Monday, March 9, 2009

Highlight-free game

Well...we did have a very good pre-game practice. And then there was that one kid on the Orange team who had a great game. And then everybody had a snack, which was nice. (Thanks to Cole's parents for that). So not a bad day really.
After the game the coach of the Orange team apologized for leaving the scoring-machine kid out on the field so much. Orange was a few players short so the coach figured he'd let the kid (Logan) get some extra playing time. I told him "it's cool. Facing a better opponent isn't going to hurt anybody." Some of the kids will be moving up to U7 soon so they will be seeing a lot of that sort of thing. Aside from a slight size advantage, what makes a player like Logan stand out is his single mindedness when it comes to what to do with the ball. We have that on out team in the form of Nate and Mason. When Nate has the ball he is frantic in his effort to get to the goal but he doesn't panic when he's in close contact with the opposition. I saw him twice step gracefully over the ball to shield it from the opposition and start moving toward their goal. He keeps his head under pressure. I ask the kids every week before the game starts "who's ball is it?" and I expect them to answer "mine!" I never have to ask Nate twice.
And every week Mason shows a better understanding of where he needs to position himself off the ball to defend effectively. He has a great sense of the field.
I should also note that Annie played some fierce defense when she was in goal. And Kendall Romito now has a baby brother, Gabriel.
Everyone is making steady progress and it's been a good season despite our over-crowded bench. Next week is the last game of the season. Camden's mom will be picking-up the snack. See you then.

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