I want to take the opportunity to extend a congratulations to two of our teams and coaches on their state cup tournament experiences.

 

First, our Rush Downriver 01 girls, who finished an impressive run in state cup to the final four before falling in overtime at the state cup semifinals. The group is coached by Dave "Giggs" Demeter. Fighting back from an early 2 goal deficit, the group showed incredible determination to get 2 goals back and push the game to overtime. This process has taken years of investment from the parents, players, and our staff. I am very proud of the player's efforts and commitment over their years with the Rush. I know the players are gutted not to get the final...particularly after the impressive play the last 15 minutes at the end of regulation. In the long view, the group's final four finish with an impressive semifinal game is a body of work the players ought to be very proud of. Dave's work on and off the field with this group has been impressive. We are proud of how far this group has come and we look forward with optimism. 

 

Secondly, our Rush Northville 99 girls were able to win their state cup final and celebrate a well earned state championship. Coach Brian Doyle has been fantastic for this group of players. Prior to Coach Brian's tenure with this group, Eric Rudland and Nick Deren also left a strong footprint in our Rush 99s development. A few unique aspects to this group...one is a core of 5 players who played their early years in our Downriver branch before joining our Northville group to strengthen the team years ago. Two of those girls are in their first year of college soccer; the other 3 stayed the course and earned a state championship yesterday. This has been a special group for us in that the core of the team have played together for years. We sometimes have players/families 'jumping' from one team to the next chasing various forms of fulfillment in today's alphabet soup of youth soccer options. Lead by a great a parent group who had the wherewithal to support with a great perspective of their child's role and relationship in youth sport, the parents and players invested their time and energy with unwavering support over the years. It has been a pleasure to see so many of these teammates develop a tremendous bond & friendship, with parents alongside, who have supported the process on and off the field.

 

I am proud of the players on both teams and our coaching staff who helped shape these players over our years together. I am grateful to the parents for their support to allow their daughters and family time to be shared with the Rush. I am grateful. 

 

...on to Regionals in June. Go Rush!