Champions!

Plymouth United won the U11 Boys League championship with a 14-4 win over Canton Celtic Silver.
The teams entered Saturday afternoon's game tied for first with 6-1 records, but it wasn't much of a contest.
United dominated from the opening whistle, building a 4-1 halftime advantage behind two goals from Justin Wojcik and single tallies from Cameron Cieslik and Sean Rocker. Riley List stood tall in goal, making a few key saves and frequently and effectively playing the ball with his feet.
The teams traded goals early in the second half before United netted six unanswered to put the game out of reach.
Wojcik led all scorers with five goals.
The players received trophies after the game.

They return this week to Futsal training and will join a Futsal league next month.

Plymouth United U11 boys indoor team drops 1st game of session

The Plymouth United U11 boys indoor team won its first six games, and none of them were particularly close contests.
United's margin of victory ranged from three to 10 goals during its undefeated run to start the session.
Then came Saturday.
United lost 8-4 to The Jets.
Bad news, right?
Wrong, according to coach Mario Ramirez.
"I'm so proud of how we played," he said. "(The Jets) deserved the win. They played with great intensity.
"But our kids played very well."
The Jets scored twice in the game's first 90 seconds and led 5-2 at the half.
Thomas Dono drew United within two goals at 5-3 when he slotted home Gabe Rosas' centering pass with 23:13 remaining in the game.
After The Jets scored to go ahead 6-3 10 minutes later, Justin Wojcik put the ball down for the restart, waited for the referee's whistle and calmly rifled a shot past the stunned Jets goalie.
United feverishly tried to cut the margin to a single goal, but couldn't find the back of the net for the remainder of the game.
Sean Rocker and Shane Young scored United's first-half goals.
The loss dropped the teams into a first-place tie.
United closes out the session against Canton Celtic Silver (5-1) on Dec. 17.

U-11 boys indoor team goes 2-0 over Thanksgiving weekend

Two games in two days over the Thanksgiving weekend resulted in two dominating wins for Plymouth United's under-11 boys indoor team.
United beat the Plymouth Rangers 10-0 on Sunday and earned a 12-4 victory over Green Wave Soccer a day earlier.
Thomas Dono and Sean Rocker each recorded hat tricks in the first half, Justin Wojcik had two goals and Shane Young added one to give United a 9-0 lead at halftime of Sunday's game.
Riley List didn't yield a goal during the first 25 minutes and tallied the lone score of a second half in which United's players focused on possession. Gabe Rosas, Robert Keller and Liam Householder helped United hold the ball for long stretches of time.
Justin maintained the shutout in the second half, making an acrobatic save with his left glove on a point-blank shot with 8:01 remaining. 
Jeff Wojcik said he and fellow coach Mario Ramirez instructed the team not to use the boards in the second half and to practice successfully completing four passes in its own zone, then four in the midfield area between the lines and four in the attacking zone before attempting a shot.
On Saturday, United overcame a sluggish start _ it led only 5-4 at the half _ to earn the eight-goal victory.
"The kids didn't have Futsal training this week, and it showed in the first half," Wojcik said. "They played a lot better in the second half."
United (6-0) plays its next game on Saturday against The Jets (2-2) at 1 p.m.

Plymouth United 7, Green Wave Soccer 3

Justin Wojcik scored three goals and Madison Grieb, Liam Householder, Sean Rocker and Gabe Rosas added one each to lead the Plymouth United boys U11 indoor team to a 7-3 win over Green Wave Soccer Sunday afternoon at High Velocity Sports.
United led 6-0 at halftime, and the final result probably could have been more lopsided, but, according to assistant coach Jeff Wojcik, the team "pulled back in the second half" at the coaches' urging.
United's dominance was such in the first 25 minutes that goalkeeper Riley List didn't touch the ball for the game's first 5 minutes. He wasn't forced to make a save until getting a glove on a low, hard shot with 15:48 remaining in the half that preserved United's 1-0 lead.
List didn't yield a goal in his half of work and frequently acted as a sixth field player, cheating out of goal to maintain possession and challenge breakaways.
Asked what skills the team was focusing on during the game, Justin Wojcik didn't hesitate.
"Possession," said Wojcik, who scored the game's first two goals _ and its final one, a beautiful, bending free kick.
Jeff Wojcik said the team also worked on avoiding the use of the wall. If a player sent a pass or dribble off the wall, he or she was instructed to give possession of the ball to the opposition.
"And we did a really good job of not using it," said Wojcik, who also complimented the players on their spacing.
All nine players, including also Thomas Dono, Ashton Quinn and Shane Young, played a good team game, Wojcik said.
The victory ran United's record to a perfect 3-0 and set up a showdown for first place with the Lightning (4-0) when the teams meet at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Futsal Develops Players' Skills in Ball Control, Speed, Agility....and Cleaning?

Futsal training is well underway and our players seem to be having a blast. Futsal can be frustrating for them at first as the ball is moving faster, and as a result, is harder to control. This is why futsal is an important developmental activity for soccer players of all levels. It is a proven method to improve ball handling, speed, and agility, and even better, it's fun!

If you are new to our club and new to futsal, ask some of last year's parents and they will tell you that futsal works. Our players who participated in futsal training through last winter came onto the spring field with new skills, improved control, speed, and confidence.

For more information on why futsal is a key activity in youth soccer development, visit the US Futsal Federation website at:

http://www.futsal.com/index.php/top-10-reasons-to-play-futsal-

Of course, the key to any training is continued practice at home. Encourage your players to practice their new exercises on a flat surface at home like a linoleum or hardwood floor, or even your basement concrete or garage. Even as little as ten minutes of practice a day will help them improve. Each week, the coaches will be sending our players home with futsal homework, or the exercises we worked that week in training. Get involved by asking them to show you these new exercises at home. Then, if you're feeling brave, give them a try yourself. You may be surprised at how difficult it is to keep that little ball under your foot.

As we move around from facility to facility this winter, it will be helpful if your player brings both flats and turfs to each practice. This way we will not be caught off guard with the wrong shoes like many of us were this past week. Also, please remember that no black-soled shoes are allowed on the gym floors. They leave awful scuff marks that your coaches have to remove before leaving. Fortunately, this past week, our players and parents got involved and the cleaning went quickly and actually, was a fun little club bonding experience, though one we hope will be a one-time-only event.

Good thing the culprit is a cute kid!

See you next week with the right shoes :-)

U9 Girls Victorious in Last Game!

With a flurry of goals, including separate hat tricks by Talia List and Zoe Barkoff, the 03Girls Blue dominated the Downriver Rush to win their last game of the Fall 2011 Season 14-0. The team used their superior footwork and passing skills to ensure almost every player had a chance to score.

First half keeper Laura Boesch held off the Rush the few times they got close to the goal and defender Abby Wickman stepped in to help second half keeper List at the goal line. Liliana Kash and Gabriella Crespi again provided offensive support along with Elizabeth Backer, Claire Campbell, Ryleigh Reed and Caitlyn Cieslik.

Sam Miller, 03Girls Blue coach, said after the game that the girls have progressed into mature young soccer players this season. While pleased with the victory he emphasized that it is more important for the girls to incorporate what they learn in practice than to win games.

The girls thanked Coach Sam for all the hard work by giving him his own United warm up jacket.

Go United!

Double Hat Tricks Spur United 03 Girls Blue Over Chelsea

The United '03 Girls Blue team faced off against Chelsea for the second time this season. As in their first meeting, the United girls dominated the field with their footwork, but this time their efforts not only won the ball on the field, they put the ball into the back of the net. Talia List and Laura Boesch both recorded hat tricks as the United won over Chelsea, 6-1.

List and Boesch finished strong today with offensive support from teammates Lilianna Kash and Gabriella Crespi. With wind-like speed, Claire Campbell and Caitlin Cieslik beat the opposing players to 50-50 balls. Cieslik sprinted for double duty on offense and defense, while Campbell sent not one, but two beautiful slotted passes across the goal mouth.  In the back field, Ryleigh Reed continued to show calm and confident control and Zoe Barkoff and Abigail Wickman assisted with a showing of fancy footwork.

Boesch not only put the ball into the back of the net, but stopped the ball from going in as the solid first-half keeper. Also standing firm in net was Elizabeth Backer in her debut keeper performance.

The season is not over for this impressive U9 team. Saturday, October 29th at 11am they face the Down River Rush at home to conclude their Fall 2011 season.

Boys 01 Blue Rallies in Second Half to Close Gap on Lyon FC

The United '01 Boys Blue rallied in the second half of today's game to narrow Lyon FC's three goal half-time advantage. Scoring two goals in quick succession of one another, the United put forth a serious team effort to tie the game with only minutes left in the second half. Coach Mario moved the entire team into a press and was heard telling the keeper, "You're going to score Riley!"

With a flurry of shots, the United fought to the finish, but time was not on their side. Lyon FC's early game goal advantage proved enough as they took the game 3-2.

While the game ended too soon, the after party went well into the dusk hours as the team enjoyed some "healthy" snacks and some more soccer. Most of the players said they were sad to see the fall outdoor season come to an end. Parents expressed similar feelings, though that may be attributed to today's sun and mild fall temperatures. In a few weeks (or days, let's face it, this is Michigan), I expect most of us will be happy to have moved our training sessions indoor.

With only the '03 Girls Blue team left to wrap up their fall outdoor season next Saturday at 11am on our home field, all of our teams will move to indoor practices beginning tomorrow, Monday, October 24 at High Velocity. Please check your schedules for your designated group and training times.

Go United!

Hartland Havoc Gold 5, Plymouth United White 1

It was a tale of two halves for the Plymouth United boys White team on Saturday at Hines Park.
United entered halftime of its final game of the fall in a 1-1 tie with Hartland Havoc Gold, thanks to a second-minute goal by Oliver Horswill.
Hartland evened things when its corner kick 10 minutes before the half glanced off United goalie Justin Wojcik's gloves and trickled into the back of the goal.
Hartland scored twice in the first 12 minutes after the intermission en route to a 5-1 win.
"It was two different halves. That was it," said United coach Mario Ramirez. "We pressured hard in the first half and backed off in the second."
In the first 30 minutes, though, United controlled much of the play, nearly scoring in the very first minute, when a long dribbling run by Alex Cross ended with a shot that beat the Hartland goalie but sailed just wide.
United broke through a minute later when a long throw-in from captain Kyle Czarnik began a sequence that ended with the ball bouncing in front of Oliver, who confidently half-volleyed it off the left post and into the goal.
United held Hartland scoreless over the next 18 minutes, thanks to a pair of tremendous defensive plays.
First, Justin made a diving save to his left in the 9th minute. Three minutes later, after Justin was beaten, Kyle sprinted from the top of the box back to clear the ball just before it crossed the goal line. 
Justin made a number of nice saves in the second half as did substitute goalkeeper Thomas Dono to keep the game as close as it was.
Hartland nearly scored on a second corner kick, but Justin deftly tipped it over the crossbar in the 41st minute.
United's White team, playing up in age and in the 8v8 format for the first time, competed well in all of its games, and each player _ Alex, Oliver, Kyle, Riley List, Ashton Quinn, Liam Householder, Madison Grieb, Gabe Rosas, Nathan Hunt and Dylan Schmitzerle _ made important contributions throughout.
Now it's on to indoor soccer and Futsal training for boys White and the other teams in the club.

Last Game for 01 Blue Boys Today

Come out to Hines Field today at 4:45pm to cheer on the 01 Boys Blue as they conclude their Fall 2011 outdoor season!

Welcome to our new blog!

Welcome to the Plymouth United's new blog!

Going forward, our families and friends will be able to follow our players and teams by visiting this blog. Representatives from each team will be posting updates after games; information on upcoming team and club-wide events; and any other exciting, interesting, and fun soccer information we can find!

Go United!