Kick-off to 2016 Fall Competitive Season

 

Sunday, August 14, 2016

 

Dear Legend Families,

Yesterday, the 3v3 Buffalo Wild Wings tournament was a great way to start up the season.  The weather cooperated with some nice shade clouds and light breezes in the morning to make it enjoyable.  It was exciting to see so many of our teams out their looking good in their new uniforms competing, bonding and having fun.  All in all, a great Saturday.

I got to meet a number of new parents to the club, and loved seeing a whole lot of our parents and siblings sporting Legend T-shirts from Soccer.com as they walked around the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.  Got to love that Legends' pride!

Now we start preparing for the Memphis Shelby Soccer Federation (MSSF) season, and I like the 'potential', and that is the operative word.  As we get going, it is important to remember that with the age change, new players, new playing rules and coaches, it is going to take time for all our teams to hit their stride.  If history is any indicator, we really start seeing improved and consistent play in the spring, as the players adapt and start to hit their stride. The philosophy of the Legends is to develop the whole player with a concentration of skill development and tactical awareness.  Coaching Director Carey Talley is working with all our coaches on a playing system that will challenge all our players but will take time to implement.  This will take time, and players will make mistakes that cost us games but over the long haul it will be beneficial to the player's development.  They have to learn how to read the game, how to make decisions, how to adapt and how to overcome.  These are not easy lessons to learn, going back to the beginning of this letter we talked about patience.  Our job is not to go for the quick and easy result, but to learn how to effectively play the game.  Remember, we are not dealing with mini adults, but young athletes who are going to try and fail.  They might fail more then we like at the beginning, but once they have learned these lessons they will be able to play anywhere and be leaders on the field.  Our coaches will need your support. This is not our first rodeo and we have, I think, by far the best coaches in the county... Coaches who know how to teach, mentor and develop young players.  They are in it for the long haul.  Believe me when I tell you that they are definitely not in it for the money or the glory but for the love of the game.  They have a passion for the game and for your kids.  We all want to win but not at the expense of our players.

I look forward to the kick off of the season, and look forward to seeing you at the Soccerplex and Mike Rose as we get this season rolling.

Go Legends!

Chris Bartels
Director
901 652-5601
memphishfl@happysoccerfeet.com
www.germantownlegendssoccer.com