Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the family.

For those of you who are keeping track - Elise turned 5 years old this year, Eliana is 3 1/2 and Elijah is 9 months.

In your celebration of His birth, don't forget the reason He came. Read John 19 and 20. - C

More 2007 Pictures - Men

Here, Brett dropped the ball to Kirk who then carried the ball into the space to his left and made a great, driven cross to the far post. Exactly how we practiced. I'm sure it happened.

Friends and family picnic.

Don't ask. I'm just glad that I am not in the picture.

No caption needed.

I would not mind going into "battle" with these guys again.

2007 Men's Soccer Summary

Before the season began, I thought that the men's team might be in for a rough season. We had lost some key players and I was not sure how the recruiting class would work in to our system. There were two factors that I did not consider:

a) The outstanding contribution from our transfers
b) How well this group of young men would learn to work together

We always talk about the strength of team play, but this season the men allowed me to experience it firsthand. I will always be grateful for what the players demonstrated to me. There is no way that our team could be considered “talented”. We have some talented players, but most of the men simply worked hard and played their roles. By the end of the season, I felt like we could match up with anyone and have a reasonable shot at a win. Our leadership was consistent, other key players consistently followed that leadership and everyone tried to help their teammate succeed. At times, the coaching staff felt as if we could throw anyone into the line-up and they would play great.

Offensive MVP: Brett Hollenbeck
Defensive MVP: Bryan Oliver
Most Improved: Everett Callan
Leadership: Timothy Reinert
Jamie O’Dell: Daniel Kaminski

Daniel Kaminski finishes his career 3rd in saves in a single season with 161, 4th in saves per game over a career with 7.77, 2nd all-time in career saves with 397, and 2nd all-time in goalkeeper minutes with 4,562.

These men played in every match:
Kaminski, Riffel, Oliver, Hollenbeck, Board, Reinert, Esgar, Huber

These men started every match:
Kaminski, Riffel, Oliver, Hollenbeck, Board, Reinert

Our four year players are Andrew Swift. Swifty was unable to continue his playing career after 2005, but became a part of our staff and filled a valuable role as our goalkeeper coach. Aaron Hale’s career had some stops and starts, but he eventually worked his way into a strong role on our team. I often wonder if we had had one more player during that last weekend in October. . .

Tim Reinert is a young man whose college career was almost cut short by an ACL tear. Tim showed great determination and discipline in his rehab and returned at full strength by the following season and even played during out trip to Germany, six months after his surgery. Tim as always led by example on the field. He leaves big "boots" to fill.

Daniel Kaminski's work ethic made him one of the greatest goalkeepers in MBBC history. He did not arrive at college with great technique, but he constently drilled himself into a smart soccer player. Many of his saves were nothing short of amazing. No one who was at the game will forget his 23 saves against NBBC in September. . . The most remarkable thing about Dan is his walk with God. His teammates and coach are better men for having played with him.

Women's Soccer End-of-the-Year Speech

The 2007 Women’s Soccer season began with a great deal of optimism. While we had lost a large number of starters from the previous year, we were confident in the talent of our new players.

Our defense put up the best numbers in team history with a 1.78 GAA, even after giving up 14 goals in our first three matches. Jenny, Shasta, Shannon, Kat, Sierra, Laura and, of course, Barb all contributed to that accomplishment. Our problem this season was in goal scoring. At one point, we went 8 straight matches without putting the ball in the net (except for a PK by Melissa). We didn’t score in every way imaginable: off posts, off defender’s hands, great saves, goals called back, referee’s inattention, whiffs, shot’s over from 2 feet away, etc.

Yet, we played well enough to win a trip to the NCCAA II national tournament in Kissimmee, FL for the first time in program history. The experience was one that I will never forget and we had a lot of fun with the team – on the airplane, waiting for poor Miss Bolton with the van, having my own room all to myself, taking pictures with Kennedy, squeezing into Sunday School class, and playing soccer in summer weather in November. Good times.

We had a large number of players play in every match this season:
Gerlach, Nichols, Harrison, Harley, Kutz, Dow, Alley, Mikolowski, Muse, Collogan and Delaney

Ladies who started every match include:
Nichols, Harrison, Harley, Kutz, Mikolowski, Muse, Collogan and Delaney

Julie Muse is now 7th all-time in goals scored. Emily Kutz is 8th.
Melissa Nichols is now 6th in goals scored in a single season.
Julie is 4th all-time in assists.
Barbara Gerlach posted the all-time lowest GAA for an MBBC goalkeeper at 1.59 GA.

Our awards went to the following people:
Offensive MVP – Melissa Nichols
Defensive MVP – Shasta Mikolowski
Most Improved Player-Pamela Shetter
Leadership Award-Shasta Mikolowski

Our four-year seniors are Kristen Kowalcyk and Shasta Mikolowski. Both young ladies have great discipline and faithfulness. Kristen was especially good at making sure that we run things according to plan – she often reminded of statements that I have made and did not follow through on. I appreciate it a great deal. I hope Kristen goes on to coach this game. I think she understands it and can communicate effectively.

Our second senior was Shasta. Shasta’s leadership abilities grew immensely during her four years. I remember a younger player once telling me that Shasta had yelled at her so bad during a match that she cried. Forward that scene to this year, and Shasta’s encouragement was always positive and constructive. She truly helped the players around her to become better.

We need a picture

This annoucement just came through the on-campus, electronic newsletter called the Trumpeter:

Winner of the Girl's Dorm Decorating Contest - 12/7/2007

- The girl’s side of campus had a Christmas Spirit contest to see which dorm could generate the most Christmas spirit through decorated doors, dorm participation and overall holiday cheer throughout the dorm.
· The winner: HILSEN (Punch and homemade cookies will be delivered to their dorm on Saturday)
· MOST CREATIVE and FUN overall: Second Floor Day Dorm -Twelve Days of Christmas Maranatha style
Other creative and noteworthy doors the judges really liked:
· Hilsen: Hot Cocoa and Cookies
· Day: "'Twas the Night Before Finals" Poem
· Day: Fireplace with Ledge
· Weeks: All I Want for Christmas - Wish Lists
· Weeks: The soccer player poster door--very funny!

We need to see this door!

Pics From Kristen

I have been very lax (that is another form of the word 'lackadaisical' for Myles K.) in posting lately. I hope to get back to a regular schedule of posts very soon. One of our graduating seniors, Kristen Kowalcyk dropped off a CD of pictures the other day and I plan to post a large number of them. Kristen is faithful at taking good pictures throughout the season and I am always thankful for her work when I go to post on this blog during the off-season. Here are a few:

We are especially thankful for our Russian player, Babushka Dow.

Our goalkeeper shows off some of her outstanding technique. We think she learned this when she was a volleyball player.

Don't ask. All I can say is "I won".

Everyone knows the rule is: No dating until your senior year. Kristen followed it and look at how things worked out for her!

You can view more pictures from our season on the Men's and Women's Soccer homepages at www.mbbc.edu. More pictures to come! - C

Out of Town

Several people have recently asked me for the latest picture of our kids. Here it is. I know that most of you are sorely disappointed that I'm not in it.

We are on our way to Idaho to visit Sarah's family.

Flying.

With three kids four and under -

although Big E will be turning 5 very soon!

Tragedy in the NCCAA family

I recieved this email yesterday:

We at North Central University experienced a tragic loss over the
Thanksgiving holiday. Amanda Evans, A Freshmen member of our National Championship Cross Country team passed away suddenly from heart failure.

This has been a devastating loss to the entire community, but particularly the Athletics Department. Besides Amanda's connection to Athletics, her boyfriend is a member of the NCU baseball team and has taken the loss extremely hard as he was present at the time of her death.

Please pray for the family . . . and Danny Grass, the boyfriend left behind. Pray that North Central can minister to the family and friends and as well as deal with their own loss.

Sincerely,
Greg Hayton
North Central University
Director of Athletics

Please pray for the family of this young lady and her school. Man knows not his time. . .

A Coach to Learn From

John Gagliardi is a football (American style) coach who I have been following for years because of his success and unique style. He coaches at NCAA III St. Johns in Minnesota and his practices are characterized by no-contact, no wearing pads, no compulsory lifting, no bed checks, no curfews and no addressing him as "coach".

I don't endorse all of his techniques, and as far as I can tell, he is not a believer and so does not included biblical discipleship as one of his goals for his student-athletes. However, I did find some parts of the article to be instructive for those who desire to coach. Here are some excerpts:

“He has shown there are many different ways to have success. He’s
innovative, constantly changing to meet the talent of his team,” Stock said.
“His style has worked, his philosphy has worked. He’s proven there are many
different ways to win football games."

Gagliardi says,

“You’ve got to have good players. I coach a lot better with good players,”he
said. “They’re the ones out there doing the job. We’re very good at
graduating people and every year we graduate irreplaceable players. But
fortunately for me, more irreplaceable players show up every year.”

His athletic director states:

“The one key thing that I have observed in him through the years is his
commitment to do the things that he believes are best for the student-athletes,”
Teaff said. “He’s a humble person, he is unassuming. The ‘big time’ for him is
not as important as the time he spends with the players.”

That coaching philosophy fits well within Division III, which strives
to highlight athletics as part of the overall college experience and as an
activity more for the development of the participants than for the entertainment
of onlookers.

This is how I feel, except for the part about bishops. . .

Gagliardi said being a part of Division III has been a rewarding aspect of his career. Many of his former student-athletes have gone on to be surgeons and
bishops and lawyers and create lives of great accomplishment. “(In Division III), you’ve got real, bona fide student-athletes who can’t get in (to the school) or stay in unless they are really good students. They are good guys from
great families,” he said. “I’ve seen guys become college presidents, go into
every field you can think of. It’s amazing what they can do. It’s hard to
believe they go on to do so many different things, and I’m still at the same
job.”

You can read the entire article here. - C

NCAA III Championships

On the women's side, Wheaton College won their second straight NCAA III Championship over Messiah last weekend. I had the privilege of being the NCAA site rep at the Wheaton sectional on November 17 and 18 when Wheaton defeated Wis.-Steven's Point and Univ of Puget Sound. You can read about the final four here. The Thunder went 27-0 on the season and have won 40 matches in a row dating back to 2006. WC was ranked #1 before the tourney and Messiah was ranked #2.

On the men's side Trinity (Texas) from the Central Region (our region) was defeated 4-3 in penalty kicks by Middlebury. Here is the game story. Too bad the national championship had to be decided by penalties. Middlebury was ranked #11 in the nation prior to the tournament and Trinity was #1.

Guinness World Record and Soccer

An attempt to break a world record took place and Bob Jones University last weekend. Do any of you know if it was successful? - C

The Last Match

We had a nice day on Sunday. Most of us attended the Bible Baptist Church of Kissimmee and went to Cici's pizza the after the morning service. We need a Cici's in Watertown.

I am at the airport getting ready to board for our trip home. Everyone except for Ann Bolton has checked in - she is returning the rental van. She spent many hours in that van while down here. I appreciate all the driving she did for us.

We played in the fifth place match this morning against 3rd seeded Southeastern University. It was the hottest of our matches in Florida. We played our usual game - hustled, played good defense, sketchy possession and several quality opportunities on the net - but no goals. Melissa hit the crossbar on a free kick and Julie made a great shot that went just wide right. Southeastern scored on a far post header after the ball bounced around the box in our end. We came away from the match having learned many lessons about tournament play, travelling to Florida and many of us know exactly what we need to work on for next year.

See you in Wisconsin - C

Toccoa Falls - Second Round

We arrived to the field on Saturday, determined to overcome any challenges from the day before. The ladies warmed up well and our possession, defense and even finishing showed much improvement.

Melissa Nichols recorded a hat trick, Amanda Moses finished a nice cross from Pamela Shetter and Lisa Collogan scored on a shot from about 25 yards as we went on to defeat Toccoa 5-0. It was also nice to be able to play everyone - except for Elise Jones who is still struggling with her knee. We will play Southeastern on Monday in the 5th place match.

We are still disappointed with our loss on Friday. We think that we could have had a good performance against Crown in the second round, but it is sometimes difficult to play well when so many things are new. We are still excited to be here and if the Lord allows us to come again, this year's experiece will be invaluable. - C

The First Round

We had a disappointing performance in our first round match versus Manhattan yesterday. We ended up losing 3-0 - despite outshooting them 15 to 7 and recording 17 corner kicks to their 1. Their first goal was a breakaway that caught or defense by surprise - as MCC had a couple of very fast players up front. Their second two goals were on free kicks. We had some trouble adjusting to the level of physical play - the referee allowed far less than what usually goes on in the NAC other D3 contests. Both free kicks were on fouls that were more than questionable.

But the biggest problem is finishing. We hit the post and had several balls cleared off the line yesterday. We seem to be able to do everything but score. Please pray for the ladies to stay strong and positive - we have another match today against a quality team from Toccoa Falls.

We are enjoying out time in Florida and we are looking forward to a chance to sight-see a little bit over the next couple of days. - C

We Have Arrived

I had hoped to post more pictures, but I need to download them from some of the girls. We arrived in Orlando with no problems. Airtran was on time and delivered our luggage. We can't ask for much more from airlines these days. We attend a dinner put on by the NCCAA II immediately after arriving. It was nice to get at least one free meal. Unfortunately, most of Ann Bolton' time in Florida has been spent driving the rental van. We have to take two trips everywhere we go, we finally got everyone back to the hotel by 11:30 pm last night.

I was optimistic about the hotel when I first saw it. There is a nice view and the rooms are very large - almost suite sized - however there have been a few problems. I have to slam my door has hard as I can to get it to close, I think the frame is bent. Last night it was a little cold and so I turned on the room heater, but it set off the smoke alarm. The room was cold this morning so I was looking forward to a hot shower only to find no hot water - and I am certain that I was up before the rest of the team. I have called the front desk several times and gotten no answer, so I am trying to get up the courage to go in and shower with cold water. Maybe I don't need one. . .

We are excited about our match today. It has been almost two weeks since we have played a game. Our adjustment to that much time off will be interesting. Stay tuned - C

Why Did They Give?

I am in the process of writing thank you notes to the many folks who have donated to the Women's Soccer trip to NCCAA Nationals and it struck me that many of the individuals are people whose gift was their first to the college. Many of them have had a relationship with the college for a long time, so the question is - What changed? What motivated them to give this time and not all of the other times that we have expressed a need for money?

I don't know the exact answer to that question, but at the risk of being presumptuous, let me float two theories:

Theory #1 - There has always been a perception, real or imagined, that athletics do not get the support from the college administration that many of us on the athletic side would hope for. The perception may not always be true, but it has been a fairly constant comment or viewpoint for the 15 years that I have been a part of Maranatha athletics as a player and coach. What is different about this trip is that there is no doubt that the administration is behind us and has given us our best shot at a quality performance by stepping out and giving us the opportunity to fly. Flying reduces travel stress, reduces missed class time, and allows our nursing students avoid missing clinicals in order to participate. If we had missed more class time, there is a high likelihood that two starters may not have been able to make the trip. Many donors gave because they saw initiative on the part of the college to support this endeavor.

Theory #2 - The second theory is that many who gave a gift have a strong connection to Maranatha soccer and they saw an opportunity to help something that they believe in.

Maybe they just gave because they needed a tax break this year. . . Anyway, I want to thank all of our donors and we are excited about this opportunity. The ladies are working hard to make sure that their studies and jobs are prepared for their absence.

Please pray that we are a good representation of our team, our school and our Lord. -C

Trip to Utica

Our soccer program has had a strong relationship over the years with a small church and school about 40 minutes away in Utica, WI. Many of their young people have attended Maranatha - and done quite well academically and athletically. A good sized group from their school has always been a big part of our soccer camp, even going back to the first couple of attempts at a girl's soccer camp. I think that three out of the six campers in 2002 were from Utica. Several of our college men's and women's soccer players attend their church and help with various ministries while at school in Wisconsin. I don't have any 'hard data' on this, but I think that Utica Bible Baptist might be the strongest per capita supporting church that Maranatha has. Three young ladies on our soccer team graduated from their school and I hope to get a few players for the men's team over the next several years. We usually go down and run a boys and girls soccer clinic on their field every spring. Furthermore, their church also made a generous donation toward our 2006 Mission's Trip to Germany.

Last Sunday, about 15 members of our women's soccer team had the privilege of attending a Singspiration at their church. I often joke that as the soccer talent on our team has increased, the singing ability has decreased - but last Sunday proved that assertion wrong. We have at least four young ladies who are in choir at the college, several others who play instruments and all the rest can sing very well. All in all, the ladies were able to provide eight different pieces of special music and several testimonies that were a blessing. Utica also took a love offering and made a generous gift toward our trip to NCCAA Nationals.

The ladies who were able to attend included: Shannon Delany, Elise Jones, Jenny Harley, Shasta Mikolowski, Lisa Collogan, Sierra Miller, Emily Kutz, Emily Dow, Laura Kennedy, Melanie Killingsworth, Cara Harrison, Julie Muse, Hillary Lockhart and possibly someone else who I am forgetting. . . I'm sure someone will chime in on the comments below - wait, Barb Gerlach, our goalkeeper was there. Not sure how I forgot her.

The ladies were a great testimony and truly ministered. It was a blessing to attend the service and I appreciate the hospitality afforded us at Utica Bible Baptist Church.

JBoe's Team Finishes Season Strong

Minooka Park's bid to go to the state championship ended in a tough 2-0 loss in the supersectionals. The team is coached by Maranatha soccer alum, Jason Boe. Their final game was played at Toyota Park in Illinois.

You can read the article here.

Check out Heather's blog and pictures here.

Read about their earlier game a few days ago here.

Congratulations on a great season. We look forward to the future of this team. - C

The Final at Northland

We had a great day for soccer on Saturday as we made preparations for our NCCAA II Midwest Region final against Northland Baptist. There was a strong wind, but it was sunny and dry. We had a great night's rest the night before. We were treated very well at the AmericInn in Iron Mountain. We slept five men to a room. A great bonding experience. Most of the players employed the use of hot and cold treatments - going from the whirlpool to the regular pool and back again every 6 to 7 minutes - to rejuvinate tired legs from the 2OT victory against Moody that daty. Dan Reid, as our unofficial trainer, spent a busy night dealing with strains, pulls and several ankles that needed attention.

We had a great continental breakfast the next morning, some of the men had to take a quiz for Old and New Testament classes at the hotel and we left for NBBC. We arrived about two hours prior to kick-off and we took 5 minute to check out field conditions: the turfwas a little loose and there were some pretty good sized divots in front of each net, but other wise pretty good for late October in northern WI.

The match turned out to be a physical, see-saw battle. We scored first when Tim Reinert headed in a cross from Hollenbeck, but NBBC countered a few minutes later with a goal of their own. After our goal, the rest of the coaching staff and I figured we would need to score about three more to have a chance in this match. They have a very potent attack. Next, Northland scored on a free kick from outside the penalty area. We countered with a penalty kick by Hollenbeck after Andrew Solarek was pulled down in the box. Northland broke the tie and eventually led by two goals at 4-2. I was afraid that things were going to get out of hand.

But our team held fast, with everyone giving everything they had and with about 5 minutes to go, Hollenbeck pulled a great move on the right goal line, dribbled near post and beat the keeper on a great ball on the ground. For the last five minutes we mounted several strong attacks, but the Northland defense held strong.

Final score 4-3.

I can't say enough good things about how our men responed to adversity and played as a team against really strong odds. My greatest prayer is that they transfer that same intensity and strength of character to dealing with the challenges of life and ministry.

Our four year seniors, Kaminski and Reinert both had great games. Both of them started and played almost every minute of every match this year. I believe that Kaminski will be the all-time leader in GK minutes played and they will have one of the winningest four year records in quite some time.

I will have to look at the books, but I am curious to know the last team to score more than three goals at Northland - much less the last NCCAA II team. Here was our starting line-up for that match. Each of the men are to be commended:

Kaminski*
Riffel
Oliver
Esgar*
T. Solarek
E. Callan
Hollenbeck*
Reinert
Board
White
A. Solarek*

*All-Midwest Region team.

Five of our starters have had brothers play for the Maranatha soccer team and the last time that Maranatha defeated Northland, there was a Solarek and a Callan on the squad.

Speaking of JBoe: the men advance at Northland

In 1996, the Maranatha men's team had a great game against Moody Bible that went into double OT. We eventually lost in the seventh round of penalty kicks. Jason Boe had an unbelievable game in the net. Alumni from that era always talk about that match when we get together.

The same scenario replayed itself today. We entered the match after a sub-par performance against Marian College on Tuesday. Moody came to regionals with almost two weeks of rest. Both teams play well. Moody took the lead on a break away goal. We think he was off-side. . . but the call was not made.

MBBC 0 Moody 1

Several minutes later, Brett Hollenbeck made a brilliant move at the top of the box and hit a bending shot inside the left post with his left foot. One of the best goals I've seen all year.

MBBC 1 Moody 1

Shortly before half-time, Andrew Solarek was taken down in the box and Hollenbeck scored again on a penalty kick.

MBBC 2 Moody 1

After halftime, Moody came out with a strong push and we struggled with organization. In the chaos, one of our ow player tried to clear a ball out of our box and unfortunately hit a teammate. The rebound went right into the net for an own goal.

MBBC 2 Moody 2

This score held and we went to overtime. I was just hoping that we could keep our legs under us. We have had quite a few matches in a short period of time - and three out of our last four matches have gone to extra time. We are not particularly deep at the moment without the services of Marino or Hale. I don't think that I have subbed anyone on the back line for a month it seems like. But the men kept playing their hearts out. Moody carried play for most of the first overtime period as exhaustion began to affect us to a greater extent. Bryan Oliver went down after a hard hit, but stayed in the match. Toward the end off the first overtime, we were able to attack a bit more and Jarid Lawson who had replaced Everett Callan, began to hit a few crosses from the right midfield position.

One minute into overtime, Bryan Oliver passed out to Jarid on the right side. Jarid took the ball forward and drove a cross to the far side, where Dave Esgar, our left defender was there to head the ball into the net for the win. It was the second time in three games that Esgar has had the gamewinning header in overtime.

All the men gave everything they had. Andrew Solarek was unable to finish but kept the Moody defense on the run the whole game. Reinert slowed down the Moody attack in the midde, Riffel shut down attackers in his corner and Board gave us great possession in the middle. White, Huber, Jochum, Deiss and Foy all gave us quality minutes off the bench.

But we have a big one tomorrow at 1 pm: Northland Baptist. -C

JBoe's Team Advances

One of the objectives of the Maranatha Soccer program is to produce young men and women who can coach soccer and disciple young people at the same time. Whenever possible, we like to highlight alumni who have moved on to the coaching ranks and who are coaching with an eternal mindset.

I did not coach Jason Boe. I was his teammate for a time - you might remember him from the Top 11 Men post from a year or so ago. For several years now, Jason has been the head men's soccer coach in Minooka, IL. Here is a news article about how his team is advancing through the playoffs. It is a good story and we wish Jason and his team all the best. In the article, Jason has an opportunity to reference his faith in Christ in a public way. I am certain that even though Jason is coaching soccer in a secular setting, his players know for Whom he lives:

"This is business for us," Minooka coach Jason Boe said. "We're not surprised by this win. Even though we upset Bloom, it's not a surprise to us. Because we know what type of players we have on our team, the leadership that we have, the ability that God's given us. And it's not a surprise. We're basically telling the world, 'We're here. Welcome to our world.' "

Here is the thing: Jason would not have the opportunity to coach and mentor and disciple in a public school if he did not possess athletic talent and training. The doors of ministry for someone who knows their sport and walks with God are wide open right now.

There are three young men and two young ladies who will be graduating from our soccer program this season. All of them love God and know the game of soccer. Furthermore, a person who can survive the rigors of 4 or 5 years at MBBC, can survive almost anything. Their character has been proven. If you are looking to hire someone for your business or ministry in the coming year, you must consider Daniel Kaminski, Tim Reinert, Andrew Swift, Kristen Kowalcyk or Shasta Miklowski. I can't promise that you will compete for a state title like JBoe, but you will never question their faithfulness or competence.

I'm just trying to get a couple of them to stick around and be my assistants next year. . . -C

Happy Birthday, Susie!

Susie on the left, Lindsey on the right. Lindsey will hate me for that picture, but she knows that she is still my all-time favorite player. (By the way, shortly before this picture, she had just scored her first collegiate goal with three minutes remaining in the match, on Parent's Day, in her final home game as a senior.)

I'm terrible at birthdays, so the rest of you should not expect a mention. I only have to remember one birthday a year and on April 27th. However, when Susie was on our team, she remembered everyone with a card - even though she was the busiest person on campus - choir, band, orchestra, work, soccer, local church ministry, ministry society, etc. So I thought she deserves a post.

Wish Susie (Ferris) Yuen a happy birthday with an email to ferrismusic at gmail dot com. I think it was actually yesterday the 23rd. If you haven't seen pics from her wedding yet, click here.

If you would like to write a post recognizing another MBBC soccer player's birthday, you can write it in an email or Word document, send it to jcaucutt at mbbc dot edu, I will edit it, and post it. Even anonymously if you so desire. - C

Alumni in Chicago

After the women's game on Saturday in River Forest, IL, our ladies team was invited to the home of Laura and Tony Shaver who live about five minutes (depending on traffic) from CUC. They have a cozy apartment into which we squeezed (not a fat joke) 23 players, 2 coaches, 4 soccer alums, and 3 soccer alumni husbands - two of them are actually football alums. They dont' really know what is going on, but we like them at games because they make a lot of noise. They served pizza, veggies and lots of desert. It was a great time for me to catch up with some former players and a chance for our current players to meet them.

We had five members of the starting line-up from our 2003 squad that won 13 games in attendance: Jen Adam, Hayley McGrail, Laura (Frazee) Shaver, Kim (Gavitt) Terpstra and Angie (Fenstermacher) Aulph. It is really difficult to keep up with the name changes sometimes, but I am doing better - we did decide that Angie will always be "Fenster". We also argued about who was a better player: Melissa or Laura. We had a great time of fellowship - we just wished we could have added a victory to the evening. . .

The last few days have brought a lot of contact with alumni. Some of whom have donated for the Women's soccer nationals trip. I don't want to embarrass any of them, but here are some email excerpts:

Wow, I cannot believe how many life-lessons, exciting memories, solid, godly friendships and an assemblance of decent health I can attribute to Maranatha
Soccer!

I am so excited for you guys getting to go to the tournament! That is absolutely awesome...wish I was going =) I can't afford much, but I want to do what I can to help the team since the time I was on the team made a huge impact on my life.

We wish the rest of you could come as well. We consider all of the soccer alumni out there to still be a part of our program. I hope to blog often while we are in Kissimmee - don't forget that the men also have a chance to earn a trip to nationals this week- we play NAC opponent Marian today. We earned the #2 seed in the Midwest Region and so we will play Moody at 3 pm on Friday, if we defeat Moody, we will advance to the region final on Saturday.

Women v Concordia Chicago

The women's team experienced another tough loss against conference opponent Concordia-Chicago last Saturday. We are really struggling to put the ball in the net. It has been five games since we have put the ball in the net during the run of play. We have "scored" several times and had goals called back because of off-side, fouls, out-of-bounds, ball-over-the-line-but-the-ref-didn't-see-it, and on Saturday, Julie was taken down in the box, the foul was whistled, but the referee pointed the wrong way and awarded the other team a free kick instead of giving Julie the pk.

Really.

It happened.

The referee told Julie later that a mistake had been made.

Anyway the girls have continued to push hard. We are still young and talented. One of these days, our talent is going to burst out.

Men v Concordia Chicago

Wow. The men's team pulled off quite a victory on Saturday.

We came out flat against an opponent that had a similar record as we did. Sometimes it is easy to come out flat after a game like last Thursday, when we took one of the top teams in the conference, Edgewood, to double OT before succumbing to a deflection off of one of our defenders that ended up in the net.

We gave up a goal early in the first half simply because we were not playing with much intensity. The men are a little banged up right now. Hollenbeck missed all but ten minutes of the Edgewood match and only played 60 minutes against CUC, several other starters are playing through fairly significant pain - although that is fairly normal for this time of year. The men stayed disciplined, stuck with our system and began to have some success, even though we were unable to put anything in the net. We put 11 shots on goal and with a minute left and CUC in our half, it looked like the match was over. We were finally able to muster one last push up the field and things got a little crazy. CUC managed a high clear to our left side, in their end, the ball was way up in the air and looked like it was going to go out of bounds on that sideline. A play out of bounds at that point, would have probably ended the match. But Timothy Solarek caught up to it and gave the ball kind of a little bicycle kick back over his head in the general direction of the CUC goalmouth.

His brother Andrew gave the ball a little touch to the right post, where Dave Esgar, our left defender was crashing the goal. Dave took the ball at full speed and just managed to cut the ball back behind the goalkeeper without running into the post and before running out of bounds. There were 14 seconds left in the match when we scored the tying goal.

Seven minutes into overtime, Dave put a header in the net off at corner kick from Hollenbeck.

I'm still recovering. . . - C

Women's Team Going to Nationals

Most of you know that the women's team has qualified for the NCCAA II National Tournament in Kissimmee, Florida by defeating Northland earlier this season. Once again, it is the first time that the NCAA III dates have allowed one of the soccer teams to go to this tournament in many years. The tournament dates are November 9-12th in Kissimmee, Fl near Orlando.

Normally, our teams drive to such events, but this year, the college administration is throwing their support behind flying the team to Florida. This will greatly reduce missed classtime and lessen the physical strain that 20+ hours of driving would create. We are extremely thankful for this opportunity, however there is going to be a budget shortfall because the original plan was to drive. We are asking anyone who is interested to make a tax deductible donation toward this effort. Yesterday, the team recieved a pledge of $1,000 from a parent! It was a great email to find in my inbox and we are on the verge of booking the flights.

Will you give to send the Maranatha Women's Soccer Team to the NCCAA II national tournament? We will be representing you. All donors will recieve an MBBC soccer t-shirt and sackpack. If you or your business is interested, please contact me by email: jcaucutt at mbbc dot edu or cell: 920 248 8034.

. . . and the guys get a chance to earn the trip next weekend at Northland! - C

Praisemen Out East

Check out reports and pictures from the MBBC Praisemen. What does this have to do with soccer? Two of the men are former MBBC soccer players: Jon Bennett and Geoffrey Stertz.

Lakeland College

The men's team is on a three game winning streak. Last night on our home field, we defeated Lakeland College for the first time since 2001. We have faced a great deal of adversity this year with injuries to key players and a lack of experience, but the young men keep trying to get better. Hollenbeck had four goals last night and two assists on Monday. An unbelievable week for him and we still have another match yet to play. Read more here.

Our defense is really solid right now and our offense is beginning to click. We haven't won a championship or qualified for the playoffs (1-3-0 NAC, 5-7 overall), but winning is fun - especially for our four year seniors: Aaron Hale, Dan Kaminski and Tim Reinert.

Pray that we stay healthy and continue to walk with God. - C

Pictures Posted at www.mbbc.edu

Lot's of good men's soccer pictures here. Some of the best are near the middle of the slideshow - from our match against MSOE. My favorites include: 21 (orange socks), 34, 48, 53, 83, 119, 121, 145, 166, 181, 194, 201, 207, 278, 282, 284, 285, 287.

Lot's of good women's soccer pictures here. My favorites include: 33, 38, 48, 52 (some of you remember my post about the photogenic abilities of Bryan Oliver), 57, 62, 79, 149, and 154.

Let me know which ones you like.

A Good Win and a Tough Loss

The men travelled to Lake Forest College on Monday night for our last non-conference match of the season. LFC are members of the tough Midwest Conference and while they're record was not that great, they play a very difficult schedule. We started the game a little flat - it always takes us a while to get used to field turf, but we managed to not give up any goals during the first half. That is the difference between last year's team and this year's team. We have not had a huge upsurge in talent, but we are able to shut teams out - even when we are not playing our best. In 2006, I think we gave up a goal in the first 15 minutes in 3/4's of our games.

The score was 0-0 at half-time, but our men came out very strong at the beginning of the second half. Even though we were controlling play, LF managed to spring a break-away that resulted in their first goal. We did not let down, however and a couple of minutes later, Reinert finished a very nice cross from Hollenbeck and Solarek stuck the ball in the net from the left side off another feed from Hollenbeck. The end of the game was pretty crazy, but we made the final score, 2-1 stand up. This was a good win for us. We have been floundering a bit over that last few weeks as we adjusted our formation after Josh Marino went down for the season with an injury. Our midfield defense is improving and we are retraining some of our bad possession habits that we fell into in blow-out wins over Great Lakes and Lincoln Christian.

The women's team came into last night's match against Marian College with a 5-5 record, 3-2 in conference. MC was also 5-5, 3-3 in conference. A very big game with playoff implications. Unfortunately, we were bit by the "finishing bug". We controlled the match, outshot them (12 shots on goal, 22 total), but could not seem to put anything away. Kutz, Nichols, Jones, Dow, Collogan and others all had great chances, but we could not shake the net. The match went to OT and we controlled play once again, but shortly into overtime a MC player struck a nice ball with the wind that went into the corner of our net, just out of Barb's reach to give them the win.

This is the kind of loss that sticks with you for a few days. Our team has a lot of potential and we look forward to improving even further over the next couple of weeks. - C

Autumn Byers

Autumn Byers, a three year goalkeeper for the Maranatha Women's Soccer team, was recently recognized in the Wall Street Journal. Here is the announcement that was in the on-campus Trumpeter:


Alumna Autumn Byers Recognized in Wall Street Journal - 9/27/2007- Maranatha alumna Autumn Rose Byers ('07) was recognized in last Saturday’s edition of the Wall Street Journal (Page R 13) for excellence in education along with other recipients of 2007 Student Achievement Awards.


Here is the link to the on campus award announcement. It is in pdf format. The Wall Street Journal is 'subscription only', so I can't link to the actual story.


Congratulations, Autumn! - C

Breese Stevens Field

Over the years, Breese Stevens, has always been one of our favorite places to play. The stadium is 82 years old and has held high school football, car races and soccer games. I believe that both my grandfather and father played highschool football in the stadium. My grandpa attended the old Central High School and my father is a La Follette grad. I remember seeing two great matches played there - one was between Concordia Wisconsin and Edgewood for the conference championship in 1998 - Concordia won 2-1 in 2OT. The other great match was between Maranatha and Edgewood that ended in a tie 2-2. MBBC was down 2-0 for most of the game before Sarah Beardslee and Sommer Rodolph both scored outstanding hustle goals in the last 10 minutes to send the match to overtime.

Recently, the city of Madison announced renovations to this facility that will make it a much nicer place to play. . . although I kind of liked the crumbling concrete, rusted seats, tiny locker rooms where you can hear the other team talking. . . - C

Men and Women v Wisconsin Lutheran

The women played a great game against a tough conference opponent last weekend. WLC is usually one of our biggest conference rivals going back to the days of Rebekah Himm and Kari Seijkowski (also known as "Psycho") for WLC and Sommer Rodolph and Jen Adam for MBBC. In 2003, we defeated them in regular season play and they spoiled our home playoff game. Every year since then just about every match has been decided by 1 goal:
MBBC 1 WLC 0
WLC 4 MBBC 1
WLC 2 MBBC 1
MBBC 1 WLC 1 2OT
WLC 1 MBBC 0 (MBBC outshot WLC 20 to 7)
MBBC 1 WLC 0

This year was no different as both teams played a tough, phyisical game. For the second year in a row, we held the advantage in possession, but struggled to find the net until Melissa Nichols picked up a ball near midfield, dribbled through about 3 people and just about "willed" the ball into the net. We had strong play out of our midfield, especially Cara Harrisonn who slammed the door shut defensively and Barb Gerlach who earned her first conference shut-out. Our team is relatively healthy right now and we are starting to catch glimpses of the potential of the talent on our squad. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are ready for the challenge.

The men have similarly played a number of close matches with WLC in recent years. Last year's contest featured, physical play, a weather delay, 40+ stitches, lot's of shots by MBBC, but a 2-1 WLC victory. This year's contest showed signs of being another tight match as Maranatha hit the crossbar in the first half on free kick by Hollenbeck and a couple of guys going for the header. The score was 1-0 WLC at halftime and we seemed to be playing okay. WLC scored fairly quickly into the second half to make the score 2-0, but we put together an attack that saw Andrew Solarek hit the right post after a good pass from his brother, Timothy. Then in the 71st minute, everything started to unravel. You can check out the box score here.

We are very injured right now on the men's squad. Joel Smith is still trying to return from his broken arm this summer. Josh Marino had surgery on his elbow yesterday. Steven White, Jarid Lawson, Levi Deiss are all unavailabel due to various tears and pulls. There are also several players playing through their various injuries. Hopefully they do not get worse. -C

Kim (Gavitt) Terpstra

Hopefully this picture doesn't get me in trouble. . . it was all Kim's fault.

Kim Gavitt was married over a month ago, but I have just gotten around to posting a link to Kim and Caleb's wedding pictures. Scroll down if you don't see them right away. I was unable to find a permalink to the wedding post itself. Thanks to Laura (Frazee) Shaver for sending the link. The pictures look unbelievable, too bad they had to go all the way to Alaska to get this kind of scenery.

Mrs. Coach spent a summer working in a Bible camp in Alaska and tells me about it all the time. I would love to go up there some day. . . but I think the chances of us having another women's soccer player from AK who gets married up there are slim. . . Congratulations, Caleb and Kim! - C

Photo Blog

Women's soccer was featured on the Maranatha Photo Blog the other day.

If anyone has soccer pictures that you thing should be posted here at Maranatha Soccer, please send them to jcaucutt at mbbc dot edu. - C

Parents and Senior Day

Parent's and Senior Day came a little early in the season this year so it was a scramble to get everthing together, but in the end, everything turned out well. We had a good number of parents who were able to attend and the weather could not have been better for soccer.

Both teams earned victories and we had a great picnic at Riverside Park. I need to thank my wife, Sarah for all her hard work in planning and executing the picnic. There were also several other families who live in the area and helped with the preparations - the Moses', Kutz's, Dow's and Harrison's. The Parent's Day picnic is one of the highlights of our season. I greatly enjoy spending time with the players and their families away from soccer. The players on our teams are a great joy to be around. Only two got dumped in the river as far as I know. . .

Here are the notes that were read during our recognition of the seniors before each match last Saturday:

Aaron Hale
Aaron has been a faithful member of the Maranatha men’s team since 2003. He was a big part of a team that won 9 games in 2004 and continues to provide faithful leadership in a supporting role this season. Congratulations for a great four years and for finishing the course!

Andrew Swift
Swifty came to Maranatha in 2004 and won the starting goalkeeper job. His presence in the net was a great asset to our team. Unfortunately, injury limited him to two seasons but he agreed to remain with the team as a member of our coaching staff. He has played an integral role in training keepers for both the men’s and women’s teams for the last two seasons. Congratulations, Swifty!

Timothy Reinert
Tim was a member of Coach C’s first year as the men’s coach and made an immediate impact. He is a strong and smart player on the field and a leader off it. The greatest accomplishment of Tim’s career was when he tore his ACL in September and rehabbed in time to take a mission’s trip to Germany in June of 2006. Tim is a second year captain and hopes to finish his career with a great season. Congratulations, Tim!

Daniel Kaminski
Dan did not start as a freshmen, but earned a spot as the regular keeper in 2006. He has had an outstanding career. He is close to being the all-time leader in goalkeeper minutes in Maranatha history. He is a great player and a great teammate even though he is from the state of Oregon. Congratulations, Dan!

Kristen Kowalcyk
There has been a Kowalcyk as a member of the Maranatha women’s team every year since 1999. Kristen has remained faithful to our program and we hate to see her move on. Kristen has played a key role off the bench and was a great part of our Germany 2006 Mission’s trip. Congratulations on a job well done, Kristen!

Shasta Miklowski
Owner of the all-time great names in Maranatha women’s soccer history, Shasta is a four-year starter and the leader of our defense. However, Shasta’s most significant accomplishment has been playing four years of college soccer while studying to be a nurse – and she hopes to finish in four years! This accomplishment is unlikely to be repeated. Congratulations, Shasta! - C

Northland

Last year, I quit posting half-way through the season. This year, I have determined to do better, but I am already behind. Anyway, the matches at NBBC were a great experience as usual. The ladies defeated the Pioneers 4-1. Melissa Nichols hit the post 2 or 3 times. She has the worst luck of any player I have ever coached, but she still managed to find the back of the net twice. Our possession was better, but we still have a long way to go. I had forgotten what it was like to coach a team this young. I am still excited about our potential. Our first conference match is Thursday against an improved MSOE team.

The men's match was a great game. Tim Reinert led the way with a nice header in the first half off a corner kick by Hollenbeck. Our defense then held strong until the 61st minute when NBBC tied the game 1-1. I would have been very happy with a tie, but we just didn't have the horses to last through double OT. It was a team effort: Andrew Solarek, Timothy Solarek, Shane Foy, Chris Jochum and Levi Deiss were all unavailable for various reasons. Everett Callan, Jarid Lawson, Tim Huber and Dan Reid all came off the bench to record quality minutes. Each of them played double or triple the time that they are used to.

Kaminski recorded 23 saves and had a great game. When he is "on", he is awesome. Our defense over-all, including the midfield played well. We wish we could have lasted another 14 minutes. . . but positive comments about the character and testimony of our young men was mentioned several times by spectators after the match. God was glorified. -C

D3Kicks

Many of you have seen the link on the right sidebar for d3kicks.com. Last year was their inaugural year and the site was reasonably interesting, but not all that compelling. This year, they have improved greatly and I go there everyday to check up on teams in the region. You are able to sort by gender and date to get the scores in which you are interested. You can also view DIII schools by state and region. D3kicks also releases national and regional rankings that are quickly becoming as respected as the NSCAA rankings.

If you are interested in the NCAA III soccer, I highly recommend adding this site to your favorites bar. - C

USA v Brazil

I am busy on both September 8th and 9th, but it would be great to go see Brazil practice and play in Chicago this weekend. If any of you attend the match or practice, let me know. - C

Ashford

The women's team struggles continued yesterday against Ashford. We are missing our defensive stopper Angela (Fenstermacher) Aulph and our checking forward, Sarah Beardslee both of whom we we lost to graduation last year. I think we have the talent to replace them, but there is no easy way to make up for experience - other than experience. Freshmen Shannon Delany from New Hampshire and Lisa Collogan from Des Moines, IA continued to show improvement and both will become significant players in future games. We have a quick turn-around with an important match against North Central in Chicago on Tuesday and then three days to work on many of the topics that we missed during preseason. It was nice to see Julie Muse get on the board by converting a PK in the waning minutes of the match even though the final score was unpleasant: 5-1 Ashford.
The men's team played very well in many aspects of our game against Ashford. We had an unfortunate "own goal" in the first half, but we did not back down even though the sun was pretty intense and we had just played a match the night before. Steven White tied the game off an assist from Andrew Solarek late in the second half, but we allowed Ashford to score the game-winner with seven minutes remaining. I still see a number of things that I like about this team. I think we have good team speed and our ability in the air is the best I've seen in my previous three seasons with the men. We look forward to working hard all of this week in preparation for our next match. - C

Dubuque

Both teams played against University of Dubuque today. UD is one of our tougher non-conference opponents and a good early season test. The ladies jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a great hustle goal by Hillary Lockhart from Danville, IL and we led after the first half. The second half was another story as inexperience and poor early season conditioning took its toll. We ended the match with a 5-1 loss and are anxious to move on to the next game tomorrow at Ashford. It was only the second day that we had been on a full-sized pitch with 11 players on a side, however, we had hoped to perform better. Junior Melissa Nichols had a strong game on both ends of the field. Freshmen Cara Harrison and Lisa Collogan showed some early promise.

The men actually played relatively well against Dubuque today. I liked our strength in the air and physical play. We need to finish better - but that will come. Today was the first day that I was able to get a real picture of where people will play this season. We made a couple of critical mental errors and a penalty kick added up to a 3-0 defeat. Sophomore Brett Hollenbeck and transfer Alex Board did a nice job in the middle controlling the attack and starting our defense. Freshman Timoth Solarek from Greenwood, IN had a very good first collegiate game. -C

Weddings (and preseason)

This has been the worst weather that we have ever experienced for a preseason for as long as I have been at Maranatha. In fact, it has been so depressing that I don't even want to post about it. So, "Let's be positive!" (as Swifty keeps telling me) and look at pictures of Susie (Ferris) and James Yuen's wedding here.

As well as send congratulations to Kim (Gavitt) and Caleb Terpstra who were married last Saturday in Alaska. If anyone (Laura) who was there can send me a few pictures, everyone (Mrs. Coach) will be very happy. - C

One More Time

Just in case you did not see this post or this post or this announcement, the arrival times for preseason have been adjusted per NCAA directive.

Athletes who have travel plans that cannot be altered will be housed and fed starting the evening of August 17th.

The dorms will be available to preseason freshmen athletes on Saturday, August 18th, however the first required activity for preseason freshmen is Freshmen Testing that begins at 1:15 pm on Sunday, August 19th.

The first required function for all preseason athletes is an eligibility/insurance meeting at 8 pm on Sunday, August 19th in DC 102. Plan to be on time and check this page to make sure that all of your paperwork is in order. We have a training session for women's soccer at 7 am and men's soccer at 8:45 am on Monday morning. You cannot practice until all of your paperwork is finished - make sure this is done! Tryouts will begin on time and we need everyone there.

See you on Sunday. . . or Friday. . . or Saturday! - C

Recently Brought to My Attention

This is a sad post and somewhat belated, but I thought it would be a good idea to bring it to the attention of the Maranatha Soccer family. Tyler Burcalow, a student athlete from Edgewood College, passed away this summer in a car accident. You can read the story here. Even though the accident took place around the Fourth of July, but I am sure that his family is still hurting and in need of prayer. It is also a sober reminder of the brevity of life on this earth and a challenge to focus on the eternal.

This incident brings to mind another tragedy that, oddly enough, also involved Edgewood College - when a referee passed away during a soccer match between EC and MBBC in 1993. These events emphasize the sovereignty of God and should affect how we interact with fans, players, and referees in the arena of athletics.

"Only what's done for Christ will last." - C

KJ's Baby

I have been out of town and finally got around to posting this announcement:

Andi Rae McCuistion was born Friday, August 3rd at 12:54am. She was 21 1/2 inches long and 7 pounds 1 ounce.

. . .a little small for college soccer, but we'll take her.

KJ (Kowalcyk, now McCuistion) was a four year player from 1998 to 2001 for the Maranatha Women's Soccer team. Congratulations, KJ and Drew! -C

2007 Soccer Camp

I am finally getting around to the 2007 Maranatha Soccer Camp blog post.

We have been dealing with preaseason date issues all week. The NCAA made a late ruling that affected a lot of schools and a lot of student athletes. If you are planning to attend preseason, you can get more information here.

We had a great week with 62 campers in attendance. The Lord has steadily grown our camp over the past four years:

2004: 26

2005: 43

2006: 49

2007: 62

First, I want to thank the staff. All of them did an outstanding job and worked very hard for very little money. You can check out the staff who helped out in this messed up post. Sixty-two campers is about the limit for what our facilities can handle here on campus and we are looking into other options for next year.

Campers came from the following states: MI, IN, WI, IL, IA, MN, VA, AZ, and OR. We hope it was worth the trip for all of them. One team took advantage of the team discount - we always enjoy Randy Lightcap and his group of South Side soccer players.

We had our largest group of girl's soccer players this week with 14 and there were some really nice players in that group. I am excited to see the women's side grow. I also enjoyed meeting and working with several men who will be seniors in high school this fall. I believe that all of them have the potential to be contributors on the college level. There was another senior who missed camp this year because of a boy scout trip. He has been one of our faithful attenders at soccer camp. Hopefully I can get to one if his matches this fall.

Here are some more pictures of soccer camp. You may also want to check out the gallery on the MBBC website.

- C

Crusader Club Project

People have been talking about a scoreboard for the soccer field for as long as I have been here at Maranatha and now it looks like it could become a reality! Check out this link to the latest Crusader Club letter and feel free to donate!

Unless,

. . . you would rather give a give toward women's soccer warm-ups. We are very close to our goal. All gifts are tax-deductible and much appreciated. If you can help or know of a company that might be interested, please contact me by email: jcaucutt at mbbc dot edu. -C

Soccer Preseason IV

Here is the final adjustment to preseason. This just came in an email:

NEW SCHEDULE:

NO TEAM MEETINGS OR ACTIVITIES ON SATURDAY. We can make the weight room, and fitness balcony available, but it MUST be totally voluntary, NO CAPTAINS PRACTICE, NO COACHES, NO PLANNED ACTIVITY, NO TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES (Soccer, Volleyball, XCountry)

Friday, 7:00 – Any preseason athlete that has already made flight/train reservations may come in at that time, and we will accommodate them with housing and meals for Saturday/Sunday. Please do not encourage those who are driving to come at that time, only those who have already confirmed transportation issues.

Saturday, 7:00: All freshman and transfer students should arrive (returning players can return on Sunday)

Sunday afternoon (TBA): Freshman/transfer student testing.

Sunday, 8:00 pm: NCAA Administrative Meeting for all Fall Athletes, including returning players

Monday: Resume schedule as before

I will be making up new preseason schedules within the hour. Email me if you would like a revised version. -C

Preseason Date Change III

The latest preseason start date is the following:

Arrive Saturday afternoon.
Freshmen testing on Sunday afternoon.
NCAA III and eligibility meeting on Sunday night.
First practice first thing Monday morning.
Registration at 10 am on Monday morning.

You may also want to consult this post and this post.

Stay tuned. . .-C

Wedding

Susie Ferris, four year player, former assistant coach and all-time leader in games played is getting married this weekend. Unfortunately, the wedding is in Phoenix, so I probably will not be making the trip. Here is their wedding blog. Congratulations, James and Susie! - C

Better Late Than Never

Four year soccer player and two year assistant coach James Solarek and his wife, Aisling are new parents. James Converse Solarek IV ("Conor") was born on Friday, July 20 at 12:30 pm. He weighed 8 lbs. 3 ozs. and was 20 1/4 inches long. Check out their blog and leave a comment. - C

Check Out Some Pictures from Rochelle

Here is an online gallery from the Rochelle High School Boy's Soccer Camp from two weeks ago. Feel free to order any pictures of me that you find attractive. #23 is particularly inspiring. . .to me. . . to. . . go. . . on a diet. Just wish I had been wearing a Maranatha Soccer shirt on the day they were taking pictures.

Remember this post? At church yesterday, a lady came up to me and said they were watching a soccer game on Sunday afternoon and that the coach of Toronto FC looked like me. -C

Latest Update on Preseason Date

Those who have already scheduled flights back to school for preseason on the 17th will be housed and fed on campus during the weekend. You might even be able to hang out at my house. . . and watch my kids. . . while Sarah and I go on a date. . . hmm, maybe this is working out better than I had thought. . . stay tuned. - C

Preseason Date Change

Due to a recent (last Thursday) ruling by the NCAA, players may not arrive for preseason until Sunday, August 19th. I know that many of you have already made flight reservations and the college is working on a proper solution to this problem. As a result there will be some major changes to the preseason schedule. Stay tuned. . . - C

Soccer Camp Starts on Monday!

Okay, this post is really messed up and I don't have time to fix it. Hopefully you get the idea. If there is anyone who can edit HTML code. . .I could use your help. . .

Campers may begin to register by 4 pm on Sunday afternoon in the foyer area of the Denney Gymnasium. Staff can begin to arrive around that time as well - although it would be nice to have a few here early. Here are the staff assignments for registration:

Payment/registration: Coach Adam, Coach C

Room Assignments/ Camp Schedule: Swift, Muse

Information Card: Kutz, Campbell

Soccer Gear Sales: Martinez, Dow

Field supervision: Ashton, Hollenbeck

We are expecting our largest group of campers in the history of Maranatha Soccer Camp, but there is still some room available. Campers can register on Sunday, but it would be nice to know if you are coming. Email me or fill out a website feedback form at mbbc.edu.

Can't wait to see everyone next week! - C

I need a geek . . .

One of My Favorite Pictures

The purpose of this blog is not to raise money, however, I think it is appropriate to share a need from time to time.

In 2003, Xactware provided the funds necessary to purchase a nice set of warm-ups for the women's soccer team. The contact was made through a parent of one of our players. In 2005, Xactware once again generously provided warm-ups for the women's team and they have served us well. This year, the women's team is once again in need of a new set of warm-ups. We could use the old ones for a third year. . .but they are not in the best shape. This last winter, we were able to take advantage of an internet deal and purchased new jackets that look sharp and will fit the team very well. The problem is, we did not have the finances to purchase the matching pants. We have some of the money necessary due to some fundraising and a lead gift by a member of the college admnistration, but we still need approximatelly $700 in order to finish the project.

If you know of an individual or company who may be interested in this cause, please contact me. All gifts are tax-deductible and I will gladly post an ad for their company on this site if requested.-C

Register for Soccer Camp!

I drove up to Green Bay yesterday to conduct a one-day clinic for Bay City Baptist. I always enjoy going up there. We had a little bit of bad weather, but everything worked out just fine. I was almost late because I41 is down to one lane near Fond du Lac - a warning to those of you who might be travelling up that way.

My real reason for this post: Maranatha Soccer Camp starts a week from Sunday! Make sure you are registered and ready to go. We already have players signed up from Arizona, Oregon, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and a better than average contingent from good 'ole Wisconsin. Not too many from Michigan this year. If anyone is coming from that direction, Swifty wouldn't mind a little company.

Mr. Thompson, Larry Carlson and myself lined our fields this morning. They are in good shape, but the upper field is a little dry. We hope for a few showers this weekend. Next week, I will be driving to Rochelle, IL every day for a boys camp at the public high school. Go Hubs! -C