It is so hard to be focused when you're cold. When you play in the heat you may be uncomfortable and it can sap your strength but you can have long stretches in a game where you're so caught up you just don't notice the weather. But the cold nags at you, pulls you down, makes you feel smaller. And it hurts. In Saturday's KSSL season opener for Girl Power I saw girls with hands and ears as red as an apple but rather than being weighed down by that they played beautifully and energetically and with a wonderful gamer's attitude.
Best of all, despite the cold and wind they largely did maintain their focus. You've probably heard me say to them before that there are three things they have to know "where-it's-at" all the time in a game: the ball; the goals; the players (both teams). That's a lot to keep in focus all at once and raw weather conditions make that even tougher but our girls were doing their best and it showed in their play. Their defense was organized and smothering. Their attack was a great combination of individual skill and cooperation. It's been a long process to get to where they are as a team now and I'm really proud of their progress but in this last game I was most proud of their toughness and grit. Despite the weather they came out anxious to play and they were upbeat and supportive of each other from start to finish.
I was really happy to see that the FC Kentucky team we faced seems to have adopted a training strategy similar to ours. When we faced them last season they were kicking the ball a lot but in Saturday's game I heard their coach frequently admonishing them to dribble rather than kick it away. Possession of the ball certainly made the difference in the game and Girl Power's combination of good first touch and good dribble skill meant we had the ball more often than they did. We only managed two goals, one for Hailey and one for Abby, but I feel like we had a ton of good chances. Both the goals were the result of some really fabulous skill too. Hailey beat a couple of defenders to get into the box and then held the ball right until the keeper stepped out for it then she took a calm touch to her right and put it away. Abby's goal was off a corner kick and she received the ball with her back to goal then made a lovely turn to beat two players before firing the ball into the net.
I also want to note a beautiful little passing sequence we saw in the first half where we had a throw-in from Ava to Abby who then made a quick pass up the line to Peyton. Peyton then brilliantly one-touched the ball splitting two defenders to put Abby open and headed into the penalty area. It happened too quickly for Peyton to have time to think about what to do with the ball after it came to her. Rather she'd already seen the situation unfolding before Abby sent her that pass so when the ball arrived to her she'd already decided what to do next. That ability to anticipate, to see the situation so that you know what you're going to do with the ball before you get it is something that will be a point of emphasis in our training this season.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Enjoy the wins, endure the losses and always love to compete.
A few years back I started telling all of my players that there are three things they need to be aware of at all times while playing. I introduce the concept by asking "what are the three things that you need to know where-it-is all the time while you're playing?"
Players usually get the first one easily. It's the ball. The second is the goals. That's your basic orientation for the play of the game so you've got to know all the time where the goals are and which end is which.
The third "where-it-is-all-the-time" is the players...your team and the opponent. So, as players we have to keep these three things in the front of our mind at all times.
I have to know where the ball is, where the goals are and where all my teammates and my opponents are...all the time. And my coach is yelling to me to remind me of that...and to remind me of what position I'm playing...and to remind me of what's behind me...and to demand that I use a particular skill. And then it's cold...and snowing a bit...and windy. Or it's hot and this one girl on the other team keeps grabbing my shirt from behind...and then there's my mom or my dad...what are they saying? Are they mad? Now, what was I supposed to be remembering all the time again?
It's a lot to ask of a ten year old to remain focused enough to be aware of all three of the where-it-is-all-the-time things simultaneously and the ultimate goal is to get them to have that focused awareness as their default position, as simply the way they approach the game naturally, reflexively. It takes a lot of time, a lot of patient development to get players from their precocious "me and the ball" phase to a more subtle team oriented understanding of how to play. Keeping in mind of course that as players develop more of a team mentality for the game they aren't shedding that early "me and the ball" selfishness but rather finding a way to incorporate that into the team effort.
As with the players and their where-it-is-all-the-time attitude, the coach also has to have a sort of default position for approaching the game. It's patience. The arc of player development is long and there are no shortcuts. Every minute of training and game time my players get is part of that development and it's all valuable, even the failures and at the most basic level a coach's job is to let the players have those experiences and then to let them "percolate" on them, as it were.
So this past weekend one of my teams came away with a lot to percolate on. Their opening game for the KSSL season was a tough one played in raw conditions. Despite the score it was a good game for them and I was generally happy with the level of skillfulness and the overall commitment to energetic play. Then in the evening they played their final indoor game of the season and, again, took a tough loss. But again, they played with good energy the whole game, constantly pressing to come back. And there was plenty of great skill on display. The team had, throughout both games, what I'd call a "gamer's" attitude, meaning they played like they were there for the love of the competition, regardless of the outcome. As a coach I can't ask for more. If I watch them compete with real commitment and even some joy but they finish with a loss I cannot go into the post-match chat with them with anything but a positive attitude. The moment the final whistle blows in a situation like that I have to immediately let go of any disappointment I might feel at the loss and begin thinking about how to talk to the team positively about how they played and how we can build on it.
My comments to the team after that evening game ended with me telling them that I was glad to be their coach, that I love watching them play and I love training with them. I told them that being a select player means you've made a commitment to the game, to your teammates and to your own longterm development. "That development is a long arc" I said. "And if you're committed to following it I'm committed to guiding you. I'll be with you all the way."
Players usually get the first one easily. It's the ball. The second is the goals. That's your basic orientation for the play of the game so you've got to know all the time where the goals are and which end is which.
The third "where-it-is-all-the-time" is the players...your team and the opponent. So, as players we have to keep these three things in the front of our mind at all times.
I have to know where the ball is, where the goals are and where all my teammates and my opponents are...all the time. And my coach is yelling to me to remind me of that...and to remind me of what position I'm playing...and to remind me of what's behind me...and to demand that I use a particular skill. And then it's cold...and snowing a bit...and windy. Or it's hot and this one girl on the other team keeps grabbing my shirt from behind...and then there's my mom or my dad...what are they saying? Are they mad? Now, what was I supposed to be remembering all the time again?
It's a lot to ask of a ten year old to remain focused enough to be aware of all three of the where-it-is-all-the-time things simultaneously and the ultimate goal is to get them to have that focused awareness as their default position, as simply the way they approach the game naturally, reflexively. It takes a lot of time, a lot of patient development to get players from their precocious "me and the ball" phase to a more subtle team oriented understanding of how to play. Keeping in mind of course that as players develop more of a team mentality for the game they aren't shedding that early "me and the ball" selfishness but rather finding a way to incorporate that into the team effort.
As with the players and their where-it-is-all-the-time attitude, the coach also has to have a sort of default position for approaching the game. It's patience. The arc of player development is long and there are no shortcuts. Every minute of training and game time my players get is part of that development and it's all valuable, even the failures and at the most basic level a coach's job is to let the players have those experiences and then to let them "percolate" on them, as it were.
So this past weekend one of my teams came away with a lot to percolate on. Their opening game for the KSSL season was a tough one played in raw conditions. Despite the score it was a good game for them and I was generally happy with the level of skillfulness and the overall commitment to energetic play. Then in the evening they played their final indoor game of the season and, again, took a tough loss. But again, they played with good energy the whole game, constantly pressing to come back. And there was plenty of great skill on display. The team had, throughout both games, what I'd call a "gamer's" attitude, meaning they played like they were there for the love of the competition, regardless of the outcome. As a coach I can't ask for more. If I watch them compete with real commitment and even some joy but they finish with a loss I cannot go into the post-match chat with them with anything but a positive attitude. The moment the final whistle blows in a situation like that I have to immediately let go of any disappointment I might feel at the loss and begin thinking about how to talk to the team positively about how they played and how we can build on it.
My comments to the team after that evening game ended with me telling them that I was glad to be their coach, that I love watching them play and I love training with them. I told them that being a select player means you've made a commitment to the game, to your teammates and to your own longterm development. "That development is a long arc" I said. "And if you're committed to following it I'm committed to guiding you. I'll be with you all the way."
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Spring 2017 training goals
One of the training goals I have for Ninjas and Girl Power this season is to help everyone perfect the "roll-over" dribble touch.
I think most of my players can execute this skill but very few of them will use it in games so that's what I'll be focusing on this season, getting them to adopt that skill as a regular part of their game. This dribble skill is valuable for two reasons. First it allows a player to move quickly with the ball in a way that keeps the ball moving at the same speed the player is running. Secondly, it can be used as a simple and effective deceptive dribble skill too.
I think most of my players can execute this skill but very few of them will use it in games so that's what I'll be focusing on this season, getting them to adopt that skill as a regular part of their game. This dribble skill is valuable for two reasons. First it allows a player to move quickly with the ball in a way that keeps the ball moving at the same speed the player is running. Secondly, it can be used as a simple and effective deceptive dribble skill too.
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