Team 2 Red Plays a Tight Game - Coach Tries to best Noise from Highway

Team Red played some hard fought games last week and the adversity helps them to improve each week.  Their trust in me continues to grow and they are responding to the things I am asking them to do despite their misgivings.

The final score of 1-2 doesn't give justice to the amount of time our younger team had possession of the ball and how much more talented each of our players were.  Two goals, one a fluke and one well over Kelsey's small frame gave the other team the edge.

However, this doesn't account for the numerous times we were inside the other team's penalty and goal box and the only thing keeping the ball from going in was the other team having every single one of their players swarmed in front of us.  In the future, this will be the down fall of any opponent who focuses solely on one player with the ball.

I personally was trying to do my best to talk to them on the field, but realized after the first half, none of the girls could hear me from the highway noise so I took to more frequent subbing to bring girls off to talk to them.  Kelsey, especially, was very receptive to my chats and did her best to replicate our talks on the field and the sideline before going back in to play.

All the girls had their own bright spots, to name only a few, we had Eva with another staunch effort to control the ball on a bouncy field and eventually made it down to put in the team's only point.  Others had similar runs, but the bouncy field and a team putting two of their players permanently on the corners of the goal box created a last wall which was tough to beat.

Elissa finally gave me the trust I asked for in the last 7 or 8 minutes of the game.  She is so unselfish with the ball, dishing it to others after she has taken over the midfield line, but I asked her to be a ball hog and take it all the way into the goal.  I knew she was capable of beating every player on the other team.  Did she score, no, but she took it down to the goalie three successive times and once she develops her shot, woe to the goalie in her path.

Caitlyn A. got the toughness award after a crowd hushing ball to the face, which actually gave her a cut, but amazingly she just went ahead and walked over, picked up the ball and gave it to the other team for their goal kick...game on!

Caroline and Sophia had shell busting days with their aggressiveness.  I don't believe I have seen Caroline so determined to get into it physically and put on a run to get to the play.  Sophia got the game ball for not only her physicality, but her game awareness.  She was a little sluggish in the first ten minutes, but afterwards, there was not a single dead ball play where she was not in one of the other team's faces preventing them from being effective.  She also had multiple breakaways showing her ability to play up and back this past weekend.

I really enjoy coaching these girls!  Every week is like a leap and bound in their development.

Team 1 Black Changes Direction after Halftime Huddle

Team 1 Black got caught in the most typical of game time tragedies, playing the other team's game.

As I watched the first half of our game Saturday, I noticed the other team had one thing in mind, get the ball, even if it meant having literally everyone around the player with the ball.  Our girls being their age fell right into the same mode; ball chasing, swarming, and running uselessly around the field resulting in only one ball in the back of the net despite all the running they did.  The brightest spot in the first half ended up being Olivia completely surrounded by the other team in the right side attacking corner, not only doing some tremendous work in the midst of a swarm, but actually coming out with it and moving the ball back into the field of play.

At halftime, we talked about the issues and that we weren't playing Legends soccer; ball control, finding space and working on supporting each other in the 2nd attacker or 2nd defender role.  We also talked about the long, sticky grass issues and how Maradonas, carry overs, and hop stops, would work best.

From the start of the second half on, it was like a whole new team.  Everything we talked about, put onto the field.

Coaching bonus for the game was when I took out my notebook and pen at half.  I wanted to show them a couple things I saw and without asking, every eager little face leaned in on the notebook before I said a word (it was the first time I'd done anything like this with them).  I love eager to learn students!

Game ball went to Caitlyn K.  Her effort this season from when I first coached her two years ago has been amazing.  She still has her free spirit attitude, but she is quietly and steadfastly engaged in learning everything shown to her and this week she listened to coach and used it on the field.

There was definitely more great stuff by all the girls and I keep it all upstairs to motivate them each week.

Well played by all Black!

Double Header Tests Team 2 Red

Our U10 Girls Team 2 Red had their own rust to shake off just like our Team 1 Black.  They had their first game a couple weeks ago and did great with outstanding individual effort by Kelsey, Elissa and Caitlyn.

It was their first ever outing together and they even came out on top with a win so I believe there were high expectations this past Saturday and I had to reassure the girls after both games this was not about the final score and only about what they each did today, which made them a better soccer player than they were the last time they played.

Our home field is more of an appropriate size field and this was much different from the smaller field we played on in our first game.  This along with the warmer weather challenged the girls.

In our first game, a couple weeks ago, the girls were able to all chase after the ball a bit, or as what you may hear me call swarming the ball, and the small field forgave them for their enthusiasm.  The bigger fields start to tell them , "nuh-uh" and they eventually learn to pull back and move into the 1st attacker/2nd attacker and 1st defender/2nd defender mode we talk about.

Throughout both games I saw wonderful individual work and a real effort to try some of the things we have worked on recently.  I also saw some smart individual awareness on the field.

Caitlyn once again showed me how much of a passion she has to compete and is relentless out on the field.  While it may look like she is head down much of the time, she is quickly picking up some on field awareness as highlighted by her decision on our attacking 18 to make a thoughtful pass backward to Elissa after she saw she was not going to be able to make it past the oncoming defenders.  This was great because it created space for Elissa to move up after the defenders were drawn away and push it forward for a team goal.

We are also fortunate to have a second team member who has a similar drive like Caitlyn.  Eva picked it up a notch during the second game when everyone was getting worn down.  She told me during a sub out how she just couldn't get the ball in the goal even after numerous attempts.  I told her to have patience and keep doing what she was doing and it would come, which it did.  On a very similar setup as Josie on Team 1, Eva had a physical encounter with the keeper, but pushed through it and was quick to pick herself up and score.  She was pretty sore after it and was back and forth the remainder of the game about going back in, but we decided she had enough and to let her teammates finish it out.

There were many other individual displays of effort.  Sophie was putting on some good defensive work running back ahead of the play and taking it away from oncoming attackers.  Mckenzie had a great run down the field doing her thing, methodically making her way through defenders for a goal and Maya stood tough after some bent fingers in goal and came back out on the field to play.

Probably my most entertaining moment of the afternoon was the big smile I got from Sophia who had been attempting to get a successful Stop Hop and Play off and she did one right next to me.  I casually said to her, "I saw that!" and she stopped and turned with a big smile.  I then had to let her know the other team was sneaking past while she enjoying the recognition.  She had a surprised, "OH!", and promptly got back after it.

Great job to everyone this past weekend and thanks to Karolyn and Mckenzie for helping out.

As a final note, we almost had a team name picked out Saturday and then backed away from it because it took too long in the huddle to say.

U10 Girls Team 1 Black Shakes Off the Rust

It was a long Saturday of soccer matches this past weekend beginning at 10:15 AM with the boys followed up by games going through 4:30 PM.  While we were all a bit tired afterwards, my face took a beating from the nice day of sunshine.  Hopefully, my lobster face will subside before next weekend.

The day had Team 1 Black on deck for one match and Team 2 Red up for a double header.

It was Team 1's first match of the season and by the end of it, they were dragging.  It's one thing to put a lot of energy out during training, but to play at game speed for fifty minutes is much more demanding.  While they had their mojo going it was fun to watch.  The majority of these girls have been together for a season already and it shows in their trust of one another and in their abilities no matter who the opponent is.  They never seem to worry about sizing up the other team.  They ask who the other team is and that's it, time to play them.

While everyone was doing their thing, I saw some really good things out of Lilly, Payton and Josie.  Lilly was constantly frustrating the other team with her persistent patience no matter where she was on the field.  It was a pretty simple game plan she had; put herself between the ball and the attacker or defender, push it backward a step or two, turn it and move.  What was great to see was she wasn't doing the work just to show her skill, but with a purpose.  Last session she sometimes got stuck in one spot, turning the ball one way then another, but Saturday she seemed to have figured out it only took one move to beat her opponent.

Josie subbed in to help out from her team and had already had a match that morning.  She has been working very hard over the last couple years going from not ever having played to being one of our best ball control specialists.  Her one frustration has been finishing.  She gets it all the way down the field and isn't able to score.

Now I have always told all of my players, the person who consistently takes the ball down field is usually not going to the one who scores, it's the poacher who ends up with most of the goals.  However, today she was able not only put one in towards the end of the game, but she had to fight through a keeper who knocked her down and have the persistence to get back up quickly and get the ball into the net.  She came off limping a bit, but seemed to be more okay with her result.

Payton, like her sister, has had pains finishing off and putting it the net, but for different reasons.  She really has a good understanding of where other players are on the field and is looking to advance the ball up as far as she can, which includes thoughtful passing.  While this is great, I am looking for her to step outside her comfort zone and hold onto the ball longer and use her skills to take it in herself.  The result Saturday was one in the back of the net.  She also kept the team on top in the final seconds of the game by making a great save as keeper after her team just quit running back to help her.  She didn't waiver and stood up a 3 on 1!

One last brilliant display of the trust this team has in each other was off a throw in by Josie from deep in the corner of our attacking end past defenders to Jenny who made it past two more defenders making a thoughtful pass to Karolyn who was poaching in front of the keeper for a score.  It was as if they'd drawn it up as a play, well done ladies!