The "Bats" faced a good challenge this week but they were up to it and came away with a nice 3-3 draw. We had a goal from Abby and then a beautiful shot-and-redirect combination for Ashley and Micah. Then finally Maddox (I think) put one in. On our first goal Abby carried the ball through a lot of traffic and came in from the left side for a very low-angle shot. It was well struck and hugged the ground, giving the keeper no chance on it. On that second goal Ashley made a very good run, taking the ball off another players feet then dashing out into the open and heading to the goal with the ball just a touch ahead of her. She really maintained her composure on this run and had control the whole time. When she let loose the shot it was pounded and might have found the goal on its own but Micah was there in the box and he cleverly gave the ball just a tap to redirect it a bit. That took it completely out of the keeper's range and into the net. Great team work on that one.
The whole team played very well and they were working hard on using their ball skills for me. I saw a lot of pullbacks and cuts and zig-zags out there. Henry was getting the hang of playing the sort of attacking-midfielder that his brother Sam likes to play. Always concerned about letting the other team get off a shot, Henry doesn't like too stray to far from his own goal. But he knows that when the ball does come to him back there he can make a soft touch on it then head out into the open space to either attack the other goal on his own or make a good pass up-field for a teammate. Right now he prefers the pass but I'll keep working on him to get up there and find his shot. Ava likes to work from the back line forward like that too and she was really the key to our success in this game. The other team had a lot of good opportunities taken from them because of Ava's tireless efforts to dig the ball out of the corner and then dribble it out of the opposition's reach.
The Lions played beautifully, especially Diego. I lost count of his goals but his patience and deft control on the ball are unforgettable. Most kids are hoping to find a path to the goal that skirts their opponents by a wide margin but Diego is perfectly happy to be elbow to elbow with the defense, patiently pulling the ball along with him, cutting left then right and waiting till the shot is really there. Saturday he repeatedly made a move to pass the keeper at the post so that he'd get in front of the goal for a better shot. That just shows amazing patience and confidence. Most players would want to shoot the moment they see a chance at the goal but Diego knows that from the low post angle the keeper has the advantage. So Diego goes ahead and makes another move to get out around the keeper and then square to the goal for a much better shot. Fantastic!
Jagger was fabulous in as keeper this week and I think he faced some of the toughest competition he's ever seen. One player on the other team, Joshua, made his way into the goal area repeatedly and did a great job of holding his shot till he was really right on top of Jagger. But over and over again Jag stopped him. He was like a Kung Fu master in there.
I was really pleased with how the rest of the team played too. We had no subs, which was really a good thing since they all got so many touches on the ball. Then I gave them all an assignment at half-time, letting them know that I needed to see at least one pullback from everyone if they were going to get a snack after the game. They all did it too! Anna and Gunnar were getting close to ten each by the end of the game and Anna even managed a few with her left foot. What I tell them is that even if the move doesn't "work", that is, if the other team ends up getting the ball, that's okay because I just want them to try it until they figure out how to make it work. If they feel free to just do a pullback every time they're on the ball eventually they figure out on their own how to use that move to get free and head to the goal. Great work Lions.
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