Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.
That's Abraham Kaplan's formulation of the old proverb about how when your only tool is a hammer then every problem looks like a nail. In youth soccer the "hammer" that many a young player has is their kick. The feeling of hitting the ball solidly with the top of your foot is addicting and many young players either come to the game already enamored with that kick or, once they get the technique, they quickly fall in love with it and then see every game situation as a good opportunity to crush the ball. Every game situation. I think we could start calling this tendency in young players "The Birmingham Screwdriver". That's an old English insult and the meaning is obvious: some situations that we encounter require subtlety and balance, a twist here and a delicate turn there. But if we react with brute force instead then we're using "The Birmingham Screwdriver", i.e., a hammer. And so for many young players whenever the ball is close it must look like a nail and the thing to do is to use the hammer.
Prior to the U10 boys' final game Sunday I and another Legends coach were watching a U12 game and at one point we started counting how many kicks in a row we would see before there was even one quality touch on the ball. At one point the total got to a frustratingly high eight kicks. Eight times the ball was pounded from one end of the field to the other before a player managed to get it on the ground and try a few feeble dribble steps before, yes, booting it away. And the parents and coaches watching that game were hooting and hollering like they were at a rodeo! Ugliest. Soccer. Game. Ever.
When my boys took the field I was anxious to see them have a game where they really played with the level of skill that I know they're capable of. They'd had some wonderful games recently where every player seemed to be playing with such freedom and creativity, carrying the ball fearlessly into traffic. They'd all shown that they can play in tight spaces and maintain possession of the ball with a great combination of subtle ball control and physical toughness. Possessing the ball is harder than just kicking it away and you've got to be tough because if you're a player who moves with the ball a lot you're going to get fouled a lot.
I was so happy to see them find their game right from the start. The other team scored first but we came roaring back with a couple of beautiful goals by Cooper and Luke. Luke's goal came at the end of a crazy run through what seemed like every player on the other team. To start that sequence Gabe made some great moves to beat one guy one-on-one and then dished the ball off to Luke who then wove his way into the box for an unstoppable poke that stayed too low for the keeper to have a play on. Cooper got his goal by twisting, maradonna-style, to find just a bit of clear space and then, finally in the right situation for it, he brought out the hammer and ripped the cover off the ball, driving it high into the corner of the net. Untouchable!
I believe every player managed a shot on goal and I lost track of who had the ones that went in but our attack was just amazingly balanced. Every player was a threat to break into space and have a shot. They were using every turn and feint that they know and doing so in a way that was intense but at the same time smooth. Not like it was easy, but rather like they were in the zone. The final goal was the perfect illustration of that quality. Cole picked up the ball just in our half with a beautifully delicate first touch to intercept a pass. As he approached the first defender he executed that lovely "play-behind" move he has and cut past the other player easily. Under pressure from another defender, Cole touched the ball forward to Lucas who drove deep into the left hand corner using this crazy "sole-flick" move that he has. While running with the ball he puts his right foot on top of it, slowing it ever so briefly then sort of flicks the ball forward again with a little roll of his foot. With two defenders on him he uses that move to actually nutmeg one of the players then runs around him to get to the ball again. Without a moment's thought Lucas then drives the ball across the net with his left foot! Oliver was already crashing into the box at that point and in a fierce tussle with the keeper and another defender Ollie get's just enough toe on the ball to put it into the net! Are you kidding!!!?
I'm pretty sure that Brandon had a goal too as did Quinn. Maybe Gabe too? I was so caught up in the game I lost track. When the game is played that way, with skill and grace and power there's just nothing better. Hopefully the memory of the game sticks with them and they'll all remember how much fun it was to be able to play the game with a kit full of tools.
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