It was a magical year for the U14 Morden Eagles, and the group capped it all off by winning the league championship.
"It feels very good," Assistant Coach Jen Martens says with a big smile. "These girls worked extremely hard, and it was a great season."
Looking back over the year, Martens says there was something special about this group right from the beginning onward. "I saw major improvements in a lot of the players. I didn't know some of the girls very well, or at all at the beginning of the season, so I didn't know how much soccer experience they had. Some of the girls I've coached for years, I knew they had experience, and I knew they were set in their skills and abilities already. Some of the newer girls, I don't know how much soccer experience they had, and to see them grow and improve over the season, it was really amazing."
Coaching the U14 level, Martens says one thing that really stood out was the groups maturity and how the more experienced players really took leadership roles. "It was really good. There were times that were harder, having to break free from the clique, because we brought together a few communities. Not all the kids knew each other, so they did kind of stick to their own friend groups a little bit. But, they really started to branch out and they played so well with others. They really got to know each other. There were some standout leaders on the team that emerged throughout the season. Growing together, the kids fed off each other, talked to each other on the field, and I think in the U14 group, that's the biggest thing, we're always pushing for communication, and as the season went on, they really got into it. It was great."
To say the U14 Eagles had a great season might actually be an understatement. "We won all of our games, except for one, we tied one game, but to us, it was more like a loss," Martens says with a humble chuckle. "All our games were close, it's not like we always had it in the bag, the girls always had to work hard to earn it. Some of the games were easier, but a lot of the games were close. One of our last playoff games, we only one 1-0 and it was on a penalty kick. We were lucky to get that penalty kick. We also did the Boston Pizza Tournament this year, where it was separate from our league play, it was a whole separate tournament where we came in second. We actually played U15 because they didn't have a U14 section. They said that is we were willing to play with the U15's we'll let you play, and we made it to the final game. That game went into extra time, we were tied 0-0 going into extra time, we lost, but wow, to watch these girls play in that tournament and the league, they just worked so hard this season, and it was so fun to be along for the ride."
When the final blow of the whistle rang out and the team could celebrate their league championship, Martens says she made sure to appreciate the moment and the celebrations between teammates. "They cheered super loud when the final whistle went. It was so great to see them come together, congratulating each other, it was all so special."
As for the future, Martens is encouraged, but also admits there are challenges ahead. "If I could share a message to the younger girls, it would be to stick it out and continue. This is the age where I feel girls get busy with other things, and there's a decline in numbers after U14. My older daughter is part of the U17 that also won their league championship. That team had more struggles with having more teams to play. Our U14 division, there were 11 teams, so you were not playing the same team over and over, we got a new challenge each game, where as in the U17, I think there were way less teams. You're playing the same teams over and over. The numbers decline like crazy as girls get old. It would be so great if girls would stick with soccer throughout their teens. The U17's are facing a challenge where, because there were so limited teams to play against and because city teams didn't like travelling out to us rural teams, they would just forfeit on them. Their season fell apart because teams would just forfeiting, and not enough teams to play, so they're taking the risk where if they stay in this rec league or move up to Premier two. That Premier two comes with challenges, the season is longer, the expense and the travel. We want to have soccer and I can't encourage the U14 girls enough to stay in it, keep involved and the more girls are involved in soccer, the better."
What comes next remains to be seen, but for now, the Morden soccer programs can be very, very proud for all the accomplished and how they represented the community so well throughout the season.