Back to Basics

    Sorry it's taken me so long to get to writing about Saturday's games.  It was a very good day in that I was able to stay at the field all day and see so many of our Legends players in action.  The progress players across the club are making is wonderful and our teams, especially the U8 teams, definitely have a distinctive playing style that catches the attention of other club parents and coaches.  Coach Eric was there Saturday with both his U8 boys teams and during the game for his younger squad a parent on the other sideline was overheard saying "I'm glad we're playing them this year and not next year."  I assume he meant that it was clear that with the skills those boys were showing it is just a matter of time until they are dominating other teams.  That sounds like the situation Girl Power are in now.  Last fall they were full of potential but now they are full of goals!
     My own teams' games were a mixed bag and it's taken me a few days of mulling it over to figure out what seemed wrong about the way my U10 teams played.  Where that thinking lead was to the painful conclusion that it wasn't how my players had played that was bothering me, rather, it was how I'd handled those games as a coach.  I realize now that on Saturday I allowed myself to drift away from the coaching principles that have been successful in the past for me.  I'd gotten ahead of myself and started coaching for "team" performance rather than staying focused on individual performances.  At least that's what happened in Saturday's U10 games.
     The best way to make clear what I mean is to reference a post I wrote nearly two years ago describing my coaching strategy for the teams I was working with then.  If you can, take a moment to follow this link and read it.  In that post I lay out a few simple points of focus that I wanted to keep in the forefront throughout that season's training sessions;  things like posture, soft touch, field awareness.  My intention was to stay focused on individual skill development and then assume that cooperative team play would sort of develop naturally as the players became ever more competent and confident.  As evidence that that approach can work I give you the U8 Girl Power squad.
     The U8 girls were awesome Saturday and again played with an amazing combination of individual ball skill and team cooperation.  The cooperative play isn't all that organized yet.  Rather,  it's just a generally more effective spacing on the field; they have a good sense of where they all are on the field.  As one parent described it to me in the context of their defense, it's not so much that they maintain defensive positioning as it is that they move to re-take the ball in waves (or concentric circles maybe) with one player taking a direct path to the ball and then her teammates taking ever wider looping paths to cut off the other team's progress.  So rather than all of our players concentrating at the point of attack they anticipate where the next point of attack might be and the next one and so on.   It's a new development for the team and it's beautiful and it's largely something that they've put into play on their own.  All we work on in practice are their dribbling skills.  All I talk to them about are their dribbling skills with additional simple admonishments to "keep your heads up", "know where your teammates are."  This developing version of cooperative play is essentially their own creation.
     But while the subtleties of that sort of "team" play are delightful the real beauty of Girl Power's  play is obviously their individual dribbling skill.  They are, every single player, completely committed now to dribbling and to being deceptive.  That is what makes this group of players so much fun to work with.  I don't have to convince them of the value of the deceptive dribbling skills they are learning.  They've already bought into it wholeheartedly.  Add to that their natural gifts like speed and determination and you get a team that is constantly on the attack.  With this team I can spend the whole game focusing moment by moment on each player individually, taking sideline opportunities with them to offer only simple points about the way they used a move or what other move I'd like to see them try.  The overall flow of the game I leave to them and they take care of it.
     Going forward I've got to be sure I maintain that same sort of focus with the U10 boys;  stay focused on their play as individuals and convince them that their success on any game day is tied to their effort, not to the final score.  I pride myself on being the type of coach who is always focused on teaching "the basics" and yet here I am needing to be reminded: get back to the basics!
    

Girl Power Comes Full Circle.

    Back in the fall the Girl Power squad had an interesting experience after a game against a VHSC squad early in the season.  That was just the first session of play for the Girl Power group in their current form and while they were already a hard working group with a lot of natural ability and a love of the game they were also still at the stage where they would get in each others' way a lot, crowding the ball and often playing without a lot of field awareness.  But they were already a team that was committed to dribbling rather than kicking and in that particular game the VHSC coach was very impressed with them.  Our girls took a real thumping in that game but they picked the ball up and ran to the center circle after every goal, always ready to play some more.  I know that at the time I was telling parents and other coaches that the team's real character could be seen in that; in their desire to just keep playing regardless of the score; in their joy for the game.  When the VHSC coach came over to me after the game the first thing she wanted to compliment the team on was their indefatigable attitude.  Even as the score of the game became hopelessly lopsided my girls would just sprint to the center circle, usually giggling about some silliness that only they understood, and on the whistle they'd kick off and go at it again.
     The VHSC coach asked if she could speak to the team and when they were gathered around her she first complimented them on their impressive skills.   Then she asked them how old they were.  "Six!" was the response except for a defiant "I"m five" from Hailey H.  "Wow" the coach said.  "And y'all are so good already!"  She continued, "Now my girls are all on the upper side of the age group so they've played in U8 a lot longer than you have."  I wasn't sure the girls understood exactly what she meant but she went on to explain to them that they could all keep playing U8 for more than another year and eventually they would be one of the oldest teams in the league.  "Whoo!  Then everybody else look out!"  she concluded.  Well the girls got that and they were all excited about it and I recall that over the next few weeks the subject of their age and where they'd be next year came up quite a bit.
     I really appreciated that other coach coming over to talk to them and I think she found the right way to help me deal with a lopsided defeat.  I've coached plenty of games where my team was getting thumped and I know from experience that there is nothing the other coach can do during the game to make the defeat less uncomfortable.  When my team is getting beat I expect the other coach to just let their players play.  It's my job to keep my kids in the game and with Girl Power I've always found that rather easy.  They just love to play.
     Now the girls have come full circle.  They deal out the drubbings now and yet they are about a year ahead of schedule.  They're still one of the youngest teams in the division.  So what happened? What I see is that their commitment to possessing and dribbling the ball has only strengthened but now we're also benefiting from much better field awareness and some early efforts at cooperative play. 
     In Saturday's game the other coach commented to Coach Chris (thanks for covering for me!) that our girls had "an interesting formation" in that they didn't seem to be playing any set positions.  Coach Chris responded with the party line:  "yeah, we don't work on that."  Brilliant!  But even though they aren't stuck in specific positions the girls are getting much better at assessing the situation on the field themselves and dealing with it accordingly.  They don't crowd the ball so much and they are getting noticeably better at anticipating the need to break off and get back on defense.  They're a smart group of girls. 
     As we go forward I expect we'll have some games where opposing coaches and parents will resent our girls and think they're playing in the wrong league.  Let's be patient with them.  We know how far our girls have come and they've earned their success.

Boys U10 #1 Finds Missing Mojo!

     The U10 Boys #1 team had a brilliant return to form Saturday morning and despite the final score I could not have been happier with their performance.  There is no way to sugar coat what we saw in their game Thursday evening of the past week.  That was some poor soccer with an ugly combination of panicked, disorganized play and, frankly, lazy play.  Drew's five goals was an impressive achievement but other than our guest sub, Karolyn L., he didn't have much real help on the field.  Following that game we were able to put together a brief scrimmage and that seemed to me a good way to wash away the bad taste of a poor outing.  Just play.
     On Saturday they showed up ready to go and played with real energy and intelligence the entire game and we saw much more of the sort of all-out effort that has made these players so effective in the past.  We're still walking back into defense a bit or even getting caught ball-watching, but overall the players were more mobile and loose throughout the game.  There was also more commitment to using their dribbling skills and they did so to great affect.  It's strange though because the team we played Saturday was just as aggressive to the ball as the team we played Thursday.  Oh, well.
     In any case, even though we didn't come out on top in terms of score the boys were clearly enjoying this game more and they finished feeling very upbeat despite the loss.  They know they played better and I'd say that an important element in the return of their confidence as a team was the combined performances of Connor and Braden.  Returning to play after missing Thursday's game due to a cold, Connor was once again earning his new nickname, "The Blender", by trying to spin his way past every defender and in this game he combined that great ball skill with a new-found ability to strike into the open space that he creates for himself.  He was pressing the other team's last defenders repeatedly and had plenty of very good chances.  It was great to have him back.
     When Braden got out into the field after a first half stint in as keeper he wasted no time in taking the ball right into the other team's goal box on an amazing solo run that started at midfield.   As the half went on he had several more great runs and while he did make a very pointed effort to throw in one "stop-hop-and-play" move he was generally making his way up field using a very simple sort of shielding dribble to keep possession of the ball in tight spaces. 
    

Finally! Sunshine and Soccer!

    
     After a two week layoff due to weather our Legends teams were finally back on the field for a day of soccer.  I was able to watch six of our teams in action over the course of the day and I was happy to see lots of that Legends signature style:  skill, patience and stubborn ball possession.
     I managed to record some highlights from the games and, as the video shows, some of our teams are farther along in their commitment to possessing the ball and trusting their skills but they are all on the same path.   As I mentioned in my last post, I do think that the style of play we are teaching is contagious and if we just let the kids play they'll all catch on eventually.
     After watching Coach Johnny's U10 boys start the day with Kaleb, Drew W. and Owen all filling in I headed over to the home fields and enjoyed a thrilling performance from the Girl Power! squad.  Once again they lined up facing a team that clearly had a significant size advantage and once again our girls ignored that and just got to work playing their game.  Not only did they come out on top but the score was actually a little lopsided with six of our seven players managing goals.  Zoe and Hailey B. each scored this time so now we've had goals from everyone this season.  That's what you call Total Football.  In the video you can see how the girls are getting better all the time at playing smartly off the ball and rotating around each other into advantageous positions.
     Our girls showed great skill all game although not all of it is flashy.  Mostly it's just a lot of very competent and smart first touches followed by confident dribbling.  I think that's how the training we do typically translates into game play.  We ask them to attempt very difficult technical skills in practice and the result is that in games their basic level of competence with the ball is raised even if they don't try any dazzling trick moves.  But of course we can count on Ava and Abby to put on a technical display at some point and they didn't disappoint. 
     In the U10 Boys #1 game we had help from Lucas Finley and Owen and Lucas was fantastic, putting in two goals in an amazing performance with the upper division team.  Owen had a goal as well off of a free kick.  Then there was Kaleb.  What can you say about a four goal performance?  He was en fuego!  We also got great play from everyone else on the squad and I'd like you to especially notice in the video the skillfull  play of Drew "Skeletor" Skelton.  You can see him make an amazing shielding move to get open for a shot.
     Unfortunately I didn't get any video of Conner S. using his moves.  He's really getting to the point where his moves usually pay off with a break into open space.  I expect to see him scoring more often now and I hope the rest of the team will mimic his style a bit in terms of his willingness to play the ball right into an opponent's feet and then make a move to beat them.
     Great games kids.  Speaking for the coaches and your parents let me say...Thanks.  We love watching you play.

Great Practice for the U8 Girls. Girl Power! Style of Play is Apparently Contagious.

     We managed to get out on the field finally last night for our first outdoor practice since the season started.  With the players all having missed at least two games in a row due to weather I thought it best to limit the "practice" part of the session and spend most of our time just playing some soccer.  At Coach Ron's request we let the girls play on their own teams rather than mixing the two squads and I think that that was a wise decision.  Firstly it gave his girls more experience playing with each other as a group, getting to know who was going to do what on the field.  I was really impressed with the strength and aggressiveness his team showed; a big improvement over last season.  Coach Ron's girls were more field-aware and more organized than ever and that made for a great game against Girl Power!  Secondly, it gave Ron's girls a chance to see our squad in action playing the way they like to play.  I'll come back to why that was important in a minute.
     Our squad got off to a quick start scoring three goals in the first few minutes and they did so playing the way you'd expect: possess, dribble, attack.  Their touches were great and they were all showing off their deceptive dribble moves.  Coach Ron's girls responded at first by simply playing very aggressively to the ball which was good, but their first touch was usually a vigorous kick that served only to give the ball back to our girls.

Beanie gets her zig-zag on.
Ava, Sarah and Ariel close in to challenge.

     What I found really interesting about this scrimmage was that as the game went on the girls on Coach Ron's team began to more and more consistently mimic the style of play they were seeing from our Girl Power! squad.  That's something important to pay attention to as parents and coaches.  When we stop pressuring our players with specific instructions to "do this" and "do that", to "kick it!" or "clear it out!" or "get in there and help!" and focus instead on just cheering for them to play hard and cheering loudly when we see something done well...when we stop trying to control them and just let them enjoy playing what you see is that kids do what kids do, they mimic each other.  If one player sees another doing something that seems to work or elicits a cheer from the sidelines or just looks cool then the first player will eventually give it a try for themselves.
     Coach Ron has players on his squad who aren't just potentially good, they have genuinely great touch on the ball and very strong kicks.  They can be great players right now.  At the start of the game those girls played aggressively but in a constantly defensive mode.  The Girl Power! attack does that to teams.  But by the second half those same players on Ron's side were possessing the ball more, trusting themselves more and consistently bringing the ball deep into our half.  I love it when the kids let go and just put themselves wholly into the game.  Beautiful.  And with the weather finally looking like spring...it couldn't have been better...unless we'd had Zoe, Anna and Hailey H. with us too!

Team Schedules with Rain-out/Make-up Dates added in list to the right.

I'm adding some links to this page that will take you to spreadsheet schedules for each team so that we can keep track of what games we've completed, which ones were rained out and when the make ups are scheduled.