Who Needs To Rebuild?

Certainly not the Portledge Varsity Girls Soccer team. The Lady Panthers are coming off the programs first ever championship season as last year's team, dominated by a group of eight Senior year players, defeated Staten Island Academy in the PSAA Championship game at the met Oval to culminate a seven year development process that began with the program's inception. Most of those eight Seniors had been on the team for 4 years and knew almost everyone who had ever played Portledge Varsity Girls Soccer. Their departure was accompanied by statements like, "now it's time to rebuild the program" and "maybe in a few years we can get back to the championship game". Even I, ever the optimist, thought that it would be a little while till we saw some quality girls soccer being played on the lower pitch again. Well we were all WRONG!

Somehow, like a magician covered in soot, Coach Coope has quickly melded a cohesive unit that not only reminds people of past teams, but might even have the potential to add another championship trophy to the case, and much sooner than expected. With only two Seniors on the team, the squad is probably a year away from returning to the Met Oval, however, their play so far has been eye opening. Unexpectedly strong on defense, with veteran starters Denise Mikalef and Ceci Mulry as an impregnable sweeper/stopper combo and Senior Captain Ashley Wade in net, the Lady Panthers have also displayed a lightning quick counter-attack powered by new Sophomore midfielder Kristie Kelly ( Yes...she is former All League player Mo Kelly's little sister) and Sophomore Striker Erica Cohen. Already twice victorious by identical 4-0 results the Lady Panther Booters will face a series of tests next week when they take on the Lycee Francais School of NYC (Monday/4:30pm) and Columbia Prep (Wednesday/4:30pm). Both games should be competitive affairs so come on out and support this "new" and exciting team! Also...for more detailed descriptions of the Lady Panther's games, check out Coach Coope's recaps on the Varsity Girls Soccer team page in the Athletics section of the Portledge website (www.portledge.org)

A Really Special Day!

If you are lucky enough to have been part of the Portledge community for any length of time you probably remember some pretty special times/days at 355 Duck Pond Road. This one though, last Saturday, Sept 11th, 2010 was a really something quite different, and I'm fairly sure it will stick in my mind for a long time.

By now you are all aware that nine years have passed since that horrifying Tuesday morning none of us will ever forget. So many images rush through your mind that, to this day, you almost experience a sensory overload. The one that always gets me is walking out of the Upper School with Mr. Gregory, to just get a look up in the sky, when to our awe two military jets buzzed by overhead doing mach whatever. We just starred at each other and mumbled," what is going on"? This anniversary, however, seemed different. Maybe it's all the controversy over the proposed 'Mosque @ Ground Zero", or the increased amount of tension in the Middle East as Iran closes in on having nuclear weapons, or maybe it's just that the beautiful weather of this past Saturday reminded me so much of the glorious conditions on that fateful morning. Whatever it was - it just was different this time around. We have played games on 9/11 since the tragedy, but never on a weekend, and never the traditional opening day games w/ Friends Seminary that so many have come to enjoy and so regularly come out to see. So this was a little different........

As the players from the opposing schools came together across the midfield of one field, and the endline of the other, to stand and salute the national and state flags as Junior Jake Horton blew an exquisite, yet solemn taps on his big deep tuba, there was a moment of total silence and what seemed like awe among the large crowd gathered to cheer on the "footballers". Somewhere, inside my memory and my being, I knew I had experienced that same awe before.

When the moment passed and a serene and polite clapping filled the air, I knew it was time to re- start life again. So as the whistles sounded and the games began, things became normal again. Still, the camaraderie and the gentile nature of everyone I had the pleasure of speaking with on this"special" day made me see that it wasn't just a normal opening day, and that every 9/11 from now on and every opening day from now on, for both different and similar reasons, would always be "special"!