Sean's Shadow Spiel

Our first full Shadow season together is coming to a close and fittingly as we move into what is finally Spring, our second will begin.  Overall, it has been a great year for the club, our membership grew, our coaching staff grew, and our kids got to play soccer!

We had numerous teams do well on the field:  U11Boys were Co-Champions of the U12 Fall District division, U13, U14 and U15 Boys all were promoted to a higher division based on their league performance; the U13, U14, U16, U15 Sky and U17 Girls were also promoted.  State Cup play has seen our club succeed as well, with having more teams than any other club in Eastern Washington advance to the knock out stages.  Our U14G lost in dramatic fashion in the elimination round, going out on a penalty kick shootout.  Trust me, they will remember that experience - and that's what it is about!  While it hurts a little now, it was a great run and a great experience.  Our U13 Girls will play this coming weekend in the semi-finals, as will our U16 Girls; Congratulations!  This is a great accomplishment and we all wish you well in the next round; neat stuff!  Our U17 Girls and U14 Boys advanced to the quarter finals-the final 8!  Good, good stuff.  Our U15 Boys had previously advanced to the knock-out stages (their State Cup was earlier in the winter) and the U13 Boys had a great run to advance to the elimination round, putting up a great fight in their last game.  In addition, we have put together a U19 Girls team that will seek to win yet another State Cup title during Memorial Weekend; it should be exciting!

What to make of it all?  I think it is a great tribute to our players and our coaches.  They've put in a great amount of time, dedication, and work.  And it is nice to see some rewards come through.  What is also important is that we can all take pride in the work put in by our players and coaches.  I've watched the great improvement of our U15 Girls teams, seen the U12 Boys play very good soccer, watched our U13 Girls Sky team compete very well in their league, seen our U11 Boys Sky team come up with great goals, watched our U11 and U12 Girls teams work very hard - just neat to see.  We've also seen a number of our U18 Girls commit to universities and colleges to play collegiate soccer (see article below).  No club in Eastern Washington has placed the number of players at the collegiate level than Shadow in the past few years.  All of our teams, players, and coaches have defined Shadow Soccer, so I thank you!

What the above also says, is that our philosophy is working.  We are focused in on the player and trying to do right by him or her.  We are far from a perfect club; however, we are making strides to be better and there is a lot to be excited about.  We do believe there is no better place as we strive to be, "The Place for The Competitive Player."

Lastly, I do thank the parents for their commitment to their child and to our club.  Your support says a lot about your love for your child as you sacrifice time, energy, and money so your child can play.  I want you to know that I do not take that lightly.  What a huge part of the club you are!  Thank you.

Oh, and one more very important fact to call your attention to on our website:  former Shadow standout and current WSU freshman, Ali Fenter, was invited into the U20 National Team camp!  For a player there are few greater individual accomplishments than to be recognized by our country's National Team program.  Congratulations Ali; what a great credit to your work, your ability, and your dedication!

Tryouts:
You would think tryouts would be an exciting time and time that you look ahead to see what our potential will be.  There is some of that, but mostly us coaches look forward to it being over.  For players, I am sure much is the same.  For the parents, it is much, much worse.

We get afraid of seeing our child hurt.  I experienced it myself last year when I had to break it to my 11 year old that he did not make the team he tried out for; ugh, the pain.  Thankfully, it was short lived and he really has blossomed this year. 

My recommendation to parents is to have a realistic conversation with your child, telling him/her that there is a chance things may not go the way we would like; however, without taking a chance in anything that we do, we have no chance of succeeding.  Being willing to succeed is being willing to fail.

To be fair, I think players understand this better than parents.  We know it but we don't want our child to experience hurt, and rightfully so.  At the same time, no coach enjoys hurting the feelings of a child.  Shoot, even tryouts at the college level are not enjoyable for me.  There is no pleasure in telling someone that we are not going to meet your desires.

Our philosophy at tryouts is to form teams that will have a competitive balance throughout; teams that can have a chance at succeeding at the level they are placed at.  We are open to any player having a chance to do that, as that is our responsibility to our community--to offer opportunities. 

Certainly, players that are in the Club already have an advantage as they are known best.  For the overwhelming majority of our players, their tryouts occur over the course of the entire season-in games and just as importantly, in practices.  They have a portfolio that the coaches evaluate from.  A new player only has the tryout period of the one or two days.  But to both types of competitors, we seek to be fair.  The returning player has no guarantees of a spot; the spots continue to be earned.  The new player must fight his/her way in to an established team.  But again, to both we seek to be fair; that is our charge.  Ultimately, who fits the best where is what we strive to do.  We are not perfect and we will make mistakes but our process seeks to be as pure as possible.

See you on the field! 
 
Sean
Sean Bushéy
Technical Director

50 families attended Shadow Information Night to learn more about
the club and 2009 Tryouts!