November 4th - November 6th Weekend Recaps

[TKBC]

I meant it when I said I'm looking forward to it...I'm always up for a challenge! It's why we enter Coastal Cup playdowns. We know we'll come up against Div 1 teams, but the competition is good for the boys, especially going into League Cup play. And more games are always better!!

When I have a game like the one you just had, I always wish for mid week game to get right back at it!

Do you have a choice to enter Coastal Cup? Isn't it automatic entry for all Div 1 and 2 clubs?

 

[TKBC]

We played Labor day and Thanksgiving tournaments and went 2-2 in both. We are sitting at 7W 8L since going into Div 2. I'm happy with the performance. The kids are happy. It's really hard managing parent expectations. My group is exceptionally difficult with many suggestions on how I should do things, and comments on things I'm doing wrong. OH the joys of coaching. Many days I feel like retiring to the parents side of the field. LOL

In a very polite way respond and invite them to be the assistant coach. Don't remark on any other aspect of their email.

 

[rich]

Do you have a choice to enter Coastal Cup? Isn't it automatic entry for all Div 1 and 2 clubs?

Automatic for Div 1, and Div 2 teams have the option to take part.

 

[TKBC]

If we're "on" we should be OK. We just can't zone out... need to match their speed and intensity.

Regarding parents, I thought there was a 5-District rule that parents need to be on the same side as their team to keep sides seperated (when the field layout permits). Maybe that's just a Delta District rule...and all depends how each club, or even referee, enforces it.

Not a rule I've heard. But someone could scan the 5 District rule book on the web page I suppose...?

Generally the parents have no choice - almost every game is on turf and typically the field is set-up that the fence behind the benches obscures the view so the teams are both on the bench side and parents on the opposite side.

Back in the day when everything was grass.....if memory serves the rule was that teams were to be on the opposite side and parents had to be on their own team side. I recall this rule changing near the end of the grass days and things got.....interesting!

 

[TKBC]

Automatic for Div 1, and Div 2 teams have the option to take part.

hmmm, didn't know that option. That said, in my district there's usually only 3-4 teams at div 1-2 by the time you get to older groups so everyone enters! LOL.

 

[rich]

Not a rule I've heard. But someone could scan the 5 District rule book on the web page I suppose...?

Generally the parents have no choice - almost every game is on turf and typically the field is set-up that the fence behind the benches obscures the view so the teams are both on the bench side and parents on the opposite side.

Back in the day when everything was grass.....if memory serves the rule was that teams were to be on the opposite side and parents had to be on their own team side. I recall this rule changing near the end of the grass days and things got.....interesting!

Yeah, that's why I said "where field layout permits". At two of our turf fields, the benches and bleachers are on the same side. At Holly Turf, the players benches are on opposite sides, and the parents are supposed to be on the same side as their team. It may not actually be a rule, I could be remembering that wrong.

 

[easoccer]

In a very polite way respond and invite them to be the assistant coach. Don't remark on any other aspect of their email.

For the comments from parents, they don't email me, but freely offer the advice to myself or the manager. I take it in stride, but it becomes bothersome. We had parent meeting and we said that we are happy to discuss your child, but please try not to mention other kids. If you want to help with lines, playing time, etc then we could always use an extra hand. But, of course no one has the desire or time to be on the field up to 3x per week so our offer was not considered.

Not a rule I've heard. But someone could scan the 5 District rule book on the web page I suppose...?

Generally the parents have no choice - almost every game is on turf and typically the field is set-up that the fence behind the benches obscures the view so the teams are both on the bench side and parents on the opposite side.

Back in the day when everything was grass.....if memory serves the rule was that teams were to be on the opposite side and parents had to be on their own team side. I recall this rule changing near the end of the grass days and things got.....interesting!

We played on grass. We set up on the east, an hour before hand, and they set up on the west. At the start of the game we had well over 30+ parents and siblings spread on each side of our awning (maybe 5 were ours). I was impressed by their numbers, but also a bit annoyed. LOL

 

[mattieuk]

We managed a 5-2 win on the road, although we're still working through some issues and not playing as well as we were for the first few weeks of the season.

The big takeaway from the weekend was the field we played at though. I was coaching my first game at Andy Livingstone Park - goodness me what a despicable location that is for youth soccer. Does Vancouver really not have any free fields (even the dreaded grass!) that they can use to give the kids a safe place to play? Aside from the safety issues of the location, even the field was poor quality, with quite a bit of standing water on the West field (I was surprised our neighbour's game was allowed to go ahead).

 

[easoccer]

Dreaded grass? I prefer grass. IT's better for the kids. Turf is hard on them. The only benefit to turf is that the clubs don't have to close down the field after a rainy week. Of course, this excluded all of the muddy, poorly taken care of school fields, like those in Langley! LOL.

 

[mattieuk]

Dreaded grass? I prefer grass. IT's better for the kids. Turf is hard on them. The only benefit to turf is that the clubs don't have to close down the field after a rainy week. Of course, this excluded all of the muddy, poorly taken care of school fields, like those in Langley! LOL.

I'll hashtag it sarcasm next time - I'm completely on board with grass fields

In fact I requested and got a grass field last year and lost only one game - which was a District Cup game that was re-booked to our aging turf field (in order to ensure the game wasn't called off), which ended up having pooling water, and you guessed it, was called off (while my normal grass field was wet, but playable).

 

[easoccer]

I have driven by Andy Livingstone Park a few times and kind of though it was neat. But then the parking? And DT East Side a block or two away. Traffic and conflicts with the stadium goers. So many better places they could have put up a facility. I guess with the Canucks, Whitecaps, and Lions close by they figured it would be a good fit.

 

[mattieuk]

I have driven by Andy Livingstone Park a few times and kind of though it was neat. But then the parking? And DT East Side a block or two away. Traffic and conflicts with the stadium goers. So many better places they could have put up a facility. I guess with the Canucks, Whitecaps, and Lions close by they figured it would be a good fit.

Parking wasn't bad really (it was $1 per hour and quite a bit of street parking, so no biggie there - better than UBC's parking situation from my experience).

The biggest problem (apart from the field's poor condition) is the leftovers from drug use. There is a needle depository in the park, but not everyone is going to use it, and I can't imagine any coaches are going to be sending their players to the public washroom by the fields without a couple of teammates, or with their parent.

 

[Krutov]

hmmm, didn't know that option. That said, in my district there's usually only 3-4 teams at div 1-2 by the time you get to older groups so everyone enters! LOL.

We received an email about 10 days ago for the FV district and were told if we were not top 4 in div2 by Nov 5th you would not be included in the playdowns. Not that I think our team would advance but our team was devastated with injuries for the first 5 weeks of the season and this effectively killed our chances of doing that. If we had not laid an egg against Rich's team this past weekend we may have made it with a bit of help. I personally think this is wrong but I am not going to rock the boat over it and that is probably exactly what the execs would like. Now they have less games to schedule so their job is easier.

 

[TKBC]

We managed a 5-2 win on the road, although we're still working through some issues and not playing as well as we were for the first few weeks of the season.

The big takeaway from the weekend was the field we played at though. I was coaching my first game at Andy Livingstone Park - goodness me what a despicable location that is for youth soccer. Does Vancouver really not have any free fields (even the dreaded grass!) that they can use to give the kids a safe place to play? Aside from the safety issues of the location, even the field was poor quality, with quite a bit of standing water on the West field (I was surprised our neighbour's game was allowed to go ahead).

A popular Vancouver coach was complaining to the City of Vancouver about this park on twitter this weekend - sounds like a nightmare!

 

[TKBC]

We received an email about 10 days ago for the FV district and were told if we were not top 4 in div2 by Nov 5th you would not be included in the playdowns. Not that I think our team would advance but our team was devastated with injuries for the first 5 weeks of the season and this effectively killed our chances of doing that. If we had not laid an egg against Rich's team this past weekend we may have made it with a bit of help. I personally think this is wrong but I am not going to rock the boat over it and that is probably exactly what the execs would like. Now they have less games to schedule so their job is easier.

Not a totally unreasonable position by FV District. I remember winning games 10-0+ vs. Div 2 sides in the district cup coastal playdowns.