Legends Soccer Party!

     We had good weather for most of the day yesterday and thanks to the folks over at the YMCA we even had music during many of our games.  What a blast!  All of our boys U10 teams were in action at Boone Woods yesterday and they put on quite a show.  We had the same referee for all of our games including an early game for Coach Ryan's U10 girls and by the end of the day he paid us the compliment of saying that he was really impressed by the consistent skill level of the players in our club.  Thanks Ref!
     Another measure of the progress our players are making was pointed out to me by Coach Les  (he assists with Coach Johnny's team).  As my U10 boys and Coach Johnny's team were showing signs of running out of gas near the end of their game yesterday Coach Les speculated that the reason they were tiring out was that so much of the game had been played without the ball ever going out of bounds.  Since all of our players are committed to playing a controlled style of soccer with lots of smart touches and fewer big kicks the result is that when two of our teams face each other it's a marathon of dribbling and the ball stays in play nearly the entire game.  So no breathers for throw-ins and goal kicks.  I hadn't thought of it that way before but that makes a lot of sense and it's yet another way in which our Legends coaching philosophy and the style of play it promotes is beneficial to our players in the long run.  To play the way we want them to play they have to work harder, they have to get accustomed to exerting themselves for longer stretches.  Hopefully this means that by the time the current group of U10 players are in High School they'll all be able to run all day!
     I'd asked the U10 Zombies to be sure and show me at least one fake-shot move at some point in the game and they all delivered beautifully.  Lucas F. did a great fake-shot into a Cruyff turn and when he came off the field he was really excited to know if I'd seen it.  That Cruyff turn had really frustrated him at the first training session where we introduced it but he's been plugging away diligently at mastering it.  Now that he has the move he's understandably proud of it.  Well done Lucas!
     Cole is a big fan of the Maradonna turn and actually came to our very first practice with some ability to do that move, at least in a practice setting.  I've prodded him every week to keep trying to use it in our games and he has attempted it pretty consistently.  But yesterday was an amazing leap for him as he pulled the step off going at nearly a full run.  It was a very sharp move and devastatingly effective, taking him quickly past a defender into wide open space.
     Those are just two of the highlights from a game that was full of good skill.  Well done Zombies!