I asked Coach Dave to put down his thoughts after the weekend and he did a masterful job. I felt like I was there after reading it. Before I transcribe his thoughts here, a small bit about the Versailles girls and and some extra weekend activity by the U9 crew.
A big shout out to Payton, Isabella and Karolyn for not only helping out, but giving everyone a glimpse of what all our U9 crew are capable of doing this weekend as they played for our U11 Select team. I didn't see them Saturday, but got a full belly of them Sunday...speed, ball control, moves, driving to the goal, a good early understanding of the game, and a whole lot of having fun.
We actually had quite a few parents and players trying to recruit them to play, but for me it was more of how we can show what the foundation of Legends can do at an early age and allow them to play with anyone...and when I say anyone, I really wish I could have had a picture of one drop ball which occurred between Isabella and the other team. The opposing player was literally almost twice her height, but Iz walked right up with no concern over her opponent's height and faced her down...well at least she faced her belly button down.
One last item I have to mention, Iz and Payton teamed up Sunday for the U11 team's first score. Good display of not giving up on the play!
The rest of the Versailles group played brilliantly in both of their matches. I was fortunate enough to finally be at a point where I could stop asking them to hustle and ask them to slow down, not from a scoring or play standpoint, but to stop following the person with the ball and just move with the game as the second attacker/defender.
We were outscored in our second match, not by much, but honestly it was my fault and I am so glad for it. The girls had plenty of opportunities to score, but even as they got to right in front of the goalie, I reminded them they were supposed to do a move, which they listened to, then tried and lost the ball.
Could I have let them run loose and score at will? Sure, but I am more proud of their trust in me to stop and do what I ask, even though it failed and be completely okay with it. Usually, they would just turn around with a grin and look at me like, "Jeez Coach".
Last item, thanks to our guest players, Hailey, Emily and Cora. I am glad you had fun and enjoyed the experience! You all rocked it!
Now on to Coach Dave's Blog...
I was extremely proud how each girl played yesterday. I haven’t seen these specific girls play better individually or as a group than on Saturday. Prior to the game, I had asked them each to possess the ball, give each other space, and trust in their teammates. I believe we possessed the ball nearly 80% in both games. I never saw the girls flocking or herding to the ball, but I was most proud how they trusted in each other. There were multiple occasions where a Legends player had the ball either in the corner, along the sideline or just in the middle of the field, and their teammate gave them the space and trust to work thru the situation. As mentioned, that was most evident when players were either in the attacking or defensive corners. I would just simply say to the players to assess the situation and do what comes naturally. The end result was typically a well-timed move (and go), a shield of their body to advance themselves out of the situation, or a poke (notice I didn't say pass) of the ball into open space where a teammate (who didn't flock) was waiting to continue forward. The girls played extremely well, which resulted in a lot of possession, tons of shot opportunities (I think every player had at least 2 shots on goal), and of course a lot of scoring. Many girls scored that haven’t typically scored so their was a lot of excitement from the player, parents, teammates, etc. After the initial excitement, I was quick to congratulate them on the score but really highlight and praise them for the actions that led to the shot (or goal). I tried to remove each girl after her score so I could deliver that positive reinforcement on the sideline.
Player specific info:
Lilly
After subbing her out for the first time, I challenged Lilly to show me how she could advance the ball vertically. I pointed out to her that she was possessing the ball quite well with under control dribbling, the occasional move, and shielding of her body but she was going from sideline to sideline. I pointed out that she was getting past the attacking defender and that she needed to trust in her skills and speed to just go forward. Once she went back in, you started to see her get more comfortable with this and she started to make numerous, multi-touch runs in open space (generally along the sideline). After the games, I told her how proud I was of her and called out two instances where she actually saw everyone rotating to her side of the field, which led her to quickly reverse course, swing back the other way, use a burst of speed, and advance the ball deep into the opposing teams end. Lilly also played goal keeper for the first time. She was a bit hesitant but I reassured her that she’d be fine. I pointed out that the box was her house and that no one was allowed in her house without her permission. She didn't see a lot of action due to how much we possessed the ball, but she had one instance where she jumped out of the goal and pounced on a ball resulting in a discouraged Lexington FC player. Lilly received a game ball.
Mckenzie
Mckenzie played extremely well. It was like she had the ball on a string tied to her shoe. She was always under control despite giving maximum effort. She played a lot of forward for me, but I was always impressed when we actually lost possession and the other team was on a counterattack that she hustled back, which typically resulted in her getting the ball from behind with a quick stop-hop, 180-turn, and back on the attack. I lost count of how many multi-touch runs she made in open spaces, but it was definitely in the teens! Mckenzie received a game ball.
Mariyah
Mariyah started out a little timid for me even though I had personally challenged her to have multiple touches on the ball before kicking it. I quickly pulled her out so we could talk on the sideline. I reminded her that she played 1v1 against me in the last practice, and that I knew she could possess the ball, make moves, etc. because she made me look foolish in practice. After a small grin, I challenged her again and subbed her in at center forward thinking there would be a lot of action in the middle of the field and force her to have multiple touches. She did not disappoint and I played her primarily there for both games. She got more and more comfortable throughout the games, which led to a goal by her in the second game on a multi-touch run and powerful shot into the right back corner of the net. I don’t think the goalie even moved it went by so fast!
Olivia
I was really proud of how well she played. Olivia was her typical communicative self throughout the game, and while she continued to call out when she had the ball, she also laid off at times when she realized her teammate had things under control. Where Olivia really shined was when she was stuck in a corner or along the sideline (typically surrounded by three defenders). She probably had 4-5 situations like this. On the first instance, I simply said to her that she needed to assess the situation and make a decision. She quickly blurted back, “I know!” and then went on to do a Maradona and went past two defenders straight to the goal, shot the ball and just missed to the right of the far post. After that, I didn't have to say anything to her when she was in those situations. She stayed under control, took her time and generally had a successful result. While I know we don’t typically point out scores, I do have to mention a couple goals players had since they were not the result of poaching. In Olivia’s case, she had a well-timed run with multiple touches on the ball resulting in her being 1v1 against the goalie. She did a Puskas faking the goalie to the left and then followed it up with a quick shot to the right side of the goal. She was excited for scoring and I actually got a little excited myself and ran out on to the field. She said “I scored!” and I said, "I know but I was so proud of the Puskas that you did to fake the goalie out!"
Eva
Eva played really hard for me. She played whatever position (forward, defender, goalie) I asked her to play without complaint. As you know, she loves to play attacking forward. She also has a tendency to herd to the ball, but she really listened to me and kept her space, which typically resulted in the ball ending up to her in open space anyway. The one thing we've been working on at home and I reinforced for her to practice during the game was to leave the “kangaroo” in her pocket on the sidelines. Eva has the tendency to hop too much and doesn't get her weight or positioning right resulting in a misconnect on the ball. I challenged her to work on this throughout the game explaining I understood it was sometimes difficult for her being a lefty. I told her that it was okay to slow down a bit so she could concentrate more on the technical aspect. For the most part, she played under control, had great touches, continued to use her pullback and go move (but I did see a Rivolino and Cruyff from her), and got a lot more pace on the ball when shooting opportunities occurred. With all that, I was most proud of Eva when she was in at goalie. Before she went out, I told her that she had to help direct the players when free kicks or corner kicks occurred. The players still struggle a little bit with positioning on those plays. On one corner kick, Eva started barking at her players to go here, go there, etc. Everybody moved to their spots, we quickly got the ball, and advanced down the field. Eva looked over me with a big grin on her face and I gave her a thumbs up! Eva received a game ball.
Elissa
Elissa played a very well-rounded game. It’s evident that she’s really mastering her skills thru repetition (i.e. homework). When she wants to, she can advance the ball thru a myriad of defenders. On multiple occasions, she dribbled the ball left-right-left-right-around players on very lengthy runs. If I didn't know better, it was like she way toying with the opposing team. She played wherever I asked her to play and always gave maximum effort. She would have gotten a game ball from me except for some issues on the sideline. We talked about it after the game, and I told her how proud I was of her play on the field but she couldn't be a distraction on the sideline. I advised her that being a good player, teammate mattered as much off-the-field as it did on. It was a good lesson for her and I think one she will remember going forward.
Kelsey
What can I say about Kelsey? I really enjoy watching her play. You can tell that she’s really starting to understand game situations and making great decisions that result in a positive outcome. She played a complete game for us wherever she was positioned, but I have to call out one particular play that is the best I've seen this season. The ball was rolling towards me on the coach’s sideline in the attacking end for us. Two Lexington players were quickly chasing the ball down, but before the ball could roll out Kelsey touched it with her left, spun to shield both defenders and drug it forward with her right (i.e. a Maradona), which kept the ball in play and created space for her. She followed that up with a couple more touches and then a powerful shot that found it’s way into the back of the net. She was so excited that she scored that she ran over to me and Liz. I said “I know you scored but do you realize what you just did on the sideline!”. I told her that that was probably the best skill move I’ve seen any player execute this season.
Cora
Cora has the heart and courage of a lion. I can’t believe this girl is only six years old. She is fearless! It only took her a couple minutes to start feeling comfortable on the field. She was always in the mix, never shying away from the ball. She plays much bigger than her size, which I’m sure is due in part to having an older sister. This was evident on a few occasions. The first being that she scored the team’s first goal on the goalie from the week prior (U10 girl) that we couldn't score on. It was a powerful kick that I think surprised the goalie. This goal also woke our team up because I think they realized if Cora can score on her so can we. From that point on, the flood gate was open. Then in the second half the Lexington team put that girl on the field to help their team possess the ball. There were several opportunities where Cora was either defending against or taking it to that girl, who (let me remind you) was twice her height and weight. Cora quickly became a fan favorite as parents were constantly heard cheering her on. Lastly, this was maximum effort and energy from a girl who had played for her normal team in the morning before playing a double header for us. If she plays this well for our U9 academy team, I can only imagine how Cora does on her Legends team. Cora received a game ball for her overall play, courage and tenacity.
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