More Snow Photos....

Nick Row dusts snow away so he can actually set the ball on turf for the free kick.


Marques Mayoras beats a Rush player.

These were just too good to pass up...

Big Congrats to the Juniors

The U16's attempting to warm-up, but still in amazement that they are about to play a match...

I still can't believe we played Saturday night and thank god we did because Sunday was worse. Colorado Rush had nonrefundable tickets so they flew here Saturday determined to get the game in. They landed around 3pm and we had kicked off the conference game by 5:15pm with flurries...

The flurries turned into a full fledged snow storm in my eyes, I'm no weather man but seriously it was crazy! The U16 were unstoppable and took advantage of the slick conditions following up on every shot. We had goals from Nate Opperman, Derek Schrick and Garrett Pulliam. The final was 3-0

The U18's played directly after and had a long fight to the end. There was no scoring until the final few minutes of the game. Rush got on the board first with a PK and within minute we came back and tied the game with a goal by Will Witherspoon. Defender Michael Oakley had the game winner just minutes later of a freekick and the score remained 2-1 leaving the KCW Juniors victorious.

The boys really gave it there all and a big thank you to all who coordinated schedules and to the parents for being so flexible. The teams will continue conference play from now until the Spring Showcase in May. Up next is a road trip to St.Louis on March 6th & 7th.

No Games Tomorrow

The U18's and U16's actually ended up playing Colorado Rush this evening. Basically as soon as Rush landed they came directly to the field and the games were under way. We were trying to beat the snow storm that was rolling into KC...which didn't really happen. We won both games; U16's 3-0 and U18's 2-1. Photos and details will be posted on Monday.

Saturday is OFF and Sunday is ON

With snow in the forecast between here and Denver, Real Colorado has canceled their bus trip. On the other hand Colorado Rush decided to fly here. They should be in town tomorrow and will be taking on the U18's and U16's as planned at Swope Training Facility on Sunday, Feb 21st. The U16's will kick off at 9am and the U18's will play directly after at 11am. We would love your support, so come on out...blankets and hot chocolate will be a necessity!

We will be rescheduling the Real Colorado match sometime in April, so look for updates on that.

Kempin Receives Big Time Honors

Jonathan Kempin, GK for the U16's, was honored yesterday as the GATORADE Kansas State Player of the Year. The Gatorade Player of the Year recognizes one player from each of the 50 States and then the rest is up to us to make sure Kempin gets voted for the National Player of the Year. Don't worry we will remind you when and where to vote when the time comes...its not until April. If this happens he will join the likes of Landon Donovan, Tony Meola, Claudio Reyna just to name a few.

This is the 25th year ESPN Rise and Gatorade has given out this award. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the field, distinguishes Kempin as Kansas' best high school boys soccer player.

Check out the full article, Jon Parry has a great quote in it as well.

So very cold in KC

This winter has not been kind, which forced the Juniors back inside the last couple weeks. They trained at KC Sports Lodge in Independence, MO. I went out and took a few photos of boys...see below.

The Juniors will be playing host to Real Colorado and Colorado Rush this weekend at Swope Training Center OUTSIDE. At the end of the week, we will take a closer look at our opponents and the weather.

Goals

Not so much about scoring goals but more about Goal Setting...Head coaches Paul Rideout (U18's) and Jon Parry (U16's) touch on what they hope the end result will be for these players and how they want to produce exceptional players but also "good people" in the community.

Why Futsal?

Director of coaching Jon Parry and U18's player, Sean Latz (who is off to DRAKE this Fall) explains why they are currently playing futsal and how it helps their overall game.

Commitment

So we all have been asked "What does it take to be part of the KCW Juniors Team?" Well, hear it here first from the both the players and the coaches point of view. Do you have what it takes to belong to the team?