The hand your dealt

I have come to the realization my U8 girls will most likely not come out on top in any match this winter indoor session.  I take the blame for this as I chose a level of play, at which I truly believed this group of girls would be competitive, this level being upper recreational and is 3rd on the scale of level of play choices.

What I didn't realize was out of 21 teams, only five others chose upper rec or greater.  This decision reminds me my perception is not always that of those around me so I need to take measures like adding a note in the registration to say, "Hey, if 70% of the teams sign up at the lowest level, let me know!"  So now we are faced with the hand that was dealt to us.

For parents, this is a great opportunity to really evaluate their coach because they'll obviously see the overwhelming challenge being faced too.  Will their coach find opportunities to inspire individual players?  Will they keep it fun? Will they be able to continue to teach, challenge and get their players to take risks in the face of overwhelming adversity?  Or will they start blaming the players for the situation in which they have been placed?  Will the shouts of encouragement turn to a tone of disappointment?

For myself, I really enjoy coaching in these situations because it continues to erode the years of my own childhood experiences, which were driven on a culture of winning at all cost and of finger pointing at players.  So, I am okay with the hand we have been dealt this session and know, at the end of it, I'll have grown, our players will all be better for the adversity faced and they'll all still be in love with playing.

Patience Rules

First week of the winter indoor session in the books and we had varying outcomes for the U8 and U10 squads.  The overriding commonality for all three teams was a never give up attitude and sticking to what they've been taught no matter what the score board says.

I wasn't fortunate enough to catch the U8 Buzz play, but received reports from three reliable sources to piece things together.  First, they had a good time, second our parents are one heck of a supportive group when it comes to what they are cheering for, the effort, not the result and third we have a group of girls who have not played as a unit before and were having some first game overlapping play, which goes away with familiarity.  I'll be challenging them a lot on being a very patient second attacker/defender, which should keep them from getting tired and provide them with many more opportunities for 1v1 situations, at which I know they all can excel.

Our U10 Lightning (Orange) under Coach Dave had to wake up early for their first game, which can go anyway.  They certainly seemed to have no cobwebs clouding their minds for the 7:50 AM match, which saw a brilliantly skillful and disciplined group.

One thing some of our players can struggle with is everyone wanting to be the first attacker all at the same time.  They're not all necessarily on top of the ball, but it's what they're all focused on most of the time. Lightning (Orange) was a adept at keeping one 1st attacker/defender and a supporting group of 2nd attackers/defenders at all times.  I tell players when they don't have the ball at their feet, their job is to know where every other player is on the field and use this information to be in the best spot available to help out.

Kelsey and Payton played very skillful games.  Payton had an aggressive mind, soft touch and light feet every time she had the ball (play behinds, cryuffs and a sweet 1v1 against the keeper), but she also was charging back to the lower third to help on defense.  Kelsey's first half was probably the most skillful I have seen her play.  She had great downfield vision and was moving in and out of players before even they knew which way they wanted to go.  I need to give one more accolade out to Elissa H who played a great first half in goal and made the "woo-hoo!" move of the game; a double scissors down in her own defensive end, which allowed her to create just enough space among heavy traffic to dribble further down field.

Lightning (Yellow) finished out the day with a tough match.  It was the most lopsided they have ever had against them, which was tough for some.  We became a little impatient and all became a little to ball focused trying to make things happen, which created some open opportunities for the other team, but the girls all still stuck to it and never gave up regardless of the pressure.  Olivia had a heck of a game pushing down field and making her way back to help out.  Karolyn, Ellis, Maryah and Mariyah played aggressively in goal despite the final outcome.  Our two new Legends players Anna and Harper did great in their first time out.  

I could tell Harper was unsure of her role on the team, which is, it is the same as everyone else, get the ball and skillfully make your way to the goal.  When she did get the ball, she was very patient and I could see her thinking of where to go and what to do.  Anna really took to our style of ball play and she had a good number or drives moving through players.  She took it on so much she actually grabbed the ball from her teammates a couple times, but what it is great about all of our girls is they never grumbled about it they just let her go with it and readied themselves for the next opportunity.

I will give some lighthearted grief to our Beechwood crew who are still in the midst of basketball season and could be seen defensively positioning themselves up almost as if they were waiting to block a jump shot.  Maryah could even be heard at one point saying, "It's only the second period, we have two more."  To which I believe Ellis said, "No Maryah!  That's basketball!"

No matter what happens, they all make me smile.

Reminder as we Fall from Winter to Spring

The following is a note I sent to all of our girls' parents (U08-U12) at the end of our recent season and I feel it is appropriate to remind myself of our goals as a program as we go through winter indoor and head barreling into spring soccer.
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As we close out the fall season, I want to thank all the coaches, parents, and especially our players for their effort and dedication.

I have been able to work with almost all of our players this season and have kept in touch as I could with your coaches to see how things were going and it's been great to hear of all their successes, failures and growth.

My favorite age group to work with this season, and most seasons, has been the U8 players.  They mostly come in with no pre-programming on how they are supposed to play the game and quickly adapt.  In fact, the two teams I specifically trained had several girls who either turned six during the season or aren't even six yet.

The first few games and practices seemed like a giggling chaos of swarming bees.  Many ​have never even played organized soccer, played outside soccer before, or even heard a referee blow a whistle.  They would just keep running with the ball then look around in wonder as to why everyone else had stopped playing.  By the end of 8 weeks, they were attacking as a unit, running back on defense and coming over to the sideline during substitutions or quarters asking if I saw them do a Rivelino, Stop Hop, or Maradona.

They didn't care about the score ever, only seeing how long they could possess the ball.  There were always smiles during games and at practice...and disappointment when practices ended.  They even were the first group I've coached who cheered when they got to play 1v1 at practice.
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This is the kind of passion your coaches are trying to instill in all of your players and, as you continue with Legends, be sure to support them and your players.

Our teaching and style of play is still unconventional and due to this other teams can be either frustrated or slightly mocking depending on how well our players and teams have mastered the concepts, but in the end after a few seasons with us, your players will walk away with more confidence, enjoyment of the game, less mocking, more frustration from opponents, and in some cases actual admiration and compliments from parents and coaches.  I can't tell you how many times this year and last I have heard in victory or defeat, "Coach, your girls have really good ball handling skills", "Wow, did you see that move!", or "Did she really just do a Maradona turn?!"

In order to accomplish this level of confidence with the ball, come Spring, you will still not be hearing your coaches say, "today we are working on positions" or "today we are working on passing" so please, don't ask them about it.  We teach players to be ball hogs and if you actually ask them if they'd rather keep the ball until they lose it or just kick it once and be done, they'll always tell you they want to keep it.

All those other things will come as they mentally mature and begin to see the game and when those first "thoughtful passes" (as I call them) come, they'll be at the right time and as a coach and parent it will be a 'Wow!' moment just like when they spin around on a Maradona turn for the first time.

Until then, enjoy the off-season and whatever ventures you have planned; be it family time, holidays, or other sports/activities, etc.