I realized at this week's practice session that the younger U10 boys team have continued to refer to themselves as the "The Beechwood Zombies" which was the name they used in the preseason 3v3 tournament. I like the name for the irony of it alone since when they play the way they did yesterday they don't look anything like zombies. They were fierce in their attack in yesterday's game but they were also wholly committed to playing with skill, even to showing off their skills a bit. You have to keep in mind the added effort that it takes when you commit to playing that way. Passing the ball up the field from player to player is an energy efficient way to advance but dribbling and taking on defenders one on one or even one on two is physically demanding. Add into that the energy it takes to execute some of the more complicated moves the boys were using and you have to be really impressed with the overall effort of that game. Despite the final score I think the Zombies clearly had the majority of ball possession throughout the game and they were definitely wearing down the other team, especially their midfield players, by the end of the game.
Someone might ask the obvious question, if passing is more efficient why aren't we working on that rather than all this deceptive dribbling stuff. The answer to that question was visible in the game. The other team's real strength was that they had players who played very aggressive defense, challenging our players very quickly for the ball rather than giving any space. Despite that excellent defensive effort by the other team our own players were able to win those confrontations at least half the time thanks to their growing confidence in their dribbling skills, When watching pro soccer you'll sometimes hear the phrase "holding up the ball" used to refer to players, especially midfielders, who can smartly distribute the ball (pass) but who can also possess the ball when pressed and so are able to coolly "hold" the ball up in midfield or beyond for their team thus keeping the attack alive. Every one of our Zombies is going to be that kind of player, able to absorb pressure and maintain possession then find space to either attack or pass effectively. At higher levels of play against better defenses being able to execute passing but not having the ball skills to "hold up" the ball means you get beat.
Yesterday we saw a lot of the possessing and dribbling but we also did see some passing play starting to develop. In particular I saw one beautiful little pass from Luke S, to Cole that was a great example of the type of passing I'm happy to see them attempting. I don't want to see them passing off the ball to get rid of it in a panic but when they are confident enough over the ball to look up and see an obvious opportunity then I'm fine with it and that is what happened with Luke in that situation. He'd taken the ball off of one player and made a nice move toward the center of the field. Two more players were closing on him and he looked up and saw that as they moved toward him they were leaving a wide open path for Cole so he took advantage of that. It was smart and the pass was well struck and on target. Excellent.
Another good example was a run that Lucas Y. made where he brought the ball all the way from our own half into the opposition penalty area. By the time he'd zig-zagged and spun his way right to the goal line he had at least four of their players hanging on him and at that point his dribbling options were sort of exhausted. Realizing that, Lucas managed to get just enough space with one more move to be able to put in a crossing pass that found Cole and Luke wide open. Brilliant play!
I had set the boys a specific task prior to the game that they had to demonstrate in the game that they could play the ball backwards, away from the opposition goal, and then make a quick cut to head back to goal. They all did it at least once in the game and I was thrilled with that. When they see every game opportunity as a chance to put their skills to the test then they can begin to progress very rapidly and, most importantly, they can relax and enjoy the game because they know that it's their effort not the game outcome that matters.
A couple of other highlights:
>Cole and Lucas Y. both pulled off Maradonna turns.
>Lucas F. was great in goal. The shots that went in were completely beyond his reach but when he did get the ball he made a beautiful punt that made it past the half line.
>Lucas F. also played beautifully while in the field showing off some brilliant skills.
>Oliver was playing brilliantly too, exemplifying that sort of "holding" midfield play I mentioned before.
>Will was on fire. He took the ball where he wanted throughout the game, even striking out from keeper to dribble down field. My spouse, Chris, was on the sidelines near him when he got the ball on that run. According to her as the ball came to Will and his teammates were all calling for the ball to be passed out to them Will took off saying "I got this". Awesome!
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