01/26/2026
Subject: Incredibly Proud of Our Bolts This Weekend!
Bolts Families,
What a fantastic day of soccer! I am bursting with pride for every single player across our teams. The effort, heart, and growth I witnessed today was truly special.
Let's start with our U9 team, who had a spectacular doubleheader performance:
· Game 1: A fantastic 5-2 win over the Western Mass Pioneers 2018!
· Game 2: They kept the momentum rolling with a 7-2 victory over Palmer FC!
A huge shout-out to Team Captain William Martin for another fantastic showing on the pitch. William, I am so proud of the maturity and leadership you displayed today. The way you guide and inspire your teammates is incredible, and I can't wait to see how you continue to grow in the weeks and months ahead.
For our U10 team, we faced our toughest challenge yet against the Western Mass Pioneers 2016 White team. While the final score was 7-2, that number does not reflect the immense heart and courage our boys showed from the first whistle to the last.
A special mention goes to Ryan Hare, who stepped up as captain for the U10s. His poise and confidence in that challenging matchup helped energize our entire team when we needed it most. Fantastic job, Ryan.
I also have to give a massive shout-out to Yaseen Mokhtar for an absolutely incredible individual performance. To score six goals across two games today is an amazing feat! It was extremely impressive to see you find the ball, create chances, and connect so well with all of your teammates around you. Fantastic work, Yaseen, keep driving for that net! ⚽️⚡️
I want to highlight something I noticed today: the significant improvement in our team's ball control and overall field awareness over the past week and a half. You can see it in the smarter passes, the confidence on the ball, and the way you're reading the game. These are exactly the types of improvements that are going to put us within striking range to knock out some of these top opponents.
I want you all to know this: we were the first team to score more than one goal against this elite squad this season. That is a massive testament to our attacking spirit and never-give-up attitude.
Yes, we will continue to work hard on our defensive shape to tighten things up and put ourselves in striking distance against top teams like this. But today was about so much more. Over the next few weeks, we'll be playing teams that are a bit younger than this opponent, and we are poised to knock some of them down! Remember this feeling, keep your heads up, and never surrender!
Finally, I have to share a moment that speaks volumes about your sons' character. At the end of that tough U10 game, you may have seen the opposing coach bring his entire team over to our sideline to clap for our boys and commend them on how hard they fought. This does not happen often. This was a very classy move by the entire Western United Pioneers team. 🙏
I also have one more very exciting announcement. After all this, I am thrilled to announce our captain for next week: Jacob "JJ" Eutiquio. JJ has been nothing but an anchor for our team. His selfless willingness to do whatever it takes, from playing goalie during the most daunting of times, and his constant work to motivate his teammates to keep playing and keep their heads up, has been incredible to watch. He is an amazing athlete, but he is an even more amazing kid. Please join me in congratulating JJ when you see him. JJ, let's lead our boys to a W next week!
Kudos to you, Bolts. You represented yourselves, your families, and our club with incredible pride today.
I wouldn't trade this team for anything.
On to the next challenge!
Coach Wes
Western Mass Bolts FC
