The fortune of a team that is better than purely the sum of their parts. That is an amazing emotional treasure for those fortunate enough to be part of team that proved to be far greater than the sum of their parts. I initiate this playoff season photo challenge. Share a picture here of a team you are following that is experiencing this fortune. Here is My submission. Last night Luca Tavilla #6, far right, scored in the final minutes of the MIAA D1 semifinals to make certain Natick High School Would advance to the championship game. Zoom in on these player faces and see the fortune experienced. Post your photo and share the story here.

With playoff high school soccer comes The Chill. As a father two years removed from NEPSAC boys soccer, I recognized last week two NEPSAC schools promoted this past season. I want to call out their success. First, my alma mater, Vermont Academy. After several successful years winning Class C championships, VA was promoted to Class B this year. How'd they fare? They earned a berth into the NEPSAC Class B tournament as a seven seed. They traveled to Brooks in North Andover, MA for their opener against perennial Class B powerhouse and #2 seed Brooks School. Happy to report my Wildcats won their first Class B tournament game in PK's. They lost in the next round to Williston Northhampton. GO VA! And notes on the NEPSAC website say Williston Northhampton will be promoted to Class A next year. Next up is the promotion of The Nobles and Greenough School. An Independent School League powerhouse, Nobles finishes every regular season with a massive match against Milton Academy. How'd they do? Coach Steve Ginsberg, my long time Starbucks coffee buddy, led his team of 20+ years to the class A championship game. As a father of a son that went 1-1-1 against Nobles, I respect and appreciate their brand of soccer and their climb to Class A. More public high school playoffs here in MA and NCAA D3 have their sweet sixteen matches this upcoming weekend. Enjoy The Chill!

Steve, thank you for all your support on Ned’s journey. Love this game and the entire community around it. I’ve learned through Ned’s brothers D3 experience that In the U.S. for men’s soccer at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III level, there are 43 conferences that receive automatic qualification into the national championship. 412 teams have 2/3 games left in their season and are fighting to be one of 64 teams that make the tournament. Now’s the time to plan to see a game with your son/daughter at a field near you. Conference playoffs start in two weeks!