Fusion Girls Are All About Attack!

     My Fusion U11 teams were in action for the kick-off of indoor season this Saturday and the two games, played back-to-back, were fantastic.  Most of the girls hadn't played since early November so while I'd expect them to be really anxious to take the field I wouldn't expect the quality of their play to be great.  A bit of kick-ball, at least in the opening half of each game wouldn't have been surprising.  The games we got though were far from that, featuring some really skillful individual play and a lot of great cooperative ball movement.   
     I've thought in the past that many players benefit from time away from the game in that it seems to give them a chance to "percolate" on what they learned in the previous training season.  I've seen players who had trouble with some particular skill at the end of one season show up for the next season with that same skill now being readily available to them as just part of their game.  There seemed to be plenty of examples of that sort of off-season development in the two games I saw Saturday.   Prior to the Ninjas game I let the players know that the two skills I'd be specifically looking for from them in the game would be their Cruyff turn and their roll-over touch.   I keep track of that sort of thing using what one of my players named "The Tallies".  Here is the tally sheet from the Ninjas game:

     I noted a few things on this tally sheet that I wanted to be sure to remember, like Kylee earning a new nickname.  "The General" was totally in charge when she was on the field and I think her ability to communicate clearly and in the right tone of voice to her teammates was a big factor in their ability to hit the ground running in this game.  In addition to putting the first goal in for us Kylee was setting a great example with the quality of her first touch on the ball.  In particular, she had two opportunities to trap balls out of the air and in each case she got the ball to the ground as smoothly as a pro would have.  I frequently say to my players in training that of all the skills we work on first touch is the most important, the most indispensable and you could see that in Kylee's performance.   

     The team as a whole seemed to have a really excellent first touch in this game and I hope that's a trend that they can maintain.  Every time you successfully trap a ball to maintain possession you're gaining time for creating shooting opportunities.   The other skills we work on are all important in this regard too.  To score you've got to have the ball so we should never take possession casually.   I would say that it was that overall attitude toward possession of the ball that impressed me most from the team.  Sometimes teams can be stuck in an attitude toward the game where they are content to keep trading possession, as though the two teams were taking turns.  But Saturday the Ninjas were playing with a more commanding attitude, owning the ball most of the time and pressing hard to win it back when they had to.   They were on the attack for the entire game and it was awesome.

     Girl Power managed a draw against a very tough opponent in their game and I was most impressed by how our girls were able to match the pace of play the other team was setting.  I've been planning on having "pace of play" be a theme during the upcoming training season and I'm happy to see that the Girl Power squad are ready for that.  We saw the sort of deft ball control skill we expect from this team but we also saw them much more willing as a group to attempt that sort of control in a higher gear.  

     One great example was Anna executing her typically smooth "scissors" move but at a faster speed than I think I've seen before.  Emily was using her roll-over touch faster.  Zoe was doing that crazy-legs step over of hers faster.  Ashley and Hailey were not only playing fast but also they seemed to have improved their timing on those subtle cut moves they prefer so that they would work even against taller, faster opponents.

     In the first half we had outstanding work in keeper from Natalie who even did the splits like a hockey goalie!  Then in the second half Eileen and Ava were rock solid under the pressure of facing a barrage of well struck shots.  Jolie got too goals for us in the first half, including one off her left foot (I know because she told me three times).  In both halves Abby and Olivia were tying our midfield together.  Olivia got loose down the sideline repeatedly and Abby was playing that field commander role I mentioned Kylee taking for the Ninjas...not as vocal but still in charge.  Our new team member, Payton, seemed most comfortable covering in defense the whole game but she wasn't shy about challenging hard to the ball and her play contributed a lot to the team's ability to frustrate what looked to be a very strong opponent.