Michelle Nolan wrote this up about a few local youth soccer players, so I thought I would post it.
BELLINGHAM - Gus Diehl knows all about what it means to "play up" at the age of 11.
Not only is the spunky sixth grader playing up on the Whatcom FC Rangers U13 gold team with talented boys such as Ben Peterson and Mason Rathkamp who are a year older, but the entire team is playing in the top division after earning a promotion by winning the second division in their first season together last fall.
That's why games such as the Rangers' 4-2 loss to Snohomish United on Friday, Aug. 26, are all part of a learning curve that the three boys hope will lead to success in one of the state's high school soccer hotbeds.
The Rangers will play two more games Saturday in the annual Puma Pacific Coast Challenge at Northwest Soccer Park, hoping to qualify for the semifinals Sunday. If the U13 club plays as hard as it did in the second half against Snohomish, the Rangers may have a shot at beating Seattle United (9 a.m.) and Surrey Arsenal (3:30 p.m.).
The boys can't say enough about how much they're learning from coach Kyle Langowski, who served as Western Washington University's goalkeeper coach for five years through the 2010 season. Langowski, a newlywed, now must commute from Seattle to coach the boys.
"He's the best coach. He likes to make it fun for us," said Diehl, who motors pretty well around the field, befitting a member of the well-known Bellingham auto dealer family. "He really makes you want to be good."
Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/08/26/2157899/youth-soccer-young-players-learning.html#ixzz1WLOJlW00
BELLINGHAM - Gus Diehl knows all about what it means to "play up" at the age of 11.
Not only is the spunky sixth grader playing up on the Whatcom FC Rangers U13 gold team with talented boys such as Ben Peterson and Mason Rathkamp who are a year older, but the entire team is playing in the top division after earning a promotion by winning the second division in their first season together last fall.
That's why games such as the Rangers' 4-2 loss to Snohomish United on Friday, Aug. 26, are all part of a learning curve that the three boys hope will lead to success in one of the state's high school soccer hotbeds.
The Rangers will play two more games Saturday in the annual Puma Pacific Coast Challenge at Northwest Soccer Park, hoping to qualify for the semifinals Sunday. If the U13 club plays as hard as it did in the second half against Snohomish, the Rangers may have a shot at beating Seattle United (9 a.m.) and Surrey Arsenal (3:30 p.m.).
The boys can't say enough about how much they're learning from coach Kyle Langowski, who served as Western Washington University's goalkeeper coach for five years through the 2010 season. Langowski, a newlywed, now must commute from Seattle to coach the boys.
"He's the best coach. He likes to make it fun for us," said Diehl, who motors pretty well around the field, befitting a member of the well-known Bellingham auto dealer family. "He really makes you want to be good."
Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/08/26/2157899/youth-soccer-young-players-learning.html#ixzz1WLOJlW00
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