Super League (!) and are five of the top six in the Premier League (Chelsea is having a poor season by their standards and are currently 11th.)

I don't care if you pick a team because of its colors, its history, because of its position today in the table, or because you really like a certain player. Just pick a team...and then stick with it. And watch both the women and the men play for YOUR new club. I will be asking for YOUR club by Tuesday the 12th when we have a bus trip down to CO Springs! 

FINALLY...as girls soccer players, support and watch your US women's national team every time you can. Tomorrow night they play Columbia in a big quarterfinal Gold Cup match at 6:15 PM, with the game being shown on Paramount Plus. Coming off a poor Women's World Cup this past summer, the USA continue to show that they are no longer the dominant team they once were, losing to Mexico in a group match this past week for the first time EVER on US soil. 

It was great to get our start on the field with practices this week, culminating in today's scrimmages at Dakota Ridge (JV) and Chatfield (V).  I thought our girls played super hard, and the one characteristic I really liked was the willingness to learn, or to put a single word on it - coachability. We did a lot right, and some not so right, but players were soaking up feedback and improving as the day went on.

My highlight of the week was seeing our whole program together this Wednesday for uniform sign-out, then team bonding, and finally a program meeting.  At the end of the program meeting, we - players, coaches, parents - made some noise and did a "Cougars on Three" chant. I do that annually so that everyone in the program can feel ownership for building and nurturing the program's culture. We want our program to be steeped in selflessness, teamwork, respect, effort, purpose, encouragement, positivity, resilience. Those characteristics in our players, more than anything, make for an excellent program. 

This week we began to give out Cory the Cougar. Cory has already been given to 5 players on the JV team for being Cougars of the Day - to Anya, Devyn, Audra and to Sophie and Sydney, all for excellence in one or more of those characteristics above.  I would like for all of those players to come visit me at the office on Monday to get your picture with Cory!