In the winter of 2006, I was lying in a hospital bed dealing with a blood clot in my leg--a serious condition that had me pretty far down in the dumps. Toward the end of my stay, I had a visit from my neighbors, the Cole and Costello families. I don't know if the idea generated there and then, but as soon as I was released from the hospital, Caris Cole, then a fourth-grader, asked me to coach her soccer team for the spring of 2006.

Caris and her family knew that I was a soccer coach without a team. In the spring of 2005, I coached the last season of my beloved Vipers, a boys team from Leesburg. We had been together for ten years--twenty consecutive seasons--and I hadn't returned to coaching right away because I was sure I would put my expectations way too high on a new team. I had seen over sixty boys grow from goofy kids to outstanding young men, and I loved them all. You simply don't get that kind of feeling and spirit more than once in a lifetime, or so I thought.

I wasn't sure what to do, but I really liked Caris and that was all it took for me to agree to her idea. I'm a bit of a soft touch for cute kids, and, as many of you know, Caris can be very persuasive. I figured if things didn't work out with the team at least I would get to spend some spring afternoons with her.

At the first practice I met a sweet, giggly, charming, nutty bunch of 4th grade girls. I was not sure how I would react to them or they to me, but by that evening I told Sally, my wife, that I was thrilled. I took a liking to each and every one of them right away and I never regretted for a second the decision to take on this challenge. They were all unique characters, but they clicked as a unit.

Yes, coaching girls is different that coaching boys. But the girls are every bit as determined, tough, smart, and athletic as the boys are. I noticed right away that they could play hard and think and act fast, which is what I encourage. They also really liked each other as a team, and that's something that has stayed with the Avalanche every season--even as players come and go.

That first team chose the name "Avalanche." We sat around for a few minutes during our second practice and came up with different names that formed an alliteration with Ashburn. Avalanche seemed to be right by me, but perhaps the sweetest part of that name was that the girls then referred to themselves in the plural. Not Avalanche, Avalanches. I loved that.

Eleven outdoor seasons later, the girls have grown into confident young athletes and people, we've played indoors, we've played in overnight and travel tournaments, we've played all stars together, we've made music, we've had parties, we've won some, we've lost some, but, most of all, we've just had a great time together.

In the spring of 2008 the team made the decision to move to travel status and to begin play as a member of the Leesburg Football Club. Since that time, the team has performed brilliantly and beyond expectations. Two consecutive ODSL divisions championships in our first two seasons, and four consecutive seasons as a competitive Division 1 team has led us to WAGS for the Fall 2011 season.

Think snow.

Class of 2006
Sarah, Sammy, Nicole, Taylor, Ashley, Caris, Tyla, Melissa, Kelly, Anna, Hannah, Shelby, Holly, Dana

Class of 2007
Taylor, Emily, Alex, Jennie

Class of 2008
Steph, Kaitlyn, Goose, Alyssa, Divya, Allyson, Jamie

Class of 2009
Emma

Class of 2010
Hailey

Class of 2011
Danielle, Erin, Jillian

Honorary Avalanches
Best Cheerleader: Kaitlyn Cole
Summer Pickup Players: Travis Dezendorf, Grace Ferrara, Anthony Schneck, Tony Soukup, John Weeks, Trey Whiteman
Past Coaches: Justine Bullock, Leigh Greene, JoAnna Weeks

Special thanks to the parents and families. For without you this team would not be possible.