I just wanted to write to congratulate your GU-10 Ballistic team’s win at the vegas Cup this past weekend.

My daughter plays on the PQ Premier red team, and this is the second time that both teams have met in a Championship game. As soon as she heard that we would be playing against Ballistic, she was excited because she says that they are one of her favorite teams to play against. After yesterday’s game on our ride home, she couldn’t say enough wonderful things about your team, and after goin on an on about them, she said that she wasnted to create a Top 5 List on why she thinks so highly of your team. I just wanted to share her list with you…

#5. The gift-giving at the end of the game. of course this is a favorite. While this is characteristic of her competitive softball experience, we have never seen it in her 3 years of playing competitive soccer… until we played Hawaii. She loves it and the girls all look forward to the gifts 9not to mention that it sort of took the edge off their loss yesterday!)

#4 The Cheer. Everyone cheers for the teams at the end of the game, but this is the first time that we’ve seem another team give our team a cheer at the end of the awards ceremony. Total class.

#3. Great sportsmanship. Chelsea went on and on for a while about the fact that when the ballistic team lost to PQ in an earlier tournament championship, every girl on your team still kept their heads up, smiles and their faces and congratulated our girls sincerely. It did not go unoticed by my little one that not every girl on her team had the same reaction at the end of their loss. Granted, there were injuries, but my kiddo went on to say that your girls set a terrific example on sportsmanship.

#2. The trophy. Chelsea overheard the coach for Balistic call his girls over to the side and have them come around to admire their new trophy so as not to sadden our girls. She was soo impressed by that gesture and act of unselfishness and compassion for our girls. That sealed it for my daughter… she just kept talking about that over and over again, and was impressed.

#1. The team picture. Again— awesome sportsmanship. After the ceremony, the coach asked to have the girls freom both teams get together and blend with one another for one big championship picture, making them all feel like Champions.

Chelsea was so honored by that as well. In the end, I may be unlike many soccer parents who I have met. I have my daughter in this experience – not for the purpose of teaching her to develop a strong kick or to pull moves, but to develop strong character traits that can be used later in life. There are so many life-skills that can be gleaned from these experiences, and her experiences in playing your Ballistic team have gone a long way in underscoring those life lessons that i have been trying to create for her. It was a real privelege to play a team – not only of your calibur but for your character. In my opinion, that’s more important than any Cup trophy. The Ballistic team / parents, coaches and organization should be proud. Congrats.

Sincerely, Julie Bigelowto