#2 Rookie Season

[Fluw]

P1

After 10 appearances in his rookie season, Marian Gorgon is somewhat disappointed in how few assists he has been able to obtain, as he values himself as a crossing/pass first kind of player. So far this season he sits with 2 assists, and surprisingly 3 goals, which I would say is rather uncommon for the young winger. Gorgon tends to be harder on himself as he strives for perfection, and so far this season he has a Pass % of 85.51 which isn't bad but he really hopes to hit above a 90%.

As for his crossing this season, he is only sitting at 14.38 % after attempting 160 crosses, this is probably his most frustrating statistic as he loves crossing into the box, and yet he has been struggling in this department. If it does matter, his game rating on the season has been a 7.11 which is quite well, especially for a rookie who is playing at this level for the first time in his young career.

Marian has been having what I would like to call a pretty decent rookie season, while he may be disappointed in his play, and feels like he hasn't achieved the goals that he has set for himself. Should Marian continue to garner experience and chemistry with his new teammates, he will likely be able to read their movements better, improving his crossing %, passing %, etc. Marian has the tools to become a threat on the wing, and just needs to fine tune his physical and mental skills. From a running perspective Marian is at a peak level, and it translates on the pitch with the amount that he tends to run each game, running 146.9km in 10 games in his rookie season.

Finally, Marian is happy with his new teammates, and the growth he has had with them as a squad, and is looking forward to what new seasons have in store. (319 words)

APPROVED @Fluw - Decent is right. That's a good spot to be in as a young player in D1.

[sliceruser]

career point task 1



Alexandros is a defensive minded RWB/D for Hollywood FC. His rookie season was spent up in the majors with Hollywood skipping what would normally be a minor league start as the team was in the midst of a rebuild and even a newbie coming in would be an upgrade for the position. Alexandros was ecstatic for the early call up but also greatly worried he would hold the team back as they were starting to try to move away from a rebuild. Luckily, he didn’t hold them to much as he managed 18 blocks and 60 tackle attempts on 80%. Regrettably he also had 27 fouls and only 3 assists which he felt need to be improved if he wants to stay relevant. Despite being a rookie just out of a draft with up and down useful stats for the team Hollywood did manage to have a better season then the previous 5-1-8 record and -11 goal differential moving up to a much more respectable 6-3-5 and 0 goal differential. The team as a whole has 10 more goals then the previous season and 1 less goal against so being on the defensive side of thing his impact was actually quite minimal but it does show in the end he had purpose for the team. The flipside of the only 1 goal less is that leaves a lot of room for improvement going forward as the sky is the limit and this is rock bottom for Alexandros so he can’t help but be excited for the team and his own play getting better and better with every practice. Despite his defensive focused nature after the rookie season he has worked on his all-around play so he hopes he will help the team both score more goals and stop more from happening, he will only be happy if we finish next season with more goals for and less against.

-319 words

APPROVED @sliceruser - math lights the way.

[roquefort]

CPT#1

Roquefort Cotswold's rookie season came with some changes, and a whole lot of adversity. To start the season he swapped from his native position of attacking midfielder and took a step back to play right wingback. Despite his respec of skills, he was lined up at Center Defense next to fellow Uniao Sao Paulo defender Beaklie Eilish (@kahri) to help shore up the defense of the fledgeling team. Together the two stunted creatures formed the shortest and youngest defensive core in the league. The pair would not fold easy, despite being under constant pressure by opposing offenders. Roquefort led the league in several statistical categories, partially owed to the large volume of attacks that the duo took on. Roquefort was 10th in tackles won with an impressive 33, leading his team. He led the league with 9 key tackles, proving his grit in intense situations when the enemy strikers came too close for comfort. With 52 clearances Roquefort smashed the ball out of the box and gave his goalie (@Vrain) some much needed breathing room. Notably his compatriot Beaklie Eilish was second in the league with a whopping 40 clearances, the next highest being a mere 27. He was not done yet, however - as Roquefort also led the league with a massive 33 blocks on the ball - the young rat proving a constant nuisance when the enemy attempted to advance the ball. Finally, Mr. Cotswold once again led the league with an insane TWENTY SEVEN shots blocked, leading his compatriot Beaklie by 10 entire blocks. While Uniao Sao Paulo did concede the most goals, we also showed an immense amount of determination and perseverance - fighting to the death in every single match. With an impressive S18 class on the horizon, Roquefort and Co have reinforcements on the way and a ton of potential for growth in seasons to come.

APPROVED - USP has indeed been a great place to rack up blocked shots of late - being where the shots are is the best way to learn.

[z0rem]

CPT 1

Orlando Mastache Maldonado had an accelerated rookie season where he grasped and attainted some pretty major milestones. He went into the season with a ball and a dream and came out with an established sense of belonging that this was the right place for him after all and he deserved to be here. With a final tally of 1 goal and 9 assists it was good enough for Orlando to lead the league in assists on the team that won it all! When he first walked into the walker room of North Point, it was a big world that he was stepping into. Some of his new teammates had established names for themselves already and he was not sure how he would fit in. At the beginning of the season, his coach assessed his skills and asked him to switch from a midfield attacking role to more of a defensive focused player. Throughout the season, Orlando worked with his coach to hone and improve his defensive instincts with the promise that he would not have to sacrifice his speed and ability to enter the zone. Time and time again, Orlando got to run up the side and send beautiful passes to his strikers in the center. His 9 assists were good enough to give him the most assists in the league earning him a coveted trophy, the first for his wall. Most of the season he spent on training for his speed and reaction times. The idea was to get to the ball fast and keep it in his possession for longer. Next season he plans to work more on technique so if this season is any indication of what is to come then only good things are coming for Orlando. With North Point winning the league let us see if they can keep it up next season with Orlando still doing pivotal work.

APPROVED - did you mean North *Shore* ?

[donut]

Career Point Task #1


When União São Paulo selected Julian Rubio as their first overall draft pick, whispers of doubt echoed through the footballing world. Did this young Andorran striker truly deserve to be taken with the first overall pick? 

Fans of Rubio would point towards his debut match against Atletico Medellin as proof of his worthiness. Stockholm IK's stadium erupted as Rubio netted his first official SSL goal, leading his team to a commanding 2-0 victory. His performance was nothing short of electrifying, earning him a 7.5 rating and showcasing his potential as a potential prodigy.

The very next match threatened to ruin his newfound fame. A narrow loss to Victoria Falls saw Stockholm's unbeaten streak shatter, but Rubio was not one to be easily deterred. Where lesser players might have crumbled under pressure, he was determined to turn this disappointment into determination.

What followed was a season of pure brilliance. Rubio didn't just play, he dominated. His scoring prowess propelled Stockholm IK to championship glory in the academy league, accumulating an impressive 10 wins, 1 draw, and just 4 losses. His statistics read like they were straight out of a video game: 18 goals, 5 assists, and a league-high average match rating of 7.96. He claimed five player-of-the-match awards and the coveted Golden Boot, transforming from a questioned draft pick to an undeniable sensation. Scouts and fans alike watched in awe as this Andorran striker rewrote expectations, turning potential into performance.

Yet despite this seemingly perfect stat line, Rubio clearly has room for growth. His aggressive playing style resulted in a league-leading 50 offside calls, a staggering 25 more than the next closest player. It was as if his hunger for goals knew no bounds, literally pushing the limits of the game's rules.

Julian Rubio's rookie season wasn't just a success, it was a bold declaration of his ambition. A promise to all those watching that, as the first overall pick, he would not merely meet expectations, but shatter them, redefining greatness and leaving a legacy that will forever transform the landscape of the SSL.

APPROVED - love the moxie.

[Amidships]

CPT 1

After his acceptance by the SSL Academy, Alex Calderon was assigned to the Victoria Falls Eagles. Calderon boarded a plane and went further from home than he had ever been before to begin his professional career. He played fifteen games for the Eagles and finished with a disappointing  average match rating of 6.93. Despite this, Calderon performed admirably as one of few true defenseman on the Victoria Falls side. With a league leading 49 interceptions, Calderon helped his goalkeeper clear the line. Calderon managed to play smart, taking only one Yellow Card the entire season and had zero mistakes leading to goals. He finished with forty-four clearances, second only to George Shaheen.

Unfortunately, Calderon was not as successful in the offensive side of the pitch though not for lack of trying. Calderon took sixteen shots, with five being on target. He made one key pass leading to his single assist on the season. He finished with seventy successful headers out of just over one hundred attempted, nine of them being key headers. Calderon's style of play was smart; never taking chances to dribble the ball, he made sure to make simple passes instead to clear the danger. Calderon preferred to stay back in a defensive position and therefore made no crossing attempts and created no chances.

As the season concluded, Calderon was excited to be drafted so that he could begin his professional career. He knew that his performance thus far had been mixed and hoped that he had shown the scouts that he had the mentality of a star, he just needed time to develop his physical skills along with it. Toward the back of the first round there were rumblings of a team trading up and when Calderon heard his name called he couldn't believe it. He was heading home after being drafted by his favorite childhood team, Hollywood FC. First, though he will spend some more time in Africa playing for FC Kaapstad.

326 words

APPROVED - nice to see an SSL team as a player's favourite childhood team.

[Chef Gagne]

CPT 1

With a crush of hugs, kisses, and high fives, Gagne celebrated his selection - 1st in the 4th round - with family and friends, elated to be joining the SSL and finding his place on the Parisienne (or Sao Pauloan) pitch. Gagne was seen as a bit of a wild card in the draft pool, an absolute ace at ball distribution with glaring deficiencies in many other critical areas. His selection bodes well for facilitating the offense and creating opportunities for the offense. Fans are especially excited to see the chemistry between him and first overall selection striker Julian Rubio.

Gagne and the gang have their work cut out for them, as Sao Paolo is coming off a particularly vexing season in which they failed to win or draw even a single match while being outscored 100-9. The future is 1000 points of light but the present is much darker. Alas, the situation isn't completely hopeless. In addition to addressing their talent void, there has been a lot of attention committed this offseason to revamping the team tactics, acknowledging that this - as much as anything else - was a major contributing factor to their ineptitude. 

As for Gagne's deficiencies, the biggest (according to scouts) is his overall lack of strength, vision, and quality decision making on the pitch. An avid gym rat with an incomparable work ethic, one thing you can count on is for Gagne to stick to whatever program he's on. Learning how best to see the field, find opportunities, assess risk, and pull the trigger is high on the list of projects. Second to that, albeit just as important, is a focus on sheer strength. While Gagne kept pace with everyone on the academy level, he was easily muscled out of contention for many potential balls due to his whisper-lite frame. Come opening day, this won't be the same problem as recent sightings can report back that Chef looks positively "jacked" after hitting the weights all offseason. 

334 words

APPROVED - Let's see what the muscle man can do now!

[kdr]

Biography link did I ever get the TPE gredit for this?

GRADER: good eye! This dates to when you had to submit tasks yourself, which you hadn't. To claim it now, you go here: https://forum.simulationsoccer.com/showt...p?tid=5489

Puma Superhoops was drafted by the Tokyo SC organization with the last pick of the second round number 16OA and sent down to their minors affiliated team in Cairo. Going into his rookie season he was excited to learn about this new organization.   They were normally a mid-table team and Superhoops aimed to help start changing that in his first season there.  He had never been to Cairo, so was a little nervous about moving to the large capital of Egypt.  He was used to the temperate climbs of northern England and didn’t know how he would handle the heat of the north African desert.  He was also excited to try his had at the SSL Cup and see if they could get past the first round.
The season got off to a great start when Cairo won their first two games 2-1 and 4-1 against Paris and Seoul, respectively. We followed that up with a win in the1st match day of the cup with a 4-2 win over the same Paris team we beat on opening day.  Puma’s stand out game was MD2 against Seoul, when he had 2 assists in the win and was rated 8.5.  
Unfortunately Cairo then lost 5 of the next 6 league games.
His other big match was in MD 12 when he had a goal and an assist with an 8.1 rating against Montreal where they won 4-1.
In the league Puma was a little disappointed to finish his rookie season in fifth position with 5W - 1D - 6L with a -3 GD.  The cup run was also short circuited as after the first win, they lost to both majors team to finish 1-3 and not make the knockout stage.
Overall on the season Superhoops played in all 17 games, including the pre-season, he scored 2 goal had 3 assists, had an average rating of 6.81 with a high of 8.5 and a low of 6.1.  


A good start, but will be looking to improve in year two and beyond.

[url=https://forum.simulationsoccer.com/showthread.php?tid=224&pid=66109#pid66109][/url]

APPROVED - Nice diversity of numbers there.

[RAmenAmen]

Task 1 link


When the announcement came in for pick number 7 in the S18 SSL entry draft, Dina wasn't shocked. She'd mocked herself to Reykjavik one pick later, but her best talks had been with SFV, and only the uncertainty in the depth chart had her doubting her own selection. What came as a real surprise though was hearing her brother Aleksander's name called a few rounds later. Here she was, a first round selection and future football star in the making, and she still couldn't escape being babysat by her older brother.

You're the early pick, she reminded herself over and over again while she packed her bags for the flight to Germany and her first training camp. It's Aleks who has to keep up. The next few days were a blur. There were happy video calls with mom and dad, playful rivalries brewing with Berit and Caspian, who'd been picked up by Reykjavik and Hollywood, and the ever present fear of letting down her new team. After all, the joy and validation of being a first round pick came with the pressure of living up to those expectations. She'd always been the baby of the family, but now the tables were turned and the pressure was on her. Then, she was off to Germany to meet the team. It was grueling, and the vets on the Majors roster didn't take it easy. Before she knew it, the fear was gone, overwhelmed by the feeling of every muscle in her body in constant pain. The chance to train with living legends like Tom Pedersen and Tamanna Whittington was an opportunity Dina couldn't pass up, and by the time the week long camp was over, she could feel the improvement. She was ready. 

The flight to Montreal was the longest flight she'd ever been on, but Dina could barely sit still. She'd signed a contract, trained with the pros, and was just weeks away from the real starting line. Her first professional game in an SSL shirt. This was where legends were made.

APPROVED - may sister and brother enjoy every success.

[Billy Bob]

The Architect: The Rise of Billy Bob
Episode 2: Finding His Footing


The latecomer. The wildcard. The game changer. Billy Bob joined Victoria Falls Academy with only eight games left in the season. For a team struggling to find its rhythm, his arrival was both a beacon of hope and a challenge. Could he make a difference in such a short time?
Billy didn’t just join Victoria Falls—he immersed himself. He wasn’t content to simply play his role on the field; he wanted to elevate the entire team. From the moment he stepped onto the training ground, Billy studied his teammates, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. He even began helping the coaching staff develop game plans and tactics. Victoria Falls had talent, but they lacked cohesion. Billy’s influence brought structure and purpose to their play.
Billy Bob didn’t need long to make his mark in the match against Medellin, one of the league’s nastiest teams. From the first whistle, Victoria Falls pressed forward, determined to dictate the game’s tempo. In just the 7th minute, Billy found his moment of brilliance. But the euphoria didn’t last long. In the 14th minute, disaster struck when Sam Volta received a red card for a reckless tackle. Reduced to ten men, the team faced an uphill battle for the remaining 76 minutes.
Victoria Falls’ backline held firm, and Medellin’s attackers grew increasingly frustrated. When the final whistle blew, Billy’s early goal stood as the match-winner. Victoria Falls had defied the odds, and Billy’s performance earned him Player of the Match.
Victoria Falls controlled possession from the opening whistle. They attacked relentlessly, carving out chance after chance, only to be denied by Stockholm’s star goalkeeper, Takeshi, whose heroic saves frustrated Billy and his teammates. In the 14th minute, disaster struck. Following a shot by Xavi, which was deflected by the post, the ball fell at the feet of Stockholm’s star striker, Rubio. In one swift motion, He fired a volley that went past the keeper. It was the only goal of the game—a cruel blow for Victoria Falls.
Billy was visibly frustrated as the final whistle blew. “We dominated,” he said, shaking his head. “But dominating doesn’t mean anything if you can’t finish. That’s something we need to fix.” The loss stung even more because Billy had personally crafted the game plan for the match. He had envisioned a victory, and the team’s inability to convert chances left him feeling like he had let his teammates down.
Billy’s short time with Victoria Falls wasn’t without its challenges, but it was clear that his presence had transformed the team. His tactical insights, playmaking ability, and determination brought a new sense of purpose to the squad.
In just eight games, Billy showed why he had earned the nickname The Architect. He didn’t just play the game—he designed it. From his tactical contributions off the field to his moments of brilliance on it, Billy was laying the foundation for a promising future. Something that the Head coach of the Tokyo team didn’t miss as he chose him early on in the draft. Billy’s next team would be in Cairo city. Would he be able to lead his team to a trophy in the minor league and prove his worth to the world?

Written and narrated by
Ashley Longworth

Task 1: Biography

APPROVED - Happily, this will not be a series with many cliffhangers.