Change of plans.

The National Weather Service issued a "winter storm watch" for Tulsa, and the league decided to cancel the games this weekend. 

ಠ_ಠ

So...make sure you cancel your hotel reservation. I'm told you have until 4pm Friday to do that, but why wait? Same with air travel and rental car if you had one.

Try to keep your Saturday open, we may schedule a friendly with the '99 or '01 girls.

Now, what's cooler than being cool?

ICE COLD!

In case you haven't looked at the forecast, it is supposed to be very cold in Tulsa this weekend. Bone chilling cold. Houston-would-shut-down-completely cold.

The lows are going to be in the teens, the highs below freezing. It's supposed to snow on Friday and perhaps Saturday and Sunday too.

Now...take that with a grain of salt. Forecasts are always wrong on some level. It's been said you could take all the economists in the world, and all the meteorologists in the world and have them swap jobs, and no one would notice. However, we should plan on the worst case scenario.

In addition to your full kit, and including the long sleeve jersey, I would recommend some sort of base layer. Gloves and a hat will be important. If your daughter plays a position where she is expected to make throw-ins, make sure the gloves have some sort of grip.

Off the field, staying warm will be a priority. Make sure you bring the warm-up suit at a bare minimum. I would think while sitting on the bench, you'll want at least one extra layer. Substitution rules are different in NPL - once you come out, you can't go back in for that half. We will have fewer substitutions.

Just as a reminder, 6:00-8:00 PM today and Wednesday.

Into December

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I have a couple things to report. 

I hope everyone is enjoying the week off. Next week we will train 6-8pm on Monday and then again at 6-8 on Wednesday. We will take Thursday off, since many of us will be traveling on Friday. 

As you may have noticed, ODP tryouts are the same weekend as the Tulsa trip. If your daughter is interested in ODP, please let me know ASAP. The deadline to register is December 3. 

Here is the link:

http://www.stxsoccer.org/ODP/index_E.html#.UpeGsee9KSN

Thanksgiving week

We will be off the week of Thanksgiving. So enjoy the time off, recover and recuperate. 

We will be back at it on Monday, December 2 and that week before Tulsa. After Tulsa, we will have another break until January. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for the girls' strong performances lately and that everyone should be back to being healthy soon!

Ryan

This weekend and more...

As you know by now, this weekend will be the last two SCL games for the season.

Saturday we play Challenge - Aggieland at 4:00pm at Burroughs Park #1. We are the away team, so we will wear white. Be sure to bring navy too.

Sunday we play our make up game against Challenge. The time of this game has changed to 12:00 noon. We are away on this one as well, so I hope you don't mind doing some laundry Saturday night. We'll wear white again. But be sure to bring navy. Kat will be joining us on Sunday, so be sure to make her and her family feel welcome.

We are too far behind in the standings to win SCL, but these games still matter! The bottom two teams are at risk of going back down to EDDOA. 

I think everyone is squared away for Tulsa. If anyone has questions, concerns, issues, please let me know.

I am told that our long sleeve jerseys are shipping out today, which means we should have them well before Tulsa. And my guess is we will need them there.

Our plan is to continue practicing until the games in Tulsa, except for the week of Thanksgiving.

See you this weekend!

RC

Saturday in San Antonio

One more week of travel. We play Classics Elite on Saturday in San Antonio at 1:00 PM. This is the same place and the same team we played there last time. 

The fields are at:

11600 Starcrest Drive

San Antonio, TX 78247

Let's shoot to be there at noon. For those of us driving up Saturday morning, we will need a little extra time to loosen up after being in the car. 

I know eating on the road can be challenging, but let's try to fuel the girls with something healthy before the game. The heavier the meal, the more time they'll need to get it down before the game. Plan accordingly. 

It looks like it will be a beautiful day. The forecast is for sunny and 73 degrees. It may be a little windy however. 

We are the home team, so let's wear NAVY. Please bring the entire white kit though. 

If you've checked the SCL standings lately, you know that we are still in the hunt, although it will be a tight finish. I think the best plan here is to win these last three games convincingly. 

Do me a favor and pass this along to your daughter... On the drive up, let her put on some headphones and her favorite music, and encourage her to close her eyes and spend 10-15 minutes visualizing how she wants to play in the game. She knows what position she's likely to play, she knows what she's capable of, and she knows what it takes to win. Have her construct that image in her head, so that when game time comes, she has already "seen" how it unfolds - with a win. 

RC 

October 26 Game

Saturday October 26 we play the Lonestars 00 at Burroughs Park (field 2) at 2:00 PM. 

We are the home team, so let's wear NAVY, but bring the entire white kit. 

Y'all saw Mark's email this week, and there's not much I can add... Let's get a big win tomorrow. 

Also, you may have noticed that our game with Challenge that got cancelled last weekend has been moved to Sunday, November 10 at 10:00 am. 

Next weekend we are in San Antonio at 1:00 PM. 

October 19 game - UPDATED

This is the game to win. We are playing Challenge. They are on top of the bracket. We tied them earlier, and I think we outplayed them. 

We are back at Burroughs Park on field #1 at 10:00. Let's wear white, and bring navy. Please arrive before 9:15. In case you haven't noticed, our second halves tend to be better than our first halves, so it's imperative that we get in a proper warmup. 

The forecast is showing a temperature of 61 at game time and a 40% chance of thunderstorms, so be prepared. I'll send out an email and post here if there is a change due to weather. 

RC 

UPDATE - game will be rescheduled due to water on the field. Stay tuned. 

Saturday in Austin

I think you all know that tomorrow's game is in Austin. We are playing the '01 Lonestars. 

Game time is 3:00 PM. Let's try to be there an hour before, it may take a little longer to warmup after being in the car. (Remember how well the second half went in San Antonio?)

Be aware that there is a chance of rain. 

Google maps says it's about a 2.5 hour drive from my house. The fields are at the Northeast Metro Park. The address is:

2703 E. Pecan Street Pflugerville, TX 78660

Let's wear white, and you know what I'm going to say next....bring navy. 

The other thing we should bring is the attitude, athleticism, confidence, and desire to win big. 

I truly believe that we have the strongest team in SCL. In each game so far, we have shown that we can be the dominant team. The score hasn't always reflected that, but that's soccer sometimes. My request is for the girls to leave no doubt about just how good we are. 

More Tulsa info

The hotel we are looking at is the Hilton Garden Inn - Midtown. 

http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/oklahoma/hilton-garden-inn-tulsa-midtown-TULMDGI/index.html

Several other Express teams will be there. 

United has more direct flight options, but Southwest has a couple of direct flights as well. It looks like this one has potential.

Friday - Depart at 3:25pm, arrive at 4:50pm
Sunday - Depart at 12pm, arrive at 1:30pm

I am planning on renting a van or large SUV or something. So, I'm happy to help people get around.