YDA Squads Dominate at The OP Tournament

Last weekend saw OESA send 4 YDA teams to the OP Invitational Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Over the course of the two days we played a total of 16 matches, with the Girls in bracket play (3 preliminary matches and a final)  and the boys in round robin (4 matches no matter what) play. Final results were:


U10 Girls - Champs
U9 Girls - Runner Ups
U10 Boys - Champs
U9 Boys - Runner Ups


While we are very proud of our accomplishments, we felt we had some of our most beneficial moments when we weren't successful. All teams had matches where they were down in score and had to show determination and grit to get a result. The U9 boys had to come back from a 3-0 deficit in their last match to get a 6-6 draw, with two huge saves from Keegan, which netted them second place. Every player on the team contributed in some way to the result. The U10 girls learned to NEVER let a ball hit the ground from a keeper punt ever again, in letting a match get away and turn into a draw. The U10 boys had to deal with a huge momentum shift in a match on their own in pulling out a win. Our U9 girls had a tough final match against a really "vocally scary" coach and had to control their fears and play how we are taught to play. In all of these matches, we can look to the training pitch and know that in some way, shape or form, we have put the players through some form of situation that will make them emotionally deal with the adversity the face in matches. All of our YDA players, whether attending and playing or not, are responsible for the YDA's success at every event. Your player plays a vital part in the total development of each player and our program, so we all share in any success we achieve. We don't always measure success by wins, losses, goals and saves. We prepare our players to be focused and dedicated to themselves and the badge they wear on their chest.

We need more photos of all of our YDA squads to post here on the blog!!!