Jo-Jo

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Jo-Jo. We were delighted to have him come and play this season and were sadden by the news of his premature death. Chip and I spent a half hour after practice with him Monday evening and told him he would be playing on the Junior Varsity squad this season. He was so excited for the opportunity to play and be a part of the team. He was most excited about getting to wear the Southridge uniform and representing his school. I only got to watch Jo-Jo that first day of practice and I can tell you that he was a hard worker, loyal, dedicated, outgoing, friendly and most importantly he was a very good person. We can learn so many lessons in life by looking at the type of person he was. If everybody has just a few of the many endearing traits that Jo-Jo possessed we will all be better people. We’ll miss you Jo-Jo.

Jovan Jo-Jo Conn 1987-2008

Final Pre Season Update

Hanford finished 5th in the conference with a 4-8 league record (5-10 overall) and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Kamiakin. They posted impressive victories on the road against West Valley and Sunnyside. I think you will remember their other two victories coming against us, in the first league match of the year they scored with two minutes left to win 1-0. Then beat us with two goals in the added time to win 2-1. It doesn’t need to be said that with those two close games and Head Coach Kyle Verick being a former Southridge coach that this is a good rivalry game. In my opinion Hanford has the leagues best player in Dino Romnic he should make a strong run at mvp. Hanford also returns their goalkeeper who was a rookie last year and will have much needed experience this season. Throw in a few solid retuning starters in the midfield and defense this Hanford team is a lock to make the playoffs. They will go as far as Dino will take them; it will be interesting to see what position he may play as he can play forward, inside or outside mid, and he is probably the best defender on the team.

Kennewick went 3-9 (4-11 overall) securing the last playoff seed, and lost in the first round to Eastmont 3-2. They return a sophomore keeper who saw lots of action last season, and have several kids coming back who saw significant playing time. This team played defensive minded all season long and just like Southridge played in 11 one goal games. Expect them to be tough on defense again this season, and look for them to compete for a playoff spot again this year. We beat them in a shootout the first time and they returned the favor in the last game of the season. This was also an intense rivalry game and will be important for us to win in order to make a our playoff run.

Opponent Update

Sunnyside finished third in the conference at 8-4 (13-5 overall) and delivered League Champion Eastmont their only two losses of the season but lost in the first round of state. They were hit hard by graduation but have plenty of players coming back to stay competitive. The thing you have to remember about Sunnyside is they like to play “pretty” soccer. In other words they pass the ball a lot and wait for you to have a defensive break down that they turn into one on one scoring opportunities. Make no mistake they will be excellent at playing this style of soccer again this year. Everyone will have to maintain their defensive responsibilities and keep your shape. When the opportunity arises you have to tackle hard and play physical against them, this will make them not want to hang on to the ball and will disrupt their rhythm. As always they will draw a lot of fouls with theatrical diving and playing to the refs desires to hand out cards. We have to pick our spots and not draw fouls in dangerous areas. Sunnyside will do very well on set pieces again this season. Expect two hard fought games against them as they will be ambitious to finish as well or better than last season.

West Valley finished fourth place in the conference at 7-5 (9-7 overall) and lost in the first round of districts. West Valley was probably the hardest hit team due to graduation. Not only the number of players they lost but also the quality of players. The thing that stood out the most to me was their home record of 4-2 with both losses coming in one goal games. They are an extremely tough team to play on the road. Lampson Stadium was pretty friendly to them as well winning two games against one loss to Kamiakin. They will be welcoming a new coach and as I said before they lost many key players so they're kind of a wild card in the league. We’re not sure what significant players they’ll have coming back or what new tactics the first year coach will bring. One thing we do know is they return last season’s goalkeeper who played well all year, and you can count on them to not give away too many games at home.

Check back later for updates on Hanford and Kennewick.

One Week Until Practice

There is only one week left until practice starts, I hope you guys are getting in shape and getting prepared for the physical conditioning that will be waiting for you. As coaches we felt that our biggest downfall at the beginning of last season was the team not being fit to run for 80-90 minutes. That will not be the case this year. This is my way of warning everyone to use this last week and start to get into shape.

We start the season playing two non-conference games against the GSL 4A division, then all the games count for us to make a deep run into the playoffs. This week I will be reminding you of our conference opponents records last year and who they have coming back.

Eastmont was the league Champions posting an 11-1 league record, (13-2 overall). They lost to Sunnyside in the District Championship. They will be returning the MVP of the league who is as dangerous setting up teammates as he is scoring. Eastmont will have a target on their back all season and will have to deal with every team giving them thier best shot. I think last year they flew under the radar the first half of the season and won't be able to do that again, but I predict they will finish near the top of the table again.

Kamiakin finished second in the league with an 8-4 league record (12-5 overall) and lost to East Valley in the second round of districts. They also may have the toughest player to replace in midfielder Jacob Ellig. He was a real playmaker whose opponents always had to be aware of his location on the pitch. They will be in good hands with a core of returning starters including two goalkeepers who split time last year. Coach Borak may have trouble finding adaquete playing time to keep both players happy. Kamiakin won the Big Nine title in 2006 and were runners up last year, so you can count on them to battle for the League Championship once again.

Check back later for updates on Sunnyside and West Valley.

Countdown to Soccer season 2008

Two more weeks until the new season begins and practices are in full swing. All practices will be held at Lampson Stadium and we have the 7-9 p.m. slot the first week. Parents meeting on the 25th at 5:30 p.m. at Southridge High School. We will be conditioning hard the first week of practice, so start running now. It looks like we will have more student athletes turning out than we've had in the last several years, so hopes will be high to finish near the top of the league. I will be keeping you up to date on our season as well as other area teams.