The Thunder Times - March 2008

Text Box: Auburn Thunder athletes dedicate an exceptional amount of their time to the soccer field day in and day out. Coaches continue to be impressed when their players’ commitment to this program; however, coaches are blown away when they find their players are succeeding off the field as well. Recently, I learned over half of our club participants are involved in extracurricular activities other than soccer. Not only do these children participate in these activities, but they succeed with flying colors all over the city of Auburn. Recently, two Thunder girls, Maddie Ault and Codi Martin, held the two

Text Box: lead roles in their school play, Alice in Wonderland. Maddie Ault was casted as Alice, and Codi Martin played “The White Rabbit.” Both girls did a tremendous job and performed in front of sell-out crowds for each showing. Maddie and Codi are not the only thespians Thunder possesses. Former Thunder player, Tag Mosholder, will be performing in AHS’s production of The Wizard of Oz as the Tin Man. Matthew Kisor and John Flanagan will also be making appearances in this production as munchkins from Munchkinland. Other achievements have come from Sage Ledbetter placing 2nd in the Lee County Water Festival T-

Text Box: shirt Art Contest and Kate Duke being a member of the all-district band. We are extremely proud of all of our athletes for their accomplishments. When Maddie Ault was asked how different her acting was from soccer she commented, “It is not that much different, you just have a lot of lines to remember and a lot less sprints to run.”

Text Box: Auburn Thunder’s second “Player of the Month” award goes to eight year old Matthew Kisor. This is Matthew’s first year as a member of this club on the under nine team. Matthew is a versatile player and has started every game of his career. Coach Mike states, “Matthew is an

Text Box: enthusiastic player with a thirst for learning. He's a very coachable player because he likes to try new things at practices.” Matthew is always willing to go the extra mile as a player and gets along great with his teammates, this is a dream for any coach. Matthew is not only

Text Box: successful on the soccer field, but also in the classroom. Third grade teacher Mrs. Bennett comments, ”Matthew is a star student in the classroom too. His every day excitement for life and learning shines through! He is kind, considerate, caring and always accepts a challenge.”

The Thunder Times

Dates to Remember

· April 18th

Lazer Cup

· May 9th

State Cup

Camp Dates

· June 2nd-5th Thunder Day Camp

(9am-12pm)

· July 8th-11th Thunder Camp (5pm-8pm)

· July 28th– 31st Advanced Camp

(9am-12pm)

Text Box: It was a weekend of success in Columbus, GA for two Auburn Thunder teams early in their spring season. The under ten boys’ team, coached by Mike McCabe, and the under twelve boys’ team, coached by Dan Garber, both came away with a championship title in the Columbus Spring Challenge Tournament the weekend of February 23rd. Both teams had hard fought final matches, but pulled through with a victory. The under ten boys’ team under went a grueling

Text Box: sixty minute match with the Columbus All-Stars. The game was up and down the field; however, Thunder came out on top 4-2. Things did not come so easily for coach Dan Garber’s team. After taking the lead early in the final game against Emerald Coast Soccer Club, a comeback left Thunder tied at the end of regulation time. This brought the game into a seat clinching overtime. Auburn found their spark of intensity early into the first

Text Box: overtime when Cooper Flanagan rocketed a shot past Emerald Coast’s stunned goal keeper to make the score 3-2. Thunder then put the game away halfway through the second overtime when Logan Hill found the back of the net for his third time of the day, in a well-developed break away. This is the boys’ first tournament championship under coach Dan Garber.

Text Box: Coaches, Please continue to send me any and all updates on your team’s success throughout the spring season. Also, if your manager, or any team parent, has some great action shots of your team I would like some of those too.

Text Box: Did you know the earliest evidence of soccer dates from about 200 in China, where a form of the game was played that emphasized the ability of players to dribble a leather ball? Did you know the average midfielder, ages 13 and up, runs about 6-7 miles per game?

Text Box: Did you know a soccer ball has an average of 32 leather panels all held together by 642 stitches? Did you know the average Thunder soccer player spends 4.5 hours a week on the field and 35 hours in the classroom. Some things to think about!

Text Box: Clearly a lot of us breathe, sweat, eat, and live soccer– but have you ever slowed down and wondered; What is soccer all about? Well, here are a few fun facts that every soccer player should know about the game he or she loves.

U-10 Thunder (above)

U-12 Thunder (below)

Jonathan Oprandy makes a diving save.

Academy is being held every Monday night from 5-6 pm at Wire Road. You must bring your own water and ball to effectively participate. If you have any questions please e-mail:

jzferguson@auburnschools.org

Auburn High School’s Performing Arts Department Presents The Wizard of Oz! April 10, 11, & 12 @ 6:30 in the AHS Auditorium. Tickets are $6 in advance, or may be purchased at the door.

Come out and support Tag, Matthew, and John.

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For more information, please contact Jenny Ferguson at jzferguson@auburnschools.org.