Fusion FC U8 kids finally got to play some games this weekend and all the practices before the season showed up in each match played. U8 boys Rattlesnakes and U8 girls Green and U8 Girls Grey put on a display of skill and vision Coach Suli, Jeff and I did not expect and a nice downpour during both girls games made the day wet, but even better for them.
I must preface by saying how much the local rec league (NKSL) is being progressive toward kid development by putting in a midfield playout line on goal kicks and not allowing shooting until teams get into the attacking half, which pushes a lot of teams to learn how to possess the ball and play our from the back. This being said...
The U8 Boys Rattlesnakes opened things up early in the morning in a back and forth match against a group of boys who may have actually been trained by the Cobra Kai. It was a match of brute force ankle chopping versus persistent skill. The boys gave into the kickball in the middle of the match, but we placed a three touch requirement on them before doing anything else and it seemed to calm them back down. Some of my favorite highlights from the match were:
-A nice in the air corner kick and one touch on the knee by Owen B in front of the goal for the score. Not sure I have ever seen that in U8 play. I asked Owen if he meant to do that and he of course with a head shake said, "Yes!"...hmmmm :-)
-Cody B chasing down a ball to his defensive corner and performing a run over between the legs to turn and change direction back to the field of play rather than letting the ball go out.
-Hugh R moving up the parent sideline and yelling "Square-Square!" when he saw his teammate get the ball in the center of the field.
-Jameson C performing a two touch double pull back 8 yards from his goal and figuratively "breaking the ankles" of the opposing team so nicely, they fell to the ground.
What was the actual score result? I wasn't really sure, but the parents were having a good time using the Club's new team tool to post game items and I believe we ended on the minus side by one at 6-7, which tells me...competitive game? Check! Lots of scoring chances? Check! Lots of individual skill and a few non-taught pieces of team work? Check! Well done Rattlesnakes!
The girls teams played across town from each other at the same time, which is fine, except we were missing a few players. There are only 13 total between two teams for 5v5 play so it was a more than a little hairy for Grey when they started their match with only 3 players against the other team's bench of 9. Grace, Emma, and Alyssa apparently had no issue with it and before long Coach Suli had to ask the girls to work more and more on their skill work and touches as those three little ones had about half a dozen in the net and the other team had none. They finished playing the match with Brooklyn at 4v5 and managed the game in stride. While the score result is only a tally marker at this age for treats from grandma and grandpa, the true result was a team down players did not sit back on their heels, but put themselves forward in attack mode without a care.
Green seemed like seasoned veterans in their match. The rain was intense for a while and I was worried some would shut down, but by the second half, every player had done the push run over between the legs move and worked on their carryover dribbling so I began asking them to try a skill move we had not yet worked on to see if they would take the chance to try something new with only a minute or two instruction on the sideline. I don't believe anyone was able to complete it, but the number of unintended pullback and push forward moves with the ball was fun to watch. Afterwards, my first question is always, "did you have fun?", "YES!", then I asked, "are you cold?" and the response to that was a resounding "NO!"
Result for both girls matches? Experience of difficult playing conditions? Check! Lots of scoring opportunities? Check! Skill, skill and more skill? Check! Smiling faces afterwards? Check! Great work to the U8 ladies!
I would like to thank the club where the girls played. They had multiple games going on that day. The field next to us was setting up a team tent and since they weren't scheduled to play for a bit, they moved the tent to our field and set it up between both teams so the girls could keep out of the rain when they weren't playing. Was any animosity seen between teams? Nope, only kid giggles and trying to shake water off the sides of the tent and one of the girls from the other team showing me how she could also do the run over move, awesome. :-)
