Soccer Dad (the good kind)

My kid is going to be insufferable.

So there I am, minding my own business last Friday night, watching The USL Show Watch Along stream the fine folks over there were doing when my phone buzzed with a message from my wife. I should probably mention that she was out of town and not, like, across the room sending me some funny Tik Tok she found. I mean, she does that and I send her funny BlueSky posts from across the room. Communication is the key to a successful marriage and sending each other the highlights of the social media platform each other is not on is, well, it's what keeps the spark alive. 

But no, she was out of town and text me because my oldest's soccer coach asked if he wanted to scrimmage against the Tormenta USL-W team Saturday morning. I interrupted his YouTube watching to ask in a way that strongly indicated he should say yes, because, really, how often do you get the chance to play against future professional athletes? I've had zero opportunities in my 46 years of life. 

He was excited, but nervous. He hadn't played much since his high school season ended, and even then, he missed their playoff game because of illness that was the crappy end to a crappy season for him off the field. He's been a fan of the W-League games since he started going with me in 2023... it helped that then coach Jim Robbins personally invited him to the games and then started referring to him as my assistant while I covered them. He did surprisingly well in America's Favorite Game last season with the W-League squad, even nailing a perfect score at least once in 2024.

On one hand, I was a proud dad that he got asked to play. On the other hand, I was a little insulted that they figured they could invite the beat reporter's kid to play and assume that doing so would reveal any tactics or secrets the team may not want out in public. In their defense, they're right about that as I continue to point out that I'm not qualified to break down tactics, but still, it kind of hurt a little.

Anyway, Saturday morning arrives and we show up early. He's anxious but once a few of his friends show up, he seems to calm down a bit. 

The game starts and like any sports parent, I want my kid to do well. If Tormenta was worried about me revealing any tactics, they were unwarranted as I spent most of the match either (A) focusing on my oldest and how he was playing or (B) trying to keep my youngest entertained while not getting too close to the field. 

I did see Mason Tunbridge there as he was getting treatment for an injury. I asked him for any insight into the game plan for that night's match with Tormenta, but he's been trained well by the team's Media Relations people as he acted like he was thinking about telling me and then just saying "we're going to try to win." (Tunbridge played about 10 minutes on Saturday night, but wasn't looking like himself. He told me afterwards they knew going in he might not be able to go. Fortunately for Tormenta they're off this week so, hopefully, he's ready to go next week.)

I wasn't really sure what to expect in terms of the outcome of the match. Initially I thought the USL-W team would dominate, but that wasn't the case as some of the athleticism of the high school boys was more than the W-League team could handle.  The boys would end up winning 5-2, which is something they'll always be able to remember. 

But for the USL-W team, they also were able to get a lot out of the match. Head Coach Kian Brownlee told me they were able to try out some different formations to see what they liked best. I think he was surprised to see me out there until he saw me walking towards my oldest. 

Midfielder Abby Gemza, who I'd interviewed yesterday, saw us as we were walking off and joked that she was glad my kid didn't destroy her in the match.

All in all, it was a fun experience for some high school kids, some valuable playing time for the USL-W squad, and a fun way to spend what would have otherwise been a boring Saturday morning at home.

I'll have a proper preview on the USL-W team in tomorrow's Statesboro Herald (presumably it'll be online as well, though it's always exciting when one of my stories makes the print edition.)

News and Notes:

Alex Ashton (@LeagueOneUpdater) unveiled his monthly power rankings. Tormenta's spot seems about right.

John Morrissey (@USLTactics.com) had his weekly breakdown of things that caught his eye across USL, including Portland and One Knox in League One. 

The good folks over at Protagonist Soccer put together a list of the Games to Watch in the USL-W season that they were kind enough to ask for my input as well. 

North Carolina Courage sit atop the initial USL-W power rankings. (There's a reason I picked their first game with Tormenta as the game to watch this season.)

Elliot Barr over at RiverCity93 with a look at Richmond's season so far.