KSSL season opener for Girl Power.

     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.