Tornados Are Winners

The Tornados finished the season with a phenomenal record of 13-1, and were awarded the Bronze Medal for their efforts at the AYSO In-House Tournament!

Our picnic, although a soggy one, was filled with some great laughs and good food. We hope you parents liked the "awards" as much as we enjoyed coming up with them. In case you didn't hear all of them, here they are:
2 Owen: He played well and improved every time he touched the ball… Sticking With It Award
3 Jace: He runs coast to coast with every position, he never tires and has a keen nose for where that ball is going – and he gets it! High Energy Player Award
4 Jonathan: Knocked to the ground several times a game, and chases after the ball with all his might - Greatest Effort Award
5 Luke: After getting hit in the face, chest and head several times, he used his karate skills to overcome his fear of the mighty soccer ball… No Fear Award
7 Joey:After chasing down the ball and beating the defender, a few games ago he knocked a ball 20’ in the air to watch it spin into the net - Coolest Goal of the Season Award
8 Kyle: Over the past few games, this young man showed just how high and far he could kick a soccer ball - Hidden Big Kicker Award
9 Riley: She’s got a brilliant mind for soccer and gives her all every practice and every game and will kick the ball right through her opponents if she wanted - Toughest Force Award
10 Emma: Beaming brightly any time she gets the opportunity to play net and stopping almost every shot that comes her way - Golden Goalie Award
11 Christopher: Balancing baseball and soccer is no easy task, but this young man managed to balance a baseball all star game and a soccer Tournament on the same day – Base-occer two-sport Award
12 Lea: Making sure that the coaches and her parents are aware that she knows virtually every player on every team - Greatest Tea Party Host Award
13 Troy: On and off the field, it’s extremely important to help your teammates and this young man does it so very well - Best Sideline Coach Award
14 Aaron: We marvel at the technique and style that makes watching the cartwheels as much fun as the goals themselves- Best Post Goal Celebration Award
15 Madison: The pitter patter of feet moving 100 miles per hour were put into high gear this season thanks to a special member of her family - Best Response to Grandma Award
16 Lawrence: Whether playing defense and stealing the ball, or scoring a goal on offense or booting big kicks from the goalie position, this young man never tires and never quits - Biggest Heart Award

And thank you so much for generous gifts! The gift cards were not necessary (but very much appreciated), and the soccer balls and cards signed by the kids were a perfect touch! Thank you, thank you!

With so much excitement this season, please be sure to check out 250 great photos (courtesy of Lea's Mom & Dad and Madison's Gramma) on the Shutterfly link:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZt2bhi5ZsWTiA

Way to go Tornados - you are all WINNERS! Have a great summer, and we'll see you soon!

Tornados Beat the Stingers

Today was round 1 of the AYSO tournament, and the Tornados showed up to do two things: Have fun and run like crazy!

After some nice passing from Troy, Aaron quickly got the game started with a speedy goal that beat the goalie to the far side. Emma followed up with some fancy footwork that confounded the goalie allowing for our second goal.

Meanwhile Owen and Kyle put on the pressure defensively as Rylie, Jonathan and Christopher pummeled the ball at midfield. Joey and Lawrence kept pace with the Stingers' fast midfielders, and they stole the ball numerous times to give Luke and Madison a few attempts at the net.

By the way - the mom who brought the grapes for the halftime snack - way to go! Those were great!

Anyway, back to the game...

Lawrence got to play goal again, and booted a few balls close to midfield to give our streaking forwards some great opportunities. One came to Jace who sent one home and followed it up with another quick one.

Thanks to all the cheering from the Moms, Dads, Grandmas, Grampas, Aunts, Uncles, siblings, cousins & friends... the Tornados got a well deserved win!

Tornados Play as a Team!

The Tornados faced a strong Tigers team on Saturday. With faces painted, the Tigers took the field looking for a tough game from the Tornados.

The whole Tornados team played like a fun-loving group of friends. With Joey and Madison kicking the ball 20 yards at a time, the Tigers' midfielders couldn't keep up.

Jonathan showed us a really cool move in stopping the ball and spinning on it like a pro to kick it back toward the Tigers. Lawrence tiptoed down the sidelines and outran the Tigers to score another goal.

Aaron put one in off the top crossbar, and added a second laser shot past the shellshocked Tigers goalie. Jace kicked a beautiful shot "Top Shelf" and slid another in a few shots later. Troy hustled down the field and put in a nice low liner right by the goalie. Then Joey raced to the ball and

kicked with some power just as the Tiger defense hit the ball causing the ball to launch 20 feet in the air before coming down for a beautiful goal!

Riley and Madison chased after the ball and kept the Tornados in the offensive zone as Kyle got another shot on goal. Lea played some poised midfielding (after a short tea party) and got help from Christopher and Luke with some nice hustle to stop the ball and kick it right back the other way.

Playing like a bunch of friends and having as much fun as you do, I'm sure you'll have lots of fun at this weekend's AYSO Inhouse Tournament!

Check this out:

Our games for the Tournament are scheduled as follows:

Game 1: Friday June 6 at 7:00pm at Kennedy

Game 2: Saturday June 7 at 3:15pm at Kyte

Semi-Finals: Sunday June 8 at 10:45am at Kyte

Championship: Sunday June 8 at 3:15pm at Kyte

If you can not make any of these games, please call Coach Mike (586.292-9981) to let him know.

Tornados Hit Kennedy Middle School

The mighty Tornados played a much improved team Thursday at Kennedy Middle School.

The first half was a tough struggle for both teams as both the Offense and the Defense of each team played at 100%!

Troy and Emma kicked some solid shots past the goalie with the help of Lawrence, Joey and Madison. As a matter of fact...Emma used some solid skills to net two goals in the game!

Kyle booted a nice kick just wide of the net. Watch out... Kyle may score a few during the upcoming tournament!

Rylie, Jonathan & Lea kept the ball in play at mid-field while Christopher and Owen positioned themselves well to guard against an offensive attack.

Jace and Aaron ran around the field like two wild animals - and their hustle paid off as they teamed up for a few goals.

And I've got to say - do we have the best cheering section of all the teams? I most certainly think so! You parents do an outstanding job of saying a lot of positive things to the kids and really rooting them on... and you bring some darn good snacks!

Way to go Tornados - another well deserved Victory!

Tornados Sting the Bees

A sunny evening hosted Thursday's game against the Bees - a much improved defensive team sporting bumble bee yellow.


The first half of the game had The Bees playing fully Defensive as they were able to stop countless shots from the storming Tornados. Kyle, Madison and Joey were able to put a few strong shots on goal while Lawrence and Riley returned volleys with the long-hitting Bees' goalie.



Lea, Jonathan and Owen raced after the ball all evening as Luke and Troy gave the Bees a workout with their fast pace and hard shots.


And it looks like the post-game practice from last week paid off as Aaron and Jace teamed up to score a pair of goals from just inside the big goalie box. Great job!



Keep up the good work Tornados - you all should be very proud of yourselves!




And a note to the parents: On June 13th, AYSO will be holding its annual soccer Picnic at Memorial Park (Masonic and Jefferson). This will be a pot-luck style event, so bring a dish to pass on June 13 at 5 pm. If you have any questions about the picnic, we'll talk about it after next Thursday's game.

Tornados spin the Red Team!

The Tornados were short three players for Saturday's game which meant that each player got to stay on the field for the whole time. This proved to be a difficult task as the Red Team loves to run... would the Tornados be up to the feat?

After an early 1-0 lead by the Red Team, Jace put in a top shelf goal to tie it up. After hitting two off the side of the net, Troy raced down the field and put in a low shot past the goalie to take a 2-1 lead.

The Tornados defense stole the ball, and quickly got the ball in the hands (or should I say feet?) of the forwards to gain odd-man rushes throughout the game. Christopher's sideline ball handling and passing to Aaron and Emma helped to create some good chances for the Tornados.

Aaron and Emma teamed up to give the goalie a workout as they pummeled shot after shot on the net.

Jonathan, Lea and Joey took the ball away from the Red Team several times throughout the game. This helped to get the ball into our offensive zone for a few more scoring chances.
The Tornados were talking to each other throughout the game, and really helping each other out. This meant some good sideline passing and some great interceptions!

Some loooooooooong kicks from the goalie and the Red Team's defense meant the Tornados got even more of a workout with the long runs to get back and grab the ball.

Madison and Riley showed some real toughness as they tracked down the ball and quickly turned up field to put the pressure on their opponents.

To finish the game strong, Lawrence decided to show his dad how well he plays. Lawrence stole the ball, dribbled it up field and put one in the back of the net to give the Tornados a 4-2 victory!

Tornados Ride the Mustangs to a 1-0 Win

Holy cow...or should I say holy Mustang? Was this game phenomenal or what?! The Tornados played like a championship caliber team as they ran up and down the field and were rewarded with a 1-0 victory!

Throughout the game, Jace, Aaron, Lawrence and Troy had their chances at scoring a goal. But with a quick midfield and a good goalie, the Mustangs were determined to not let the Tornados score.

Madison, Riley and Jonathan managed to kick the ball back to midfield when the Mustangs pressed forward, and Lawrence stopped a few good shots by Vaughn (the tall Mustang).

Lea and Kyle played so strong in the game - running to the ball and booting it farther than I thought was possible! Christopher and Owen did their best at midfield and got into the action on a few key plays.

And with about one minute left in the game, Lawrence kicked a solid shot to the right side of the goalie to score the game winner! Heck of a shot to pay off some really great hustle out there!

And a big thanks to all of you Soccer Moms (and dads) who roughed it through the recent chilly (and wet) weather to root on the Tornados - without you, this team just wouldn't be the same!

Great job Tornados!