I have started and stopped a dozen or so posts over the last year because like everyone else we just have a lot going on and on top of that I have been all into helping build our new club, but now it's time to get back to it.
Monday 4/24, U11 Lightning had a friendly, which ended up being a very professional and competitive match. Lightning played very well and it was the third of such well played matches in as many days. I'm not sure if it was the turning of a corner, but it certainly is a great trend.
The group has been on a new journey, one which I have them working to stretch their soccer brains to begin seeing more than just themselves and one maybe two fixed possibilities in front of them. I am asking them to start taking a look at what may be based on their own creation as a group and boy has it been messy.
They have been working diligently to implement just as they did when we began to get them to stop seeing the end result and trust in their ability to deceptively move the ball, but be totally okay when it fails. Unfortunately, these great kids are trying to please to a fault and began forgetting all of their foundation work, which helped them get to where they are now. The new effort took its toll on them, they lost their way as a group, started fracturing, blaming and discounting each other behind their teammates' backs.
It has been tough going from growth into a successful group over several years of tough work to being one goal on the short end every game, but in the last two weeks we regrouped and renewed with a commitment to each other and an understanding we are all still learning and will all still continue to make mistakes. Only trust in each other will elevate them and allow them to grow now. It was forced upon them by Coach Kyle and I along with some pretty serious consequences for poor supportive behavior, but with the knowledge this would help them once they grew up and left the world of soccer behind. They were super mature about, which already spoke volumes about where they were to where they are now.
Our last three matches have shown they believe in what we talked about. They got back to basics and had so many great moments to support it, I had to reign them in before they got lost.
Saturday we came out super strong and pushed ahead quickly, but they lacked the ability to maintain the same energy in the second half and the other squad tied it up with about ten minutes to go. It would have been the first win of the season and both goals happened on just one of our four goalies watches. I talked to them the next day about the effort to finish, I would have done so right afterward, but they had a better moment to celebrate. After the first goal to bring to 2-1, Kelsey our keeper got a little frazzled, I told her it was fine to stay strong, then the second goal hit and the game ended seconds later. Kelsey was tears, marching off the field vowing to never play keeper again.
The team two weeks ago would have hung their heads and probably had a look or two as if it was her fault, but without a beat as she hit the sideline, and before shaking the other team's hands, each and every one of the Lightning girls propped her up with supportive words and phrases, "It's not your fault", "It's okay.", "It had to get through all of us to get to you." and more, along with a few hugs. Our game end talk was awesome and you could feel the energy preparing them for the next match.
The next day we met up with a team we had previously had a 0-0 draw against and still the top team in our division. Lightning came out with a dominant performance and so many great opportunities. The other team Sky was defensively tough, it looked like another 0-0 draw was in our future, but a near last minute goal took us down. The game was a complete full match effort, no giving up or letting down. Again no disappointment or heads down, Lightning knew they played very well each and every one of them...although there may have been a few miffed "whatevers" to a missed handball call leading up to the other team's goal. :-)
We ended our run where I began, with that competitive friendly. You'd expect a team who by all appearances from their record would be one you'd want to compete against for a comfy win, but not the team which has been running these last two weeks. A final outstanding performance before a well deserved eleven day break. Renewed confidence in their 1v1 skills opened up many great opportunities for cooperative play. The renewed trust in each other allowed them to take those 1v1 chances and put opportunities into space for their teammates to play; all of what we had been working on, but with them not knowing it was happening. One of these occurred when Karolyn who normally plays back line got the call to be a forward. She took the ball into the right attacking end corner and took two defenders with her. It left the center space above the 18 wide open. Karolyn saw an opportunity as her center mid Maryah came through and placed the ball into her feet where Maryah had a nice chip shot, which fell behind the keepers head for the goal.
It was still a very close match and the score was again 2-1 Lightning, as it had been just two days before, when the culmination of the current team build we were on happened during the middle of the second half. One of our center backs at the time Anna was making a great run through the center of the field and no one was rotating back to cover for her. I looked for the center mid Maryah and began asking for her to retreat. Before I even get a full sentence out, I hear our teary eyed goalie from the other day belt out, "Coach Ben! It's okay I got it!" Kelsey had recognized the run, Anna's center back role empty and our center mid Maryah's role supporting the run and shifted from the right mid role to cover.
Nothing symbolized how far Lightning's soccer brains have come than a player overcoming serious challenges to not retreat in upon herself, have the comfort and confidence to put herself in a near last girl defensive role and to yell out to her coach in a match, which was at a disturbingly similar point as the earlier one.
Great job Lightning and great run so far. Looking forward to seeing where we go from here!
