Road to Victory...

Sunday, August 28th...the first official practice of our season.  Months of preparation, recruiting and plans finally came to fruition.  Most of the guys knew who their teammates were, but it didn't mean they knew each other personally.  One of my returners actually told me at tryouts "Don't take those South Kent Kids, we'll never get along."  Well I took all five of those South Kent Kids and somehow our team clicked from day 1.  We've been through highs and lows; injuries, losses, wins and 4 weeks ranked in the top 5 of the country.  The peaks and valleys some might call it.

That first practice I told the guys that we have one goal this year.  To win a state championship.  To accomplish that goal we were going to "pay attention to detail" and "play like a championship team".  The funny thing is we've played in two tournaments and haven't been to the playoffs in either one of them.  But I feel like each time we play, each weekend that passes, we get closer and closer to becoming that championship team.

It took us a while to find our identity as a team and we finally figured it out 3 weeks into the year.  I think we resemble the 2004 Boston Red Sox.  "We're a buncha idiots" is how Kevin Millar referred to that team and that reference is absolutely perfect for our club.  I found that if we come out and take things too seriously, this team shuts down and plays too tight.  If we come out too loose, we don't play hard enough.  There is a happy medium that needs to be met with these 17 and 18 year old young men and we need to find it every Saturday and Sunday.  When we find that combination, we are the best team in the country. 

We won two big league games this weekend over the Rhode Island Saints and Valley Jr Warriors.  Those wins set us up very nice for a big finish and a chance to win the regular season championship going into the playoffs in three weeks.  The season goes quick and I love the kids and this team.  The sky is the limit for us and we're ready for take off.