IE Surf RB
- Thread starter FourFourTwo
- Start date
A few weeks removed and there are some things I can say and others that I can't because they're not my stories to tell.
My 06 DD played for Randle Bowling & Darrel O'Brien on Coach Bowling's 05 team for 2 years before dropping down to play her age this year with the 06 team at IE Surf coached by Darrell O'Brien. She has been fortunate enough to fill in for the 05s at various points this season including CRL. As a goalkeeper, she benefited beyond words from the type of training and soccer philosophy Coach Bowling gave her and her teammates. She went through some bumps in the road playing up with kids up to 20 months older than her but he held his course and walked the walk with stressing building out of the back to shift defenses and create space, always incorporating the keeper.
My 04 DD played for Randle Bowling & Darrel O'Brien on Coach Bowling's 04 team for going on 2 years and what he did with her was truly inspiring. He took an athlete with grit and heart and turned her into a complete soccer player, putting her everywhere from forward, wing, center mid, outside back, and ultimately center back where she played against some of the best forwards and she paid her dues.
As the 04 team went into this season, the goal was to compete as best they could with the marquee teams and programs without compromising development. As was the case with other years, the lack of platform was an uphill battle in regards to recruiting and keeping players with ECNL, and now DA on the horizon. In addition many players had been along for the ride for some time, and as with anything change is inevitable. A few players left after National Cup at the beginning of the year, and one or two as the season began a new. The team numbers were on the shorter side going into Surf Cup and some inconsistency caused questions and concerns. Both before and after Surf Cup, the number of players took a further hit and put the team in a predicament that would ultimately be it's demise.
There were so many moving pieces in regards to cause and blame that it was a little bit of everything that brought things to a head. In the end there was but a small core of girls and no team to come back to. I have a lot of respect for Coach Bowling to give my DD and her teammates his blessing as the news broke, and a few calls were made to help situate players with try outs and teams as a post August 1st scramble ensued.
Reflecting back, things could have been done differently but ultimately it was time as I look around and see where girls landed and it gives me hope that they will all be happy continuing to play the game they love.
In that regard and so many others, I'm grateful for the foundation and tools Coach Bowling and O'Brien have given my DD's and will always point to them as the ones who developed my kids in their formidable years.
Best of luck to everywhere out there, see you on the pitch!
My 06 DD played for Randle Bowling & Darrel O'Brien on Coach Bowling's 05 team for 2 years before dropping down to play her age this year with the 06 team at IE Surf coached by Darrell O'Brien. She has been fortunate enough to fill in for the 05s at various points this season including CRL. As a goalkeeper, she benefited beyond words from the type of training and soccer philosophy Coach Bowling gave her and her teammates. She went through some bumps in the road playing up with kids up to 20 months older than her but he held his course and walked the walk with stressing building out of the back to shift defenses and create space, always incorporating the keeper.
My 04 DD played for Randle Bowling & Darrel O'Brien on Coach Bowling's 04 team for going on 2 years and what he did with her was truly inspiring. He took an athlete with grit and heart and turned her into a complete soccer player, putting her everywhere from forward, wing, center mid, outside back, and ultimately center back where she played against some of the best forwards and she paid her dues.
As the 04 team went into this season, the goal was to compete as best they could with the marquee teams and programs without compromising development. As was the case with other years, the lack of platform was an uphill battle in regards to recruiting and keeping players with ECNL, and now DA on the horizon. In addition many players had been along for the ride for some time, and as with anything change is inevitable. A few players left after National Cup at the beginning of the year, and one or two as the season began a new. The team numbers were on the shorter side going into Surf Cup and some inconsistency caused questions and concerns. Both before and after Surf Cup, the number of players took a further hit and put the team in a predicament that would ultimately be it's demise.
There were so many moving pieces in regards to cause and blame that it was a little bit of everything that brought things to a head. In the end there was but a small core of girls and no team to come back to. I have a lot of respect for Coach Bowling to give my DD and her teammates his blessing as the news broke, and a few calls were made to help situate players with try outs and teams as a post August 1st scramble ensued.
Reflecting back, things could have been done differently but ultimately it was time as I look around and see where girls landed and it gives me hope that they will all be happy continuing to play the game they love.
In that regard and so many others, I'm grateful for the foundation and tools Coach Bowling and O'Brien have given my DD's and will always point to them as the ones who developed my kids in their formidable years.
Best of luck to everywhere out there, see you on the pitch!
tabletop
SILVER
I've had occasional opportunities to watch this team play, from its inception as Olimpia, then merging with Corinthians and then through the different affiliations with Celtic, Arsenal North & West and then finally as IE Surf. I admired how RB would push these girls to play a possession based style of soccer at a young age. Around 2014, they appeared to be more advanced than most other top teams in terms of tactical strategies, and for a prolonged period of time, they were able to win the majority of their games without sacrificing their style of play. Obviously the soccer landscape has changed quite a bit since 2012, but I really would have expected this team would have stayed together for more than 5 years. Hopefully the girls all found suitable destinations to continue playing and hopefully they remain proud of what they were able to accomplish over the years. Awesome team to watch.
Tech, thanks for sharing. Glad your daughters and their teammates found new teams in such a complicated time.