Okay, before we get to some highlights...
At one point in Saturday's game one of the coaches commented loudly to her partner that "this team just doesn't play defense, I guess." I assume that she was referring to the fact that while our girls might start out with two players in our own half we don't keep that shape for long and the girls feel free to roam around the field finding opportunities. I know how that must look to another coach. If our players weren't so competent with the ball then we'd look like a bunch of five year olds chasing around in a pack. But given the team's overall level of skill, the fact that we usually end up with all five field players moving up into an attacking position must look to other coaches like we're running some sort of full court press. I guess that's what it is. Our defense isn't about position, it's about possession. We keep the ball and you can't have it. It's fairly effective.
I don't like the thought that perhaps we have developed some sort of negative reputation around the league. But if we have that's the fault of all the people who have seen these girls play and failed to appreciate what they've accomplished. These girls love the game. They love to work at getting better. They're tough and fearless and they play with real joy in their skills. No apologies. Give us your best game because that's what you get from us.
Some parents and coaches in the NKSL may wonder why we are even in this league. They may complain that our team and Ron's team shouldn't be playing in a rec league. I get it. But barely a year ago we were getting beaten regularly. Ron's team couldn't win a game in the spring. Now both teams are undefeated and that's the result of just one year of training and hard work from the girls. We didn't get to this point by accident. So my response to the rest of the clubs in NKSL is why aren't your teams getting better? Why not mimic what we're doing? Why not assume that if our girls can learn to play this way then yours can too? I ask these questions as a coach who is genuinely concerned about the growth of the game in this area. When I see one of my teams play a better team, a team that has worked to build their skills, I don't see them as a threat. I see that team as an example and I say to my players "if they can do it we can do it too."
End of rant.
As for the game, I'd say that the most impressive aspect of Girl Power's play was their sudden grasp of the importance of spacing on the field. We played a little game at practice Wednesday that was meant to help them understand what it means to play in a supporting position for a teammate who has the ball. I called the game "Shadows" and while I'm glad that they enjoyed it I'm a little surprised that it seemed to have such a dramatically quick affect on their play. The basic principle is simple; when a teammate has the ball be close enough to help but not so close that you're in the way. It's something I've talked to them about forever but something about the analogy of a shadow seems to have really clicked for them.
Zoe, for example, has always been a player who is so aggressive and anxious to get to the ball that she will frequently steal it from her own teammate. But in Saturday's game she showed remarkable awareness of when to go in close and when to drop back. There was one moment in particular when Zoe was moving behind Anna in a good supporting position. When Anna decided to do a pull-back and actually head backwards Zoe quickly began back pedaling to maintain her space and give Anna room to work. I'm obviously thrilled with how skillful a dribbler Zoe has become but to see her reacting to a teammate in a game situation in that way was really wonderful. It's the start of developing some real team cooperation and that's the next step for these girls even as we continue to build their repertoire of deceptive dribbling moves.
We also had a preview in this game of how devastating the team can be when they combine good individual ball skills with heads up field awareness. Hailey had two beautiful goals off of perfect crossing passes from Ashley and in both cases it seemed clear to me that every moment of those exchanges was intentional. Ashley carried the ball in and saw Hailey in position. Hailey saw Ashley working and headed straight for the goal. Brilliant! Can't wait to see them in action in their tournaments.
No comments:
Post a Comment