Week Four. A Blur of Soccer.

Thanks for your patience.
Looking back on the games I recall that everyone played very well.  The Thunder Bears had a double header and played great in both games.  Ashley, Ava and Carson all had much better games this week, playing aggressively but with some more thoughtfulness.  Micah played well too.  Most of the players on the Bears are as aggressive in going to the ball as you could hope but they all still play with a bit of tunnel vision, failing to see where their teammates are and to remember which way the goal is.  But that just comes with time and repetition.  We talk about it before every game and eventually they'll start to get it.

The Sharks, on the other hand, have largely gotten this concept as a team.  They look down field past the ball and scan the field behind them.  There are a few players in particular who lead the way in this regard but I'm seeing everyone pick it up.  Karolyn has been doing beautiful work anticipating the action and this past week Jagger and Trey both had great games because they channeled their energy a bit, playing with more discipline and field awareness.  Maya was showing that skill too and had a great game in terms of her ball control and anticipation.  Samuel, of course, always amazes with his understanding of when to run away from the ball toward the goal.  That kind of awareness got him a goal in the last game.

One highlight of the game was a bit of defense from Austin.  I often talk to the kids about taking control of the situation when I work with them on ball control.  When you are dribbling with the ball toward the goal you want to act rather than react when you encounter a defender.  Make a move.   Deceive them.  Take control.  We've got several players on the Sharks who get that and put it to work every game.   A good defender can handle those encounters in the same way by intentionally lagging behind the other player or letting it appear that there is an opening to one side.  You've probably seen basketball players on defense let a shooter have room to move to the left if that shooter is known to be weak with their left hand.  The defender takes control of the situation sometimes too.
In the last game Austin put on a clinic for how this is done in soccer.  As a player on the other team approached him with the ball along the right side of the field Austin hesitated to engage with the player and ball just long enough to let the player think the space between Austin and the wall was open.  When the player started to take the ball that way, to Austin's right, Austin made a quick stabbing step to the front of the ball that stopped the ball and sent the other player tumbling.  We call that a "stick".  Austin stuck that kid perfectly.  I don't know if that is something he's learned or if it's simply instinct but that sequence of hesitation followed by rapid action was clearly intentional.

Other highlights for the Sharks included a goal from considerable distance by Sam E., some great field leadership work from Jackson and some great play in keeper for Elizabeth.

See you all Saturday.

Week Three. Mixed Results.

     Carter of the U4 Tigers got fully into the game this week and left his first-game shyness behind.   I love to see that, when a kid forgets their apprehensions and goes chasing after the other kids and the ball.  Almost every new player comes onto the field feeling uncertain about the whole thing.  They don't know the other kids or the other parents who are all watching them now.  It makes them tense.  But what sets them free from all that is when they give in to the allure of the game, when they forget everything else and just play.  Like dogs playing in a park they forget their territorial issues ("i want to use my ball"... "he bumped me"... "she said ... to me") when they see the opportunity to run together.
     The Tigers played very well overall and they had an especially good pre-game practice.  We worked on some simple change-of-direction moves and that's what we'll keep working on as the foundation for developing better ball control.  So, you'll probably see us repeating the same drills at every practice for a while.
     The other team had a couple of strong players so the Tigers were getting challenged throughout.  Austin and Bennett responded to that challenge by working to get back quickly on defense whenever the other team broke through and never conceding.  That's a little thing, not as flashy as a good move or shot on goal, but definitely very important.  I still have lots of kids in U8 and even U10 who act as though once the ball is past them they're out of the game.

     The Thunder Bears and Sharks met Saturday morning.  I wasn't very happy with the game as a whole and I feel like I probably didn't handle it in the best way.  I should have arranged with Coach Mike prior to the game to have him take over the Sharks completely so that I could focus on the Thunder Bears.  The Bears seemed tentative and confused at times and I'm afraid it might have something to do with the fact that they were seeing me on the other side of the field.   Some of the players I would normally expect an energetic performance from, like Carson and Ashley, were having trouble just getting into the game and seemed to be always a step behind.   These teams will meet two more times and on those days I will be sure the Bears know that I'm with them and that it's okay to go for it and play all out.  One highlight of the game was the keeper play of  Logan.  He covered the position well and seemed unconcerned about who he was facing.  Eileen came in and played some good keeper too.  In the last quarter Jackson stepped over from the Sharks to help the Bears in keeper and that was great of him.  He's a real sport.  He played well but I had to rib him a bit when Elizabeth scored on him.

     The Sharks played like sharks, as usual.  Their attack is organized and patient but then lightning fast when the opening appears.  Highlights after the break.

     In that first game against the Bears the Sharks came out firing and managed some very organized play.  I had Elizabeth in as the leader that first quarter and she stole the show.  You heard that booming kick a couple of times.  She had Samuel helping her out and he played as smartly as ever although I think he was getting a bit frustrated that he didn't get the ball more.  Diego played really well in both games and was showing improvement in terms of his discipline in looking around to see where his teammates are and where he should be headed.  Jagger and Trey both played with a lot of energy but are still playing a bit wildly.
     The best moments of the game were on two goals put in by Austin and Sam.  They both sensed that the games were out of hand and that the keepers for the Bears were over matched, especially when little Eileen was in there and they both clearly modified their approach accordingly.  They still scored but they did so with more delicate, finesse shots.  Austin's was a beautiful little chip that actually went over some of the defenders and on Sam's you could see him pause and hold off on blasting one.  Instead he took one more step to his left then tapped an easy one into the open half of the goal.  Both lovely shots.

     Alright Bears, we'll do better next time.
   

Week Two. Power and Finesse. Players Evolve.

    With the young players it's usually power, not finesse, that gets your attention.   Often times it has been the sound of that power that grabs you.  The drum-like thump of a ball being cleanly struck with the top of the foot.  The startling bang of the ball off of the wall beside the goal.  Early on with players like Sam E., Noah Roach and Elizabeth T. there were moments in games or practice when, following one of those kicks, the other Coach or the Ref would turn and look at me with an "are you serious?" expression.   When you see a three year old consistently kicking like that you know it's not the result of some intense training program.  It's a gift.  Somehow, who knows why, their body responds to the problem of getting the ball from here to there with a simple, graceful series of movements that it takes most players years to develop.  Sometimes, though, with a young player the gift is finesse, softness of touch and that's not always as easy to spot.  It is subtle and you have to know the game a bit to appreciate it.

     On the U4 Bengal Tigers we have Damien, little brother of Diego, and like his brother, Damien handles the ball gently, never letting it get far from him.  If the ball comes to him hard he always manages to get a foot up and receive it softly.  He traps then moves, nudging the ball along while keeping it close so that he can zig and zag as he needs to.  His brother, Diego, seems to feel that so long as he has the ball at his feet he has space to move, no matter how close the defenders are or how many of them.  I see Damien developing that style too.   I would love to see more of our players develop that sort of confidence and patience.

More on the Sharks and ThunderBears after the page break.

     Austin Seng of the Sharks is developing that touch of finesse.  Austin always has had a powerful kick and in a defensive position he has been unbeatable.  He sees the field, anticipates the action and then when the ball comes to him he clears it with a booming sure foot.  But for a few sessions now Austin has been stretching himself out beyond that defender role.  Following Sam E.'s lead he has been growing ever more confident in his ball skills and we saw in the outdoor session that he was a constant threat to break past defenders with his speed and strike at the goal.  His signature move has been a quick change of feet on the ball that allows him to dart past the defender at a shallow angle.  Not fancy, but very effective.  In yesterday's game though Austin showed that he is gaining the confidence to be more of a finesse player.  Austin was in a sweeper position for us in the last quarter.  The ball came down the left wall and as Austin closed on it both Sam E. and a player from the other team were approaching fast.  Austin got to the ball and paused, evidently waiting for the opposing player to commit.  When she did he stepped over the ball turning his back to her, pulled the ball off the wall with his left toe and then spun to his left following the ball and heading out into the open.  It was a graceful pirouette that allowed him to elude both the defender and the ever ball-hungry Sam.  A power player becomes a finesse player.

     What got me to thinking about how players evolve from power to finesse and how they develop the gifts they have was watching Elizabeth in warm-ups.  Elizabeth has always had a strong, fundamentally sound kick both for shooting and passing.  From the first time I saw her she stepped close to the ball and kept her head down, putting her shoe laces right on the ball every time.  I noticed over the outdoor session that she had modified her kick a bit.  Now she was jumping into it the way Sam E. does, planting hard next to the ball and swinging her whole body into the ball.  At the game yesterday I saw something new.  Now she has added a slight dip of her right hip into those right footed blasts that magnifies the leverage she gets.  I wouldn't talk to her about it.  I don't want her to be conscious of it but it's fascinating the way some kids naturally tend to develop toward the perfection of whatever it is they like to do.  They work at it.  Who knows why.  I did, though, let her know that she kicks the ball harder than I can.  I've continued to play despite my aching knees but watching the five year old  Elizabeth hammer the ball does make me think seriously of retiring.

     Mya joined the Sharks yesterday and when she got in the game she was a great addition.  She plays smart and that is what I had hoped for.  On her other team she was kind of swamped in the generally chaotic play of her teammates but on a more disciplined team she has the space to use her brains and play with anticipation.  In her first quarter in she played sweeper and then in her next quarter she asked if she could move up to the front.  That's the confidence I'd seen from her before.  She wants to be with the ball.  Great to have you with us Mya.

     We had lots of great play all around for the Sharks.  We missed McKenzie though.  Get better Kenz.  The Thunder Bears played well too and luckily they had Karolyn from the Sharks in to cover for Ashley who was out.  Zychik had a goal!  Ava and Micah played beautifully and with more discipline than ever.  Watching those two high motor players develop into finesse players is going to be fun.  Carson had some moments of real grace and control as well.  One particular turn on the ball led directly to Zychik's goal.  Carson gathered the ball with a nice chop heading into our own side then spun quickly back into the approaching opposition and made a sharp move to his left to get into the open.  Beautiful.  A moment later he was passing across the middle to a waiting Z. Rozhkov who deftly tapped the ball in.

   I wish we had more practice time.  All of these kids seem so willing to work at their games.  Watch them closely, they're getting better every week.