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Craig — Whatever works.

For coaches in the Moffat County sporting scene, and pretty much everywhere, motivational tactics vary from sport to sport.

The idea is to persuade the team to do its best under the most strenuous situations.

For Harley Germond, head coach of the 8-and-younger Green Hurricanes recreational youths soccer team, her tactic was : glow sticks.

"The second-to-last game, we were losing, 2-1," Germond said. "I said, 'If you want the glow sticks, you better win this game.' They kept saying, 'win for the glow sticks' the rest of the game."

Garamond's motivational tactic paid off.

The Green Hurricanes came back to win that game, and the next, to finish an unblemished 9-0 season.

"The whole team did everything well," Germond said. "They had really good teamwork. Like, this one time, we were going in to score and everybody on the team was looking to pass first. I play on the U14 team, and we don't even do that."

Germond also credited the team's forwards, halfbacks and defense for being able to run through the summer schedule unscathed.

"We led almost all of our games this year," she said. "I switched everybody out as goalie and they all played really good. We weren't really losing any of our games."

Assistant coach Desirae Kunkle said there was really only one game that was close this season, but the glow stick tactic helped push the Hurricanes over the top.

"That game was really intense," Kunkle said. "Besides that one, the rest of the games were pretty much blow-outs. They did really good."

In her first year at the helm, Kunkle said she learned a lot while pacing the sidelines at Woodbury Sports Complex on Mondays and Thursdays.

"I thought I was going to have trouble, because my mom runs a day care and kids have kind of been a pain in my butt lately," she said. "I was going to just try it out, but the kids on this team are really mature for their age. I learned about kids a lot.

"I'll definitely do it again next year."

The glow sticks promised fell through, but Germond said sparklers and cake at the postseason party more than made up for it.

"We had the party at City Park, and we almost canceled it because it rained," Germond said. "But, we ate cake and ice cream out of cups, and played a scrimmage in the rain; it was a blast.

"I loved hanging out with these kids."