Panthers Hotter than Inferno

The Panthers were on fire as they scored three goals
to win another good game!

Jace got two well-deserved goals against the Inferno and seemed to spin the goalie on this one!

Matt was all over the field today as he took a nice pass from Dylan and JJ to put some pressure on the defense here.

Lawrence, who always puts himself in perfect position, knows he, Mitch, Matt and Jamie are going to get this ball!


Matt and Justin await the oncoming rush from the Inferno.

TJ, Aaron and Justin put a few shots on the Inferno's goalie. See how they are spread out (Aaron on the left, TJ in the middle and Justin on the right... this is how you score goals!)

Justin gets ready to put in his first goal of the season with a powerful kick!
Aaron heads the ball as Dylan, Mitch, Ryan and Lawrence get ready to make a play on the net.

Derek takes the pass from his buddies as Jamie and Mark come up to help.

Jace sends a pass up to Derek - look at that lean... that's some serious speed!

Good game today Panthers! When you get out there on the field, remember what Coach Mike told you at halftime:

"Spread out, and give yourself

a chance for some good opportunities!"

Now this is a Team!

Today was a day where EVERY SINGLE PANTHER played up to his full potential, and showed how awesome this team is!

Mitch continued to show a lot of heart and energy on the field today - he got tripped, had a ball kicked at his face... and got right back up to pressure the ball, get a few steals and even assist on some Panther goals! Very impressive young Jedi!

Derek jumped into the game and played like a star! He had a sweet shot today by putting himself in the right spot - and this kind of smarts on the field will lead to a lot of goals for him this year!

Jace ran a marathon today as he sprinted end to end to steal the ball, pass the ball to his buddies and show us parents the coolest assist of the game with a terrific pass to the opposite side of the goal!

Lawrence ate his grapes and ran so much today, I think he's still out there sprinting up and down the field! Did you see him steal that ball at midfield and bring it all the way down? He threw in two well-deserved goals, and I think we'll be seeing many more from him this season!

And who is that kid who seems to always be at the right spot at the right time? Dylan of course! He is one heck of a soccer player who stole the ball about a gazillion times today, and set up his fellow Panthers for some great goals! Way to go Dylan!

The news reported that a wrecking ball hit the net today - no worries, it was just TJ's goal! I think we can look forward to more of those! Ryan continues to get into the play and show that his right foot is a secret weapon. He was involved in two of the goals today and it's only a matter of time until he hits the back of the net!

Matt is showing that he can play every spot! He learns so quickly and has been getting better and better with every game! Whether he's in the net or on the offense, he's a threat every time!

And our buddy Sam stepped up his game BIG TIME! He put himself in the perfect spot to get three shots on goal and really put some pressure on the other goalie!
Aaron has been on a tear, and continues to pound in goals thanks to a lot of hustle from him and his Panther friends! What's better... Aaron's effort on the field or his cartwheels?

And we're really impressed with Jamie! He moved that ball around about 10 guys today and had some sweet passes to his team mates! Way to go.

Mark is one smart dude out there on the field! He knows where that ball is going and is getting to the spot on the double. When he kicks the ball, take cover - cause he can blast it!

Justin gives a spark to his team immediately - his passing ability is really good... and precise! He's got the desire to continue to improve, and we're expecting to see big things from him in the next few weeks!

Panthers Take a Bite out of the Sharks

On Monday, the Panthers took to the field against the mighty

Blue Sharks! And it seems that our boys were nice enough to hold a soccer clinic during the game!


Jace showed the Sharks how he can levitate if he concentrates really hard...

Aaron, Matt and Derek showed how they can spread out and score...

Ryan demonstrated how to center the ball properly as Matt calls to his team mates to send the ball his way - thanks for getting the ball up there Daniel and Jamie!

Panthers Tip:
Kick the ball with the inside of your foot when passing to your team mate. This will give you more accuracy on your pass.

Derek, JJ, Lawrence and Ryan politely demonstrate how to steal the ball and immediately boot the it up field. Speaking of booting the ball - did you see TJ's kicks?!

Panthers Tip:

To protect the ball, put your body between the defender and the ball (and put your foot on top of the ball). This will give you a little time to decide where to kick it while the guy defending you never gets the chance to kick the ball at all!

Aaron and Matt took time out of their busy day to show proper technique in spreading out and calling for the ball.

Panthers Tip
When your team has the ball, move to an open area so that your Panther Buddies can pass you the ball for a wide open shot!

Then Dylan, Lawrence, JJ, Ryan and Aaron showed how to steal the ball from your opponent and get some nice shots on goal! Mark also demonstrated how to kick the ball a country mile when anyone dared to kick it by him!

Panthers Tip

Always defend your goal by keeping yourself between your goalie and the defender. This makes your opponent have to dribble around you

or take a bad shot!

Mitch, Dylan and JJ were all over the field. They showed the Sharks that with a lot of effort, you can be the first one to the ball and get some good opportunities to score!

And, if you try your hardest and play smart, you'll get many goals!

Panthers Tip

When getting ready to shoot on the goal, look at the spot where you want the ball to go (like the area in goal where the goalie is no where near!),

and kick the ball with your toe!

And most importantly, after scoring - Aaron, JJ, Matt, Lawrence and Derek show proper form by running back to midfield with big smiles... and getting ready to score again!

Great job Panthers! You played really hard and made all of us parents really proud!

Panthers Bite the Vipers

The Panthers played as a team today and showed some real team spirit, toughness and intelligence!

Early in the game, Mitch, Matt, Mark and Justin were giving the team some energy by pushing the ball up the field continuously.

Dylan put in a sweet goal by booting the ball past the Vipers' goalie! TJ had a beautiful pass up to Jace as he raced down the left side of the field and put by a speedy goal. Then Aaron joined in and put one top shelf past the goalkeeper.

And with the score tied 3-3, Aaron intercepted the ball and kicked it up to Lawrence who centered it to Derek and Jamie who put it toward the box where Jace put in a beeeee-autiful game winner!

And to preserve the win - JJ, Lawrence and Ryan made a smart move by continuously blocking the Vipers' shots and moving the ball up the sidelines... very smart indeed!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner... or should we say Winner Winner Cold Cow Ice Cream?!

Well done Panthers!

Hey Parents: If you have pics or video of any of the games - send them to me (mrmarksmith327@yahoo.com) after the game and I'll put them on the Panthers blog. I keep forgetting to bring my camera!

Also, we're going to create an Ice Cream Goal Bucket - Each time the Panthers score a goal, each parent will put a quarter in the bucket... then we can get some more money to go get ICE CREAM again!

Thunder Hawks Teach A Lesson

The mighty Panthers were tought a very valuable lesson in Tuesday's game as the Thunder Hawks scored goal after goal.

Like so many of those books your mom and dad read to you, this game had a valuable lesson to learn:

Always try your hardest and do your best!

Today, we learned as a team that:

• We should always go after the ball
• We must try to always be the first to the ball
• We can't kick through someone (go around them)
• We have to stay in our own position
• We can't crowd around our team mates

Even the great Ronaldhino had to learn these lessons in order to become as great as he is. Wanna see some of his skills? Click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3hWIplHVeE&feature=related

Now it's time to grab your soccer ball and go practice some kicking like Ronaldhino!

Game... cancelled!

UPDATE: GAME CANCELLED!

Hey Parents, today's game has been cancelled due to unplayable conditions on the field.

Even in the rain, the Panthers will typically still play.

If lightning is present, we will retire to our cars for 20 minutes to see if the lightning passes. The refs at the game will then decide if we play or reschdule.

It was decided at today's game that the conditions of the field would not make it possible to play today.

Practice: 7 pm Thursday (Sept. 11)

Hey Parents

Don't forget that we'll have practice this Thursday (Sept. 11) at 7 pm at our usual practice field at Huron Park located at Frazho/Kelly.

Did You Know?

Today is Daniel's Birthday!

Happy Bday Daniel from all your Panther buddies!

Panthers Strike Lightning

The Panthers took the field against the speedy Lightning team. And what a big field it was - did you know this is the same size field that the junior high kids play on?

Before we started the game, an invisible ninja told us to "Stick 'em up!"

Then Aaron and Mitch read the team a bedtime story...

After we regained our composure, Mitch took shots from the team to get ready for the game.

A great big welcome to our newest member of the team - TJ! TJ jumped right in and stole the ball from the Lightning and gave it a big boot up the field!

The Panthers started off the game strong by getting the ball deep in Lightning territory while Matt calls out to Jamie for a clear shot.

Aaron got things started off with the first goal as Lawrence, JJ and Jace try to figure out which was better... the goal or the cartwheel!

Coach Mike multitasked in the game as he gave instructions (and got in a little cardio) as Aaron runs back to steal the ball from the lightning.


JJ played great today as he continuously ran down the ball, stole it and passed to his teammates. Sam got open for the pass as Ryan speeds back to assist.


Jace didn't want to miss out on the action.. so he jumped in and nailed in a sweet goal - nice teamwork on the play boys!
Coach Mike shifted some lines around to give all the boys a chance to play multiple positions. Mark and Derek seem to confer with Coach Mike's decisions.
Jace got open for another goal as Aaron dumped it in from the sideline. This is why you always hear the coaches yell "CENTER!"... it leads to some fun goals!

Lawrence dove into the game the second half and threw in two goals in short order... hey Leslie, keep the grapes for Saturday too!