The first game of a session can be a disorganized affair, especially in U4 where we always have kids who are new to the game. But while other teams and Coaches were struggling to get things started yesterday your U4 team showed up ready to roll. First they welcomed in two players; Carson who is returning after taking a session off and Jagger who is new to the team. Then they chose a new name to go with their new shirt color: The Black Berries. With that taken care of the team was ready to get right to work and I was really impressed with how focused they were. We had a good warm-up with everyone cooperating and participating enthusiastically and from first kick on the Black Berries were completely into the game. We have nine players this session and you may have noticed that in the first and third quarters we went with five on the field at a time. Due to the number of kids we have signed up this session most teams ended up with nine or ten players so the league decided to go with five on five as the number for U4 to make it easier for every player to get plenty of game time. Yesterday I elected to use our players in a grouping that would allow our more advanced players to work together and allow our developing players the space to get more touches on the ball. The first quarter line-up featured Ashley, Austin, Eileen, Dominic and Jagger. This line-up is good for Ashley and Austin as they are really developing quickly into great ball-handlers and they get more of a chance to work on that if they are separated from Ethan, Samuel and Diego who are our most aggressive players. For the second and fourth quarters I went with Ethan, Samuel, Diego and Carson as a foursome knowing that all four of them are very aggressive and anxious to be with the ball. For these players the important next step is learning to play smartly away from the ball and begin thinking in terms of being part of a team. These line-ups seemed to work very well as we ended up with at least eight goals. More importantly there was lots of very good play from everyone and you could see that all of the kids are enjoying the game and are anxious to get better.
Dominic put in our first two goals. I worked with him a bit on getting into position in front of the other side's goal so that he could knock those crossing passes into the net. When he put the first one in he was thrilled and made sure to tell me that he'd been right where I told him. When he put in his second off of a beautiful pass from Ashley he had more of a "well, this is pretty easy" look on his face. Ashley along with Austin did such great work possessing the ball and trying to dribble up field with Austin eventually managing a goal. Jagger and Eileen both played well too, being constantly in the mix. Eileen even had a bit of a breakaway at one point in the third that I hoped would lead to a goal. Maybe next time.
Ethan, Samuel, Diego and Carson made a very strong team that will score even more goals when they learn to stay out of each other's way. As it was, with all four of them contesting for the ball at the same time, they managed five goals with Diego getting two of those. The other boys each had one and there were moments when they were cooperating more than they were contesting with each other, particularly on Sam and Carson's goals. Carson and Sam were both able to score because they were in position in front of the goal waiting for a teammate to bring them the ball. Great work. I was especially thrilled to see Carson play so well after taking a session off. Welcome back Carson!
Then there was the Sharks game. The kids wanted to change their name again since they got new shirts. "Pirates" and "Black Berries" were among the many suggestions but I confess I just couldn't let them change. These kids are the Sharks! They play with more consistent aggressiveness and with more organization than any other team I've coached. I know that from the bleachers it may look like chaos out there sometimes but what I'm seeing is game by game improvement from every player that includes advances in awareness of where their teammates are and what their options are. When I put them in a position they understand for the most part what their responsibilities are and they give it their all. Even the discipline they show when warming up is amazing and I do hear comments from other Coaches about that and about the way they play as a team. So you see why I can't let them change their team name. These kids are a pack of goal scoring killers! They're Sharks!
We were joined yesterday by some players who had taken a session or two off, those being Sam A., Xavier and Brennen. Sam A. has become such a tenacious ball handler that the transformation since he first started is amazing. He's got a big kick too as does Brennan. When Brennen lines up behind the ball you'd better duck. Xavier got off to a shaky start but quickly found his soccer legs and fell into his old style of "ball control" soccer. Ball control is quickly becoming this team's signature style. We have Sam E., of course, who is always trying to dribble around players. But Austin and Elizabeth too have both settled on being good ball handlers and clearly prefer to dribble first and kick-away second. With Xavier and Sam A. added to the mix other teams are going to have a hard time getting possession of the ball.
Elizabeth was setting a great example for the rest of the team yesterday in communicating with her teammates. I don't know if you could hear her through the glass but every time she got open in the middle or was open for an outlet pass she would yell as loud as she could to get her teammates' attention. I've coached ten and twelve year olds teams that were crippled by their inability to communicate on the field and to see U6 players doing that so well already is amazing. I could already hear Jackson and Sam E. following Elizabeth's lead in this game.
We had great play in goal from Jackson in the second quarter and he showed off some beautiful punts. While out in the field Jackson did great work in that midfield position he likes so much. Luke and Austin were solid in defense as usual with both of them developing a bit of free-lancing style wherein they cover on defense and then streak up into offense when the opportunities appear. Kendall had a great game and had one flash of ball handling brilliance where she very cleverly turned the ball back away from her opponent and then made a quick step across field to get around them. I hope to see more of that from Kendall. I think she's been quietly absorbing soccer knowledge and skills for a while now and is one good game away from putting it all together. Sam E. had our two goals to give the Sharks a nice session opening 2-2 tie.
Finally I have to mention our newest teammate, Mckenzie, who hadn't played soccer before yesterday's game but who jumped right in to the action. She did great. I could also see that Kendall was making an effort to make Mckenzie feel at home on the team. That is so Kendall.
Thanks to the Eppleys for the U6 snack. See you next Saturday for games at 7:50 for the Sharks and 10:20 for the Black Berries.
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