As players, it had to feel good to control the tempo of Sunday's match and earn a very convincing win over a more experienced Downingtown squad.

As a coach, my greatest satisfaction came from seeing so many individual players trying new things on the pitch - actively pursuing avenues to evolve their games.

That you want to win is a given. Everyone does. Rare is the athlete who strives to lose.

That you're willing to push the limits of what you know and risk failure for the opportunity to become better players is what i find impressive.

I truly believe that the major barrier that holds most people back is the fear of failure. The vast majority see failure as simply, well .. failure, rather than a necessary and undeniable step toward self-betterment.

The greatest kickers in the game have shanked thousands of balls wide of the posts as they've honed their craft. The greatest tacklers have been bowled over, blown past or left grabbing at air countless times along the road to success. The difference between them and the masses is that they were able to step back from their failures, assess them, and use what they learned to make themselves better. Thus, without failure, they would never have known true success.

Each of you has received - or will soon have received - an index card with some personal goals that we, as coaches, feel are key to elevating your current game to the next level. Keep those goals close over the next two weeks. See yourself achieving them in your mind and be prepared to achieve them on the pitch. And know that trying to achieve them likely will , in the short term, result in some small failures - a chip kick that didn't quite go where you'd intended; a dummy pass that didn't fool anyone, a pick-and-go that got snuffed at "pick."

Take those setbacks in stride. Assess them and learn.

Then use what you learn to get better.

You've made incredible progress over the past two months. Anyone who has seen you play is struck by it. But I know you're not done growing yet. Not by a long shot. We have almost two weeks until our next match - an ideal stretch to focus on our individual and collective goals.

Let's take full advantage.

See you at training,

Coach Badger