We hosted Graham Monday and they ended up being a more physical matchup. Seemed to be a lot of penalties on both sides hopefully all that will be out of their systems when we visit Graham for the next matchup with them. We were able to hold on for a 2-0 win. Really can’t say enough about how much our keeper has improved since taking over this season.
Our boys have really been working hard through the off season and they’ve had a good showing so far this season. Our schedule has been changing frequently so I’ll try and keep up as best I can
Started out a pre season jamboree @ a very cold 🥶 Ridgeview on March 10th. with wins against Lee, Central and Ridgeview. I think most of the parents came away with frostbite lol
First game of the season March 16th @Marion was a real nail biter, ending in a 1-1 Tie. Marion plays their games at Oak Point Elementary School, the field has no lighting whatsoever and of course everything started late. It was very hard to see anything the last 10 minutes or so 😂.
Next up we had Richlands @home Monday March 20th which ended in a 7-0 win allowing everyone to get some playing time.
Last night we traveled to Richlands for the second matchup of the week with them. It ended in an 8-0 Win. I think Richlands was the most surprising since they have always been a tough team for us.
Monday night 3/27 we host Graham, which should be an interesting matchup against a team we have had trouble with in the past
If your son has interest in playing soccer in college but isn't wed to the notion of a four year school, Southwest Virginia CC has a team and I think they are actively looking for players. The other advice I'd offer would be for him to participate in ID camps (and here is a link for ones offered within Virginia: https://www.collegeidcamps.net/virginia-mens-soccer-camps.html). Just bear in mind that those are extremely competitive and a lot of them are stocked with invited players.
I have a 16 year old junior who is currently participating in the recruiting process. I'd be happy to share some personal insight into that if you or anyone else might be interested. (And have already done so privately with a few friends here.)
Our local school (Liberty-Bedford) will be competing in its last season at the Division 3 level for a while. We lost several seniors from last year's team that made it to the Region 3C playoffs but actually kind of underperformed. Not really sure what to expect out of them this year but a lot of them played travel ball together and did pretty well this past fall.
It looks like SWCC is on his radar and evidently he can get 2 years tuition free there for an associates. I think he’s actually started talking to the school counselor about his options and learning some stuff 😃.
He was invited to a camp at E&H last year and had had several invites to FCA tournaments the last few years. He has a friend that’s on the team there, I think that may be some of his reasoning for thinking E&H. Trying to get any info out of him is like pulling teeth at times 😂 but he did say the E&H coaches gave him a some stuff to work on and mentioned they’d be watching him this year.
His brother and Sister are both King graduates and that’s where that comes in.
He mentioned today that he’d enjoy going to one of those camps from the link you posted above at James Madison. I told him if he’s serious we can make it happen and to let me know. So he has some things to think about now.
We were contacted before Christmas by some sort of recruitment company. Sat through about an hour and a half zoom meeting about how they were willing to help him get a recruitment video straightened out and a contact list. Turns out they were very expensive 😂
I think he’s starting to realize that we need to get moving on some of these plans and options if he’s wanting to play soccer at the college level.
We also may have military options from my service that he can look into.
Thanks so much for the link and advice !!
Hopefully they have another stellar year like they did last year. We lost our keeper so that’s going to be a weak point for us but AFAIK most of the seniors came back this year and thankfully our coach decided to give it one more year for his “guys”. His son graduated last year.
I'm not a soccer parent but am a fan. There are a few parents floating around the board as well as a few other fans like myself.
I also have a senior. Trying to navigate the sheer volume of forms required for the college application process is daunting. We've found that many of the schools our daughter has applied to have their own forms to be completed above and beyond the standard items found with Common App and FAFSA. College applications have been out since Thanksgiving. FAFSA was completed prior to that. It has been a steady stream of one form or another ever since. I got an email last night asking for additional financial statements for one school in particular. I am in my office early this morning trying to find those to submit. I can only hope, those requests means my daughter is being seriously considered for enrollment.
Enjoy your sons senior season of soccer. Keep us posted on the progress.
Hopefully it will all work out well for your daughter !! We are just jumping in this mess now. We have to finish our taxes so we can finish the FAFSA. We got pretty lucky at the new casino this year so we have to pay extra attention to our taxes 😂😳.
For now he says he is going to VHCC for 2 years and may transfer to E&H or King. He’s wanting to play out the season and hopefully he can speak with some soccer recruiters this season and have other options.
I’m checking out that Common App now , didn’t even know about that one !! Thank you.
Sadly we are done with Football for good 😭, one more Spring Soccer season left for our Senior. I’m hoping this board will get a little more traffic this year !!
I’ll start 😜
2023 Schedule for the Lebanon Pioneers Varsity Soccer Team
3/16@ Marion Hurricanes
3/20 @ Central Warriors
3/23 @ Richlands Tornadoes
3/27vs Graham G-Men
3/28 vs Richlands Tornadoes
3/30 vs Marion Hurricanes
4/4 @ Graham G-Men
4/6 vs Central Warriors
4/18 @ Honaker Tigers
4/21 @ Rural Retreat Indians
4/25 vs Holston Cavaliers
4/28 @ Patrick Henry Rebels
5/2 vs Honaker Tigers
5/9 vs Rural Retreat Indians
5/12 @ Holston Cavaliers
5/16 vs Patrick Henry Rebels
Hopefully we will see some great soccer out of these young men this year. Last year was really amazing !!
My heads about to explode 🤯 with financial aid applications and trying to figure out recruitment videos and ways to help him navigate this mess. Seems we are way behind the normal timeline for doing all this stuff 😂.
Hopefully this will help take the focus off the financials and possibility of him moving away from home 😅
I’m really looking forward to this game. We will be bundled up like eskimos in the stands, cheering on our team 😍. The Twin Springs field wasn’t in the best of shape last week and it caused some issues with our players more than a few times. I’m sure there will be some issues from the mud that everyone’s talking about. Just praying we make it through without any major injuries on either side. It’s been awhile since we have been in this position and win, lose or draw this will have been a good senior season for our son to look back on, this could be his last football game.
Horne walked all over us last week and I imagine we will have a tough time stopping their ground game. If Reece can stay calm and make accurate passes I think we could pull it off.
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I have to admit I was skeptical at the beginning of the season about the coaching changes but I’ll own that and realize that they have made some positive changes in their play calling. Super excited to see our own senior and our other “part-time” sons having a great year on the field.
I think this one is going to be all Lebanon also. These county rivalry games are always some of our favorites, almost as fun as the coal bowl every year. We will be rocking the stands Friday night for sure.
We’ve got Big JJ back in the game, in a good state of mind, with his heart in the right place (after a well-deserved 3 game suspension).
Olson and Hertig are healthy and in good spirits, lethal combination for sure.
Can’t say enough about Colton Barton, I’ve been watching him play as long as I have watched my own and he’s always been a game changer. Reece has been really consistent and connecting well with our receivers. Tatum and Street have just been beasts on the field lately. I could go on and on lol love these boys and this team
We were able to play our 2nd string and younger guys last week, keeping our starters healthy and rested and they are even looking pretty good. I may have to keep my season tickets after graduation 😂
Practices have been going well and looking forward to seeing some of the surprises they have been working on all week.
Wow, did they ever explode in the 2nd half !! It was an exciting game to watch, for sure ! That one pass to Belcher was epic, almost slipped a disc in the stands celebrating LOL !!
I agree with Pioneer on the next two games. Hopefully our boys can have a good game against VA High and Gate City.
I’m liking what I’m seeing from the last couple weeks of practice. These boys are really putting in the work and appear to be having fun at the same time. If Olson and Hertig can stay healthy, coaches keep utilizing their skills as they did with Eastside, this could be a big game for the Pioneers. Reece has a arm on him and it’s going to be exciting watching him hone his talent over the next few years.
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Unfortunately it appears nothing much has changed at Lebanon except the name of the head coach. Practices and play calling seem to be pretty much the same as the last several years. Already showing some injuries during practice with senior starters. We may have a better season than last year but I don’t think it will be by much. I hope & pray I’m wrong but if nothing really changes, can we expect different results ? I’d like to see our seniors go out with great memories on the field this year for sure. Either way we will be in the stands ringing the cowbell every time our senior and his teammates, many of which our like our own kids, crosses the goal line. We call them our Part-Time kids lol. Sometimes I think they are with us more than their families every year. These are some amazing young men and it’s going to be a bittersweet year for many of us.
Northwood went with Greg Prater who stepped in as head coach the last when their last 2 coaches left in the middle of the season. The guy deserves in I mean he has been on the staff for years and has stepped up twice. With that being said I think they fumbled this hire. Nothing against Prater I am sure he will bust his tail but he isnt in the building and if your head coach in not in the building especially with football it usually doesnt work out well. I am sure there where applicants with teaching license that could have been hired and if there was not a job open then make one if you care about the success of your football program.
As for Lebanon. I heard that they hired from with in but I havnt seen anything in the paper about it.
As far as Lebanon goes , last week the boys were talking about some coach coming in from outside. Last night it was “no idea now, most likely Coach Taylor”.
Hope they make a decision soon, would like to see something “Different” than what we’ve had for so long.
Gonna be a tough game. Several key starters are out with injuries. Going to be a long night, hopefully we don’t sustain any more serious injuries to the players. I agree they need to come up with something new/different.
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Lebanon Soccer off to a good start
in SWVA Soccer
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Lebanons Grayson Olson Scores like 13 seconds into the 3rd 5min overtime. Lebanon wins 1-0. Region 1D Champions