The End

Tomorrow will be the end of our season and the end of my time as head coach of the Erin Mills 97 Rising Eagles Soccer Team. It was a two year challenge I took on, not knowing what was to come as I looked to develop soccer players, interact with parents and grow as a budding soccer coach.

I will definably miss coaching this team and over coming peoples expectations of what they believe is possible. In 2008 the Erin Mills Rep "C" team finished second from the bottom in the second division with a Terra raking of 130.

In 2009 I was presented the team and became head coach - in which I set a two year goal to have this team advance into the premier division. With an ambitious goal and new image they became the Erin Mills 97 Rising Eagles.

In that year we went on to win the 2009 OrangeVille Storm tournament Vs Dixie "A" team and finished second in the SRSL Second division earning a promotion to the first division heading into 2010. Our mid season Terra Ranking climbed to 109.

With my committed approach to soccer development and team play - heading into the 2010 summer season found the Erin Mills 97 Rising Eagles welcoming ten new players, building chemistry and searching for consistency in a more competitive first division.

The teams fifth place finish at the end of the season was indicative and in my opinion not over achieved but fare. We had more of a winning record Vs the top four teams than we had with the bottom four teams. However the teams Terra Ranking showed Erin Mills 97 Rising Eagles finishing the 2010 summer season in good standing with a ranking of 68.

All in all it was a two year coach experience I will never forget, my goal of getting this team into the Premier SRSL division was definably possible and maybe still achievable - all depending on what the league structure will implement.

I would like to say thank you, to all players admin and those that supported Erin Mills 97 Rising Eagles. I wish you all the best of luck with your soccer choices and great fortune as the years role by.

Coach
Don

Hey, if you would like to say good bye then this is the time - for your say.

Back to School

Its that time again... summer is over and its time for back to school. Starting off on the right foot by planing your year in advance, setting goals and milestones can increase your chance of a successful year(2010-2011). No matter what obstacle or setback might fall in your way you can always revert back to your goal you set at the beginning of the school year.

Even through as a team our plans haven't gone according to the way we would of preferred - the fact that there was a plan in place allowed us, heading into the end of our season, to still achieve a rewarding result.

There is a saying that goes like this: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

share with us your goals or advice for the up come year - It could be soccer, school or anything else of interest to you.

Burlington Access Storage Tournament

A very exciting and emotional weekend - we beat a lot of teams this past week and it goes to show that the Rising Eagles are starting to make some noise.

After coming off a spirited win over Oakville B, we headed into the Burlington Tournament on the right foot and what an accomplishment finishing first in our grouping. However playing in Burlington against their B team in the semi-finals was not going to be an easy task to pull off a win. We played tough with the lots of scoring opportunities "I would say a 55 - 45% precession for us and that in it self is lots of consolation competing with a premier team.

As a team we are starting to understand what it takes to win games... a constant focus and competitiveness for an entire game.

This week we will have three important games and there is no doubt in my mind - if we continue to play like we played this week "with high intensity" we will win all three games.

"There are soccer players, and there are people who play soccer.

There is a difference.

WHICH ONE ARE YOU?"

Over the weekend the Erin Mills 97 Rising Eagles had their garage sale and team social . With lots of support and great weather it turned out to be a successful and fun day.

As the pictures start rolling in they will be posted on blog - as of now here are a few complements of Stefani.





Thanks, Rising Eagles what a fun day :)

Woody Bailey's Appearence

Wooooo, just before practice yesterday I got to take a good look at the technical skills acquired by the 98 girl's B Team ( Jackie and Cliff Head Coach) the girls were having fun displaying their skills and you could see it in their faces.

Throughout the winter the GU12 B Team participated in Wood Bailey's Soccer School and I noticed from the last time I saw them a dramatic shift and focus on the girls foot work and confidence. The balance, hesitation, direction change and purpose the girls displayed with the ball on the field or even in a 1V1 situation captured my attention.


I've known Woody for quite a few years where he has always had the naturally soccer technical foot work that eventual allowed him to receive a school scholarship into University where he could continue developing his soccer skills.

Now, Woody is focusing on transferring his technical soccer knowledge over to youth players that are interested on developing total control of the ball. I was very interested and excited to have our girls exposed to Woody's soccer program so, I called him last night and through our conversation he has agreed on making a guest appearance for us tonight.

Here is a few video clips of what Woody will be displaying for us this evening... enjoy. :)

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Our First Tournament - Outdoor 2010 Follow-Up

For me its not about winning a championship - its all about how we compete in games. Raising ones level and handling intensity to overcome challenging competition in the face of adversity builds champions.
This weekend I believe we learned a lot about are selves as a team. Each girl on the team raised their game to the best of their ability bring a level of focus that I can say was successful. If we as players on this team continue to develop, focus and bring our highest level of intensity to games and tournaments it going to be a fun and rememberable summer 2010.

For me this quote sums up the 2010 West Niagara Tournament

"It better to try and fail, than to never try at all".

If you have an experience, thought or feeling from WN tournament share it with us by posting it here.

Our First Tournament - Outdoor 2010

Hi Eagles, we can determine if we are going to have a successful outdoor soccer season by simply bring the right attribute and mental focus to each and every individual game. One game has nothing to do with the other except- taking away something positive that will strengthen you for our next game.



Our first tournament (West Niagara Ontario Division -2010) for the year will be played this weekend and it can define how will approach and succeed this season as a team.

So, Rising Eagles lets go into this tournament compete hard, rise above all obstacles and have fun!

From the 97 Rising Eagles - Happy Mothers Day!

There aren't enough words to express the love mothers bring to the world so, here is a short poem to all you mothers in the world.

Being a man - existing, comforting, caring and sacrificing for his children is just a fraction of what mothers are made up of . Being a man - playing, laughing and entertaining is just a fraction of what mothers are made up of. Being a man - lacks the fractions of what mothers are made up of.

Thank you, mothers for being you... Don


Hey Eagles, let your mothers' know how much you appreciate and love them by posting a message here.

Burlington Exhibition game Vs Rising Eagles

As I reflect back at our last team performance - I realized we had a good showing considering - we our welcoming new Eagles into our style of playing 11v11. Even though we still have lots of areas of our game to work on we competed with a team that also moved up from the SRSL second division last year into the first division this year with us... but most importantly they have stayed together and added depth to their team.

If we continue to focus and try at practice on the key factors of development instructions and challenge our self to adjust and "get it" with an open mind - you will start to see your level of play, excitement and fun increase.

Here is some picts from our exhibition game Vs Burlington "C" team.







Leave your comment and remark on how we can gel faster as a team...

Playoff Time

Congratulations! we end the regular season in second place. Now, we must get ready for the playoffs. Its not about how your start, its really about how you finish that will define this winter soccer season.


Bringing a high soccer intensity to practice and games will defiantly allow you to enjoy a successful playoff run. Good Luck.

Playing with Intensity

There are some losses you can accept - we moved the ball, we had most of the chances but the Milton Magic wanted the game more than us. However, I would say this was one of our better games we have played in sometime... good show.

Wining games is all about being able to raise ones intensity level to sustain competition - the question is how does one do that. I realize the sooner a player starts focusing and preparing for their next game the higher their intensity level.




There is a lot of factors that help to increase a players intensity level and they vary from player to player. It all starts by reflecting back on how you prepared before your last game and did your performance live up to YOUR expectations. Continually to monitor and tweak your game preparation and experience would eventually lead you up to better understand how to increase your intensity in any soccer environment (practice or game) .

I came across an ideal check list (print it off) that will help guide you to increasing your intensity level.

If you have any other advice on how to increase ones intensity level share it with us by leaving your comments.

Staying on Top of your Game

Better effort today - we just came up a goal short to a team that wanted to win a little more than us - in my view they did deserve this game however, we did have our fare amount of chances to win.

We are now in second place at Hershey playing the first place team our "B" team next week. Even through we beat them twice this regular season the big question to me is "are we learning how to win games?"


When your winning or on top of your game what does it take to stay there?

It takes dedication and hard work to be on top of your game- it much easier to adjust and make changes as you challenge your self to climb the ladder aiming for the team or person at the top. This is why I have a new found respect for teams or individuals that constantly remain at the top of their division or profession year in and year out winning championships.

What do you feel we can add to our game to improve consistent play?

New ADP Date Added

Hi Rising Eagles - for those of you that would like an extra training day in the week. You can attend ADP - Advance Development Training on Saturdays at the U of T Mississauga campus from 11;30am to 1pm Boy and Girls U11/U12/U13/U14 .


The more touches you have on the ball the better you will be come. This is what the philosophy behind ADP is "more quality touches on the ball".

Our First Loss

Tough loss Erin Mills Rising Eagles, to the 98 Mississauga Falcon team, we just couldn’t match their energy and commitment today.

Over the last few weeks my coaching style has come under attack and maybe justifiably so. I’m a hard nose, high energy committed coach that demands accountability on and off the field and I understand that approach works with some and not others.

As the head coach of the Rising Eagles and reflecting back on today’s game made me realize I needed to explore less of an emotional and enthusiastic attachment to the outcome of games.

As this team continues to grow and succeed we will be challenged with new obstacle and setbacks it is how we handle these situation that will determine our success going forward.

"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."
~Japanese Proverb

All comments are welcome

2010 Ontario Indoor Cup - Semi &Finals

Congratulations - Erin Mills 97 Rising Eagles. We came up short against a technically and mentally tough Brampton "A" team. We have everything to smile and feel good about... of all the teams that entered the Ontario Cup we made it all the way to the semi-finals.



Keep in mind before our semi final game @ 8:00am we were playing a league game Vs Georgetown that came out hard with one thing on their minds and that was to win. We were able to show them "by wining 4-1" if the 97 Rising Eagles play as a team they are tough to beat. We now have twice beaten - two of the teams (in our indoor league) that on paper is supposed to be more superior than us according to the Terra Rankings.

So, what does that mean about what is written on paper?

Semi-Finals of the 2010 Ontario Indoor Cup.

Well, we live to fight another day. Today we rose to the occasion won 1 game and tied 2 giving us 5 points and a birth in the semi-finals of the 2010 Ontario Indoor Cup.

Tomorrow Sunday 31, 2010 is going to be our biggest challenge of our young team's showing (not saying all the other games haven't been a challenge) however we have an early 8:00am - 9:00am league game against a tough Georgetown team, then right after that we must speed off and drive to OSA center in Vaughan to produce our game books around 9:30am - with a game start of 10:00am against a strong and talented Brams "A" team.

There is no doubt in my mind that the 97 Rising Eagles are ready to take on this challenge and along the way create some life long fun memories.

Hey, support the Rising Eagles by leaving your comments and advice on posted blogs.

The Key is Nutrition

Taking a look ahead at this weekends soccer commitments (league game and Ontario Indoor Cup) leaves me thinking of two things energy and nutrition that will sustain the team for the entire weekend.





















How well we maintain and control our eating habits over this weekend will be a our biggest challenge. Picking the right food and eating at the most appropriate time could make the difference towards the end of Saturday or Sunday when the girls' bodies are searching for more carbohydrates.

My suggestion is if the girls require fun food on weekends like Pizza, burgers, fries etc... let them have it Thursday night. Come Friday we should start having the girls store up on energy reserves and preparing for Saturday.

Here is a few links that can provide you with information on preparing for this weekend nutritional task.

http://www.soccerpracticebooks.com/tip-nutrition.html

http://www.soccerxpert.com/soccertips/id1222.aspx

http://www.soccer-tournament-guide.com/SoccerTournamentNutrition.html



If you have any tips on nutrition please, share them with us by leaving your comments below.

Ontario Indoor Cup Schedule Up-date

I just received the up dated version of the 2010 Ontario Indoor Cup schedule up-date . Its going to be a week full of soccer and more soccer, I just hope I get some time to do some dancing myself...LOL.

Dancing into Onatrio Cup

Nice team win we showed a lot more composure while handling the ball today. This coming week is going to be in perpetration for this Saturdays Ontario Indoor Cup Semi and Finals games.

So, get your dancing shoes on...LOL

$1000 Raised towards Keep Smiling Alliance

This is a follow up post to yesterdays picture opt with Keep Sm iling Alliance. Brenda, the founding member of the Alliance sent us an email and pictures in appreciation.

To Everyone,

Some impressive team work. I have to say, well done, to so many today.

I will start with the team of 4 that got up with me early this morning and headed over to the Hersey Centre.

Thank you. Once again Buttercup and Bernie was superb today with the help of Caitlyn and Colin. Not only did they have everyone laughing with their dance moves but they were cute amazing on the sports floor.

As for Don Bailey and the Erin Mills 97 Rising Eagles soccer team. Wow!

They raised $1,000.00 for the Alliance. Amazing! It touched me so deeply that a group of young girls went out in the cold and sang their hearts out for those who can't sing right now. Well Done!!!!

As you can see the cheque presentation was a very memorable moment.

Thanks you,

Keep Smiling,
Brenda