Newsletter by John Hines
March 19, 2004
Volume 7, Issue 1

Let the Season Begin

As Old Man Winter hopefully relinquishes his frosty grip on our area, and allows Spring to fully blossom, attention once again turns to those heated battles between the Touchlines! What has also arrived is that time-honored tradition of Eagle Soccer, when a fresh combination of old warriors and new faces stand poised to defend the honor of team, school, and community over the next few months.

A new season that starts with old heroes having advanced to higher purposes in life, while the arena is set to see the further growth of new champions that intend to carry the torch into the future. It's a time when internal team competitiveness has reached an apex, yet team chemistry is only slowly being shaped into eventual mid-season form. So the time has arrived to settle into your seats, be very vocal, and most importantly lend your support to GW Soccer!

The Kicking Eagle will strive to reach any interested party on a generally weekly basis, touch-ing on past matches and outlining what's ahead on the schedule. Unfortunately, this week's information is limited, yet as the season progresses more can be expected. Copies should be available at the matches courtesy of the Booster Club, yet if you miss an issue the Danville Web site will also carry all seasonal issues.



A Challenging Beginning
For both varsity teams, the season kicks off with a bang as the two Eagle squads square off against district nemesis Patrick Henry in Roanoke's ageing Victory Stadium. The Lady Eagles will initiate the 2004 campaign with a 5:30 PM start on Friday March 19th, following which the guys will look to burn the nets with a 7:00 PM kick-off at the same venue. This "same location" scenario presents an interesting circumstance, as most teams would rather begin a new season against non-district foes, providing an opportunity to work out those developing nuances that each team must master before reaching full throttle. Additionally, the majority of initial seasonal matches generally line up with the two teams playing at separate locations, either away or at home on the same evening. Tra-ditionally, one squad would enjoy the comforts of home field advantage, while the other would blaze a trail to an out of town location.

Yet, on the positive side this presents an opportunity for fans of one gender to come out and sup-port the other, something that normally would not be possible in a home and away situation. Granted that a trip to Roanoke is no easy picnic, yet if a multitude of fans will come early, stay late, and raise a lot of noise in the process, anything can happen. Keep in mind that in the eyes of many soccer enthusiasts throughout this commonwealth, Danville and GW soccer are no more than the Rodney Dangerfields of the sport. There is no respect given unless it comes from home.

Next Up
Action will heat up next week as the Lady Eagles return home on Tuesday March 23rd and Thurs-day March 25th, to face two non-district opponents. First up will be the Lady Bulldogs from Mar-tinsville, in a traditional match that year-in and year-out provides one of the toughest rivalries for both schools. These squads do not like to lose to the other, and as a result, action can be fast, furi-ous, and hard fought. Kickoff set for 7:00 PM sharp.

Two days later, Christopher Stadium will be the site of an intra-county high school soccer battle between the Tunstall Trojans and GW Eagles. The ladies will commence the proceedings with a 5:30 PM start, and while the girls from Tunstall High School are relatively new to high school soc-cer, those players can be counted on to fight hard despite the odds, carrying on their minds that old cliché of "having nothing to lose."

In the second half of this unique doubleheader, the guys will meet their counterparts from Tunstall with a scheduled start time of 7:00 PM. The guys of Troy will be seeking to raise the level of their play and in the process perhaps gleam some respect for their own program. Making matters more intense is the fact that players from both sides have been teammates and competitors from previous fall soccer activities, thus offering what could be a most exciting contest with no holds barred.

The Kicking Eagle for All
Since the Kicking Eagle first took flight, the intent has always been to report on the weekly activi-ties of GW Soccer, based on information that can be gleamed in a short period of time. Over the years that coverage has been primarily focused on the two varsity teams, with only an occasional mention of junior varsity aspects. Once again this year, both varsity teams have web sites that can provide additional information, directions, and interesting tidbits for the soccer aficionado. Both varsity web sites can be reached through links within the Danville area's official Soccer site at www.danvillesoccer.com. With the easy access of both of those varsity web sites, fans now have an up-to-date source for schedules, start times, and statistics that the Kicking Eagle has provided in prior years. Accordingly, this enhanced access provides potential space for coverage of JV teams.

Yet, the Kicking Eagle needs your assistance to provide any weekly coverage. Lack of information and timing have been deterrents previously, yet if an individual or individuals associated with the junior varsity squads be willing to submit scores, commentary, or just bullet points then that in-formation will be included weekly. It is unfair to exclude those young players that will one day evolve into the warriors of the varsity, yet without your assistance and cooperation their heroics and efforts will be lost to posterity. For anyone who may be interested, please forward all pertinent information to hinesres@adelphia.net.


On the Web
For those with comments, input and questions, please e-mail the Kicking Eagle at hinesres@adelphia.net. For anyone interested in Danville area Soccer, including the Danville Soc-cer Club, local high schools teams, links to the GW varsity web sites, and other Soccer related links, go to www.danvillesoccer.com for your local contacts and information. This web site has grown through the years to keep the pace with the popularity of Soccer in the Danville-Pittsylvania area. Every Soccer player and fan should look through these valuable pages, as perhaps you find something of interest among this wealth of soccer information.