Just having this team is a success. Going into the beginning of last fall there was no U-15 Red team. I was handed a piece of paper with a list of names and numbers and was told if I wanted a team to put it together. So began the journey of putting together the pieces that would lead to one truly memorable season. As we got commitment after skeptical commitment we had a so called rag tag group coming from all facets of soccer from Rec to Classic II Select. I honestly was happy to have whoever showed up and we were going to try and make it work. And make it work we did, from the players to the parents things just seemed to come together for us. After the first week of practice I was like this team can play and we have the tools to succeed which is why I tried to have the team set immediately to Classic III or IV, however no-one showed the boys or myself any respect and we made them pay for that. Our first four games were resounding victory's over true tough competition. Then we met our first true competitor in FFC who was another team who could have just as easily held their own in Classic III. We went down 2 goals, but the boys went into halftime determined that they would get the respect from this team that they truly deserved and came out in the second half fighting with guns blazing and spitting fire and scored 3 straight goals, but let down late in the game and gave up the 3 points and settled for a tie against a class team. The next game was brutal against Clarkston and again fell 2 goals back early, but however went into the second half with something that I have never seen from them before and it was just straight and unbridled fury. We came out and pounded their goal for 40 minutes and could have scored 10 goals, but could only find a way to put two in and had to settle for another tie. The following game we played the last place team and whether it was just the fact that everyone was exhausted from the last two games or cockiness we came out flat and struggled for 80 minutes to pull out an uninspired tie. This could have been fatal to our promotion hopes because it put us in a must win out for the remainder season, which truly was a difficult task when we had to play some really tough competition. We took a couple days off to recover from our disappointment, anger and frustration and then regrouped for practice on Tuesday and had the meeting that turned our season around. We decided we weren't going to dwell on the wins or ties, but take it one game at a time, enjoy it, and just work our butts off. It worked and we won the next three games which included a 3-0 drubbing of what I would think was the second if not tied for best team in the league FFC. Then the final game of the season arrived and it was against Clarkston Warriors at their home with the winner getting first place in the league and automatic promotion. It was a tight game all the way through and we could only win no ties were good enough so we knew what had to be done. It was an up and down game and we finally came through with a 2-1 victory with a very late goal coming to secure the championship. It honestly was the single proudest day I have had in my coaching career and I have coached a classic I team to the State Championship and a Quarterfinal birth in regionals, one of the top clubs in the country at the time in Texas, but the difference between those two teams and the Roswell Santos boys was the fact that these boys as a group had never played together and they gelled so well and they got along so well so easily and so naturally it just had special written all over it. However the time to celebrate was not yet at hand because we had a tough tournament in Augusta in which we were playing at the Classic III level so we knew we were in for a truly tough test. We adjusted to the competition by picking up a few guys from the Blue team and it was like they never skipped a beat and instantly were accepted as part of the group and just jumped right in. Through strange events our first game in Augusta was cancelled because of some miscommunication but we sucked it up and showed up to play against a familiar foe in FFC in our second game of the day. This team was slightly revamped by picking up some truly quality and class players and they made it difficult on us by jumping out to a a quick 1-0 lead, but we had the answer right away and notched it at 1-1 and even went ahead 2-1 but gave up a goal to make it 2-2 going into halftime. We came out with that familiar fire in the second half and lit them up for two more goals and ended it 4-2. This gave us a break for the day and we had a nice dinner and time to hang together that night and be ready for a very strong opponent from Knoxville who we just didn't give them the time of day and gave them a 2-0 beating to send us into the finals against a Classic II team from Augusta. This was the toughest opponent this team had ever faced and it showed. They were organised, physical, and worked well together. However we had ingredient X, which is all of the above with a little fight and grit mixed in with it. We scored two unanswered goals in the first 20 minutes and things looked like they were getting out of control with some serious tough tackling from them as they just couldnt find the answer for what we had, but the physical play and trash talking rattled us a bit and we gave up two goals to end the half notched at 2 a piece. We came out in the second half and it was always going to be a fight, however we found a way to put one in the back of the net and that broke their spirits and we domintated the rest of the way through and could have easily made it 5 or 6 however 3-2 was just as good and we ended up being crowned Champions of the Patriot Classic and so capped one of the most succesfull seasons I could have ever imagined. This team from day one never accepted from anyone that they were second class citizens and really earned and scraped for each bit of respect that they received in the end so my hats off to them and the parents for being as suppostive as they were throught every crazy step of the way.