OG/AC

At the time of this writing it looks like we're cleared to go again on Monday February 11th at 7 pm. We should finish up around 8:30 or so.

OG/AC update

Today, January 28 there will be OG from 7 pm until about 8:30 pm. Next week there will not be OG due to NW hosting the girls basketball sectionals. We will hopefully be back at the AC the following week, February 11th.

No OG/AC on January 14 & 21.

On January 14 three basketball home games will be played at NorthWood, therefore we won't be able to get the AC that night. January 21 is Martin Luther King day and there will be no school or OG that day. The next OG will be on Monday January 28 at 7pm.

OG/AC January 7,2008

Open Gym at the AC will be at 7 pm and run until about 8:30 or 8:45 this coming Monday, January 7. If there is a change, an announcement will be made.

Update on NW soccer records- OG/AC done for 2007

Changes have been made to the NW soccer records to reflect the true school records.

Open Gym in the AC concluded Monday for 2007. The next OG will take place on January 7, 2008 at 7 pm. If the starting time needs to change due to basketball, an announcement will be made that day.

OG/AC update

Starting Monday December 3rd, we will have Open Gym from 7:30pm (following basketball practice so the time is approximate) until 9 or 9:15pm. So, new time, same place.

OG/AC November 19, 2007

Coach Duerksen enjoying SWAP DAY


Open Gym for Monday November 19; Same time, same place.

OG/AC

Open Gym will be tonight at 7 pm at the AC and run until about 8:45 pm.

2007 MVP's

Mike Schmitt and Edgar Villegas-Boys Soccer MVP's

2007 Fall Awards

Edgar Villegas and Mike Schmitt are the 2007 co-MVP's for NorthWood Boys Soccer. As Coach Duerksen said in his presentation in front of all Fall athletes, coaches and parents, Edgar was the unanimous offensive selection for MVP and Schmitt was the defensive selection for MVP. Micah Shaw received the Most Improved Player Award and Dustin Eby was the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award. Tonight was the official end of the 2007 soccer season. Obviously it was the school's most succesful season overall. The coaching staff is looking forward to the 2008 season. For as far as the coaches are concerned, that season has already started with the Open Gym's on Monday nights. I would like to thank Coach Duerksen for attempting to promote my blog all night long. On a different note, all announcements regarding the Open Gyms will be posted here as well. I will try to get the MVP picture from the Truth on thiss site after it appears on their newspapers' website.

MSRA names Schmitt GK of the year!!!

The Michiana Soccer Referees Association selected NorthWood goalie Mike Schmitt the Goalkeeper of the year for 2007.Congratulations to Holy Schmitt. This is the first time a NorthWood player received a player of the year award from the MSRA.

NorthWood Boys Soccer Fall Awards

It is a busy week considering it's the off season. Tonight is the usual Open Gym at the AC at 7 - 9 pm. Tomorrow night is the annual Fall Awards night. Letters, patches, captains plaques, ALL NLC, MVP, most improved and mental attitude will all be awarded. Results and pictures will be posted on Wednesday.

NW Soccer game field

On Sunday October 21, 2007 I had the opportunity, because of my job, to view the tornado devastation from the air . While flying over Nappanee, I took several pictures of the damage but I also took this picture of our game field. So this is what it looks like when the season is over with and the nets are taken down. With thanks to our helicopter pilot Randy Sharkey from the Goshen Airport.

2007 Sectional Champions & Regional Runner-up

2007 Images -part 2

2007 Images -part 1

2007-2008 STATS

NW boys soccer team with the Sectional trophy.

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Record 11-8-2 / 2-4-1(NLC) (11 wins ties NW record)

Goals:
Edgar Villegas -15
Seth Douwsma-10
Rogelio Patino-3
Cesar Salinas-3
Ben St. Germain-3
Brandon German-2
Robby Burns-1
Micah Shaw-1
Josh Stump-1
RyanLincoln-1

Assists:
Edgar Villegas/Seth Douwsma - 9
Robby Burns-4
Brandon German- 3
Rogelio Patino/Micah Shaw-2
Ben St. Germain-1

NLC Stats:
Edgar Villegas- 4 goals/2 assists
Seth Douwsma-1 assist
Rogelio Patino-1 goal
Micah Shaw-1 assist
Josh Stump-1 goal

Total points:
Edgar Villegas-39
Seth Douwsma-29
Rogelio Patino-8
Robby Burns-6
Brandon German-7
Micah Shaw-4
Cesar Salinas-6
Ben St. Germain-7
Josh Stump-2
Ryan Lincoln-2

Shutouts:
Mike Schmitt - 7(* NorthWood record)

NorthWood Boys Soccer - 2007 In review

In July of 2007 the team went to the Summer Soccer Showcase in Anderson,IN. During the two days of the tournament NW won all three games, the last one on pk's. This 3-0 run gave the team a lot of confidence going into the regular season. The theme of passing to feet, talking and running off the ball was implemented and told to the team after the first game.

The team's goal was to try and get to .500 and get more wins then last year's team and try to win back to back sectionals.

After the tournament, the coaching staff thought that the team could do even better then that if it kept developing. The coaches were hoping to get double digit wins, win the sectional and contend for a top three spot in the NLC.

With wins against Wawasee, a draw against Warsaw and a narrow loss against Northridge it looked as if a top three spot was still a possibility. But after a couple of NLC losses and despite beating Memorial for the first time in a while, the best we could do was where we eventually ended up, #6. Mike Schmitt and Edgar Villegas did have quite a few good NLC games.

There were quite a few highlights this year and very few lows. The game against Goshen Concord and Plymouth were disappointing in the fact that they were conference losses. The loss against Angola was not expected and it was the hope of the coaches that after that loss, things would turn around. It had to because it was play off time. The team responded extremely well which showed in the work ethic in the practices leading up to the first game in sectionals. It was good to get a win against LaVille under our belt and give ourselves a shot to win another sectional title. The finals against Bremen was approached in a focused manner and the 3-0 win can be attributed to the entire team; all players got playing time in the finals. The practices after the sectional finals went to a higher level yet. It seemed that ALL players gained confidence from playing and winning the sectional title.

The next game versus South Bend Clay in the Regional Semi Final was one of the best, if not THE best, game ever to be played by a NW soccer team. To come back from a first half deficit, to survive 2OT and to go into the PK shootout with a lot of confidence is something I'll never forget as a coach. We expected to win the shootout and we did! Despite the rainy and cold weather, a lot of fans came out and supported the team and it felt good to give a good performance.

Last saturday the team played Elkhart Central in what would turn out to be the final game of the season. The half time score was 4-0 and we knew it would be nearly impossible to score 4 goals to tie a school that was State runner up last year and ranked 12th during the '07 season. We also felt a little unlucky. The first half was started by us playing a little flat and near the end of the first half we saw a couple of bad calls that cost us 2 goals. We played much better in the second half and despite knowing that the opponent was better then we were, we only gave up one more goal.

All in all, this has been the most succesful soccer season at NorthWood. And that is a testament to this team. They came together as a team, never had any issues within the group and all players got along. I will never forget the weird "things" some of the couples did, "Carry me home", the chanting of "Larry, Larry, Larry" as we got close to the school, the time we spent taking water off the field, hundreds of buckets at a time, the tournaments and I could go on, but this truly was a team that was fun to hang out with. The eight seniors, Edgar, Rogelio, Holy, Dustin, Micah, Robby, Josh and Robbie will be missed. It is my hope that the 13 others who already were on the varsity, complemented by whoever else will make the varsity next year, will be able to make next year's group as much as a cohesive team as these seniors were able to. Good luck to all the seniors and all to all others; it's time to dedicate yourself to next year's team. So, we will see everyone on Monday's at the AC from 7:30 - 9pm!!!!!!!!!

I also want to thank the parents for supporting their sons and the team throughout the season. Thanks for the food , snacks and fruits. Thanks for hosting meals, taking tickets at the game, having your kids run balls and staffing the concession trailer. Thanks for helping with the car wash and thanks for all the little things all of you did but went unnoticed by oblivious coaches. Hope to see you here, on this blog, again next year.

#12 Elkhart Central- NorthWood 5-0

Panthers out of State Tournament

After beating Clay on Wednesday, the Panthers were anxious to see how they would measure up against the 2006 State Runner Up and currently ranked 12th Central Blue Blazers.

In a noon contest at Lakeville's Newton Park the two Elkhart County teams kicked off under much better conditions then Wednesday. A good crowd, especially on the NW side was ready for a competetive match.

FIRST HALF
From the kick off it looked as if the Panthers were somewhat intimidated by the Blue Blazers. Elkhart Central was able to play the ball wide fairly easy resulting in a Lucchese shot in the 6th minute. Schmitt made the save as usual. In the 13th minute and Elkhart Central player took a shot from about 22 yards out. The ball was deflected to the left by a NorthWood player and the ball disappeared in the net, out of reach for the NW keeper, 1-0.
In the 24th minute, the Panthers, unable to clear the ball out of the box, gave the ball up to a Central player (#14) who took it at Schmitt and put it to Schmitts left into the net, 2-0.
A minute later, NorthWood had its first shot at the goal. A shot from Edgar was on the frame but stopped by Division 1 New Mexico bound keeper Justin Holmes.
The center referee called a handball in the box in the 37th against the Panthers in their box, resulting in a PK. Despite the fact that it did not look like an intentional handbal and no advantage was gained by the Panthers, the ref called a PK which was "questioned" by the NW coaches. Central, however, did not miss; 3-0. Only minutes later a right wing forward pass from Central looked off side but no flag went up. Central took the ball in the box and executed well, 4-0. Like they say: players win games, coaches loose games and (here is my point) referees ruin games!

HALF TIME
During the tea time, Coach Duerksen was the only speaker. His speech came down to challenging this great group of players to 40 minutes of hard soccer.

SECOND HALF
NorthWood came out and played soccer the second half. It did become obvious that the Cupfighters from Wakarusa and Nappanee had run into a better opponent. Despite good saves by Holy Schmitt, a great run and dribble by Ducky (47th minute) that resulted in a great shot on the frame and a great thrown in by Burns for a Villegas header, it was clear that this game was going Central's way. The final of 5-0 meant that the Panthers' season was over. But let's be clear about one thing, the Panthers had a very succesful season. Eleven (11) wins, a sectional championship and regional runner up is proof of that. 287 schools start the state tournament and we made it to the final 32, quite an accomplishment. This group of players/friends never had their focus on anything but soccer. Our eight seniors, Mike Schmitt, Robbie Balogh, Micah Shaw, Josh Stump, Dustin Eby, Robbie Burns, Edgar Villegas and Rogelio Patino will be sorely missed. They were a great, great group to work with.

2007 NORTHWOOD BOYS SOCCER

11-8-2

LaVille Sectional Champions

LaVille Regional Runner-Up (Final 32 teams)


Sometime Monday morning I will hopefully post some additional pictures. I will also post a "2007 season report" and later in the week a blog with all the record of the 2007 season. Any additional information about NorthWood Boys soccer during the post season will be posted as well, this includes AC Open Gym times and changes, Fall Sports Award Banquet -without food- etc..

ANNOUNCEMENT:
Tuesday October 16 all Varsity players need to meet at the game field to hand in their uniforms and warmups. We will take down the nets and play a pick up game, weather permitting. JV players need to hand in their uniforms and warm ups to coach Bell (go to his classroom) on or before Tuesday.

Open Gym starts Monday October 22 at 7 pm. It will last until about 9 - 9:15.

Panthers prepare for Regional semi

The Panthers hope to have something to smile about again tonight!

The Panthers wrapped up the last practice before the Regional Semi against South Bend Clay on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. Coaches made the last adjustments for the Wednesday match up. Kick off is slated for 7 pm at Newton Park in Lakeville. Elkhart Central and Mishawaka Marian will open the Regional Semis with a 5 pm start.

The Elkhart Truth will take a team picture (apparently they received several complaints of not printing a picture of the sectional champs) of the NW 2007 Sectional Champions during the half time of the first game. The picture should appear in Thursday's edition.