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.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Tactical Thinking and the Three Questions
I've been reading a wonderful little book on coaching called Soccer IQ by Dan Blank, a coach for the women's squad at the University of Georgia. In each brief chapter of the book Coach Blank shares his observations on what constitutes the "soccer iq" that good players have in common. You might think this "iq" would include a lot of technical skills, things like having a good passing stroke or having mastered some particular deceptive dribbling skills, the sorts of things I work the most on with my players. But for Coach Blank those skills are the tools you have to have in order to make and execute tactical decisions in games and it's in that decision making that we find the soccer iq that separates great players from good ones. It's qualities like speed of thought, empathy and anticipation and developing a habit of observing the game closely even as you're playing.
For some time now anyone attending one of my teams' games would be able to hear me calling to my players to "use your eyes" as I encourage them to know what's going on around them. So I was tickled to get to chapter 10 of Soccer IQ, and find Coach Blank emphasizing just how important it is for players to really learn to use their eyes. Here are a few passages from the chapter which is entitled Three Questions:
"A soccer player's most important body part is her pair of eyes. Your eyes are your very best way of collecting information...Your eyes prepare you to make the decisions that enable you to play quickly and keep the ball for your team. And too many players don't utilize them very well.
In a ninety minute soccer game you will probably spend between two and three minutes on the ball. That means that 87 minutes, roughly 96% of your day, is spent off the ball. Smart players understand that when they don't have the ball, they've got to plan for those moments when the ball finds them.
A smart player is constantly asking herself, "What if?" and "What's next?"
What if the ball comes to me?
What's next when I get it?
What if we give the ball back to them? What's next?
What if they give the ball back to us? What's next?
And she is always asking, "What's behind me?"
Average soccer players make their decisions after they've already received the ball. That's not a good thing...Smart players make 90% of their decisions before the ball ever gets to them. Even if that decision is to face up a defender and take her on the dribble (1v1), the smart player already knows that's what she's going to do before the ball gets to her."
Share that with your player if you can. I think all of the players I coach are capable of understanding what this is about. If you're interested in hearing more of Coach Blank's ideas on Soccer IQ you can go to his website www.soccerpoet.com and he's also got a SoccerPoet channel on YouTube where he actually talks through and illustrates some of the book's chapters. Good stuff.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
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'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.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Finding "The Killer Ball"
While driving to a Fusion game this past Saturday I heard a great phrase used to describe the style of play of my favorite English Premier League team, Arsenal. One of the London teams, Arsenal under head coach Arsene Wenger play the kind of creative, flowing style of attacking football that can be immensely entertaining...even when they don't score. Scoring wasn't a particular problem in the game I was listening to as Arsenal defeated Sunderland 4-1 but one of the radio commentators noted that as beautifully as they play it can still seem sometimes that Arsenal wait too long to take the shot. "Sometimes" he said "they just keep passing it around, searching for the killer ball."
That is a fair description of how Arsenal play. They pass and dribble and pass again, overlapping and interweaving, until finally the last pass puts the ball in a position where the goal is undeniable. The first goal of the game, a header for Alexis Sanchez, came at the end of a run that included more than twenty-five completed passes. That's something like 20 seconds of continuous possession!
Here is a nice compilation video of Arsenal highlights showing their signature style of "possession football"
But while it's true that Arsenal do play to find the killer ball I don't think that it's much of a criticism of a team to say that they are too patient. My own feeling watching most games, whatever teams are playing and at whatever level, is that far too often the players aren't patient enough. Teams and individual players try to play too directly rather than taking the time to find an opening or even create one by drawing the defense out. I want my players to have that patience, that confidence in their individual skills and their teammates' skills to know that they can take time and a longer path to find the goal.
Girl Power played the final two games of their season this Sunday and the girls were brilliant in both games with the first match bringing a flurry of goals. The second game was a hard fought 1-1 draw against a very tough FC Kentucky side. In both games I was particularly impressed by the new level of competence the team is achieving in playing "positionally". Specifically, we're seeing more of our players understanding how to be patient in their particular role and let the game opportunities come to them rather than getting drawn into chasing the ball. The result of that is that you see many more opportunities created where a player is in just the right position to receive that final pass. I think this achievement is for them a combination of having the experience to read the flow of the game better and of having confidence in each other, knowing that they are working together.
There was one run of play in the second game that particularly stands out for me. I think the players involved were Olivia and Eileen with Liv being in the #2 fullback position and Beanie being ahead of her in the #8. Liv brought the ball up after recovering it in our half and made a quick pass up to Eileen. Eileen found her path blocked by two defenders so she quickly turned back and dropped the ball to Liv who then immediately sent it right back up past those defenders so Beanie could run around them and back onto the ball. It was brilliant but the best part was that they executed it with a kind of casualness, like it was the easiest thing in the world to take a moment out of the soccer game to play a little "monkey in the middle".
Girl Power displayed a lot of that sort of play in that game and it was beautiful but late in the second half their style changed a bit. FC Kentucky had managed a goal finally on one of their rare shooting opportunities and in response our squad seemed to become a little more desperate. We saw less quality passing and more efforts by individual players to dribble-penetrate through the FC line. The girls seemed to be taking turns picking the ball up in midfield and dribbling straight into the heart of the defense, usually with good success until they got to that last defender. No one seemed to be able to break through.
Obviously it can often seem like the girls have more success when they pass the ball around, when they break through a defense as a team rather than as individuals. The truth is though that as both their game coach and their trainer I have to have two different views on the games. As a coach working within the games to teach the players a tactical perspective I naturally want every player to recognize the passing opportunities. I want them to see how they can exploit the openings in a defense by cooperating. But as their trainer I also want to see everyone putting their 1v1 skills to the test. As the trainer I still want them to be fearlessly, even selfishly, pushing forward with the ball. So when I see a player dribble into traffic rather than releasing the ball I see two things. I see that they missed a tactical opportunity that I'd want them to be aware of but I also see a technical deficiency that could be addressed. If a player chooses to dribble into a crowd in an effort to get to goal on their own and they lose the ball does that mean that getting through the crowd was impossible, a bad decision? Or does it mean that they didn't execute technically? As the trainer it's the later that I see. I see players who actually might have gotten through if they'd just used that one move we've worked on so many times...if they'd tried a fake shot...or shielded the ball. So even as the other players and even the parents might be thinking "she should have passed the ball" I might be thinking "yes, maybe...but maybe she could have gotten past that last defender if she'd tried something else."
My feeling is that we still have to let players at this age have the option of dribbling. I don't want players who are merely competent dribblers in 1v1 situations, players who can dribble but who prefer to pass. I want players who are excellent in 1v1, who can reliably dribble-penetrate with confidence and who can then choose their options calmly and with patience, exploiting whatever weaknesses they can discover. A team full of players like that can then find many paths to the goal. They can work together patiently relying on the combined quality of their individual skills as they search for the killer ball.
That is a fair description of how Arsenal play. They pass and dribble and pass again, overlapping and interweaving, until finally the last pass puts the ball in a position where the goal is undeniable. The first goal of the game, a header for Alexis Sanchez, came at the end of a run that included more than twenty-five completed passes. That's something like 20 seconds of continuous possession!
Here is a nice compilation video of Arsenal highlights showing their signature style of "possession football"
But while it's true that Arsenal do play to find the killer ball I don't think that it's much of a criticism of a team to say that they are too patient. My own feeling watching most games, whatever teams are playing and at whatever level, is that far too often the players aren't patient enough. Teams and individual players try to play too directly rather than taking the time to find an opening or even create one by drawing the defense out. I want my players to have that patience, that confidence in their individual skills and their teammates' skills to know that they can take time and a longer path to find the goal.
Girl Power played the final two games of their season this Sunday and the girls were brilliant in both games with the first match bringing a flurry of goals. The second game was a hard fought 1-1 draw against a very tough FC Kentucky side. In both games I was particularly impressed by the new level of competence the team is achieving in playing "positionally". Specifically, we're seeing more of our players understanding how to be patient in their particular role and let the game opportunities come to them rather than getting drawn into chasing the ball. The result of that is that you see many more opportunities created where a player is in just the right position to receive that final pass. I think this achievement is for them a combination of having the experience to read the flow of the game better and of having confidence in each other, knowing that they are working together.
There was one run of play in the second game that particularly stands out for me. I think the players involved were Olivia and Eileen with Liv being in the #2 fullback position and Beanie being ahead of her in the #8. Liv brought the ball up after recovering it in our half and made a quick pass up to Eileen. Eileen found her path blocked by two defenders so she quickly turned back and dropped the ball to Liv who then immediately sent it right back up past those defenders so Beanie could run around them and back onto the ball. It was brilliant but the best part was that they executed it with a kind of casualness, like it was the easiest thing in the world to take a moment out of the soccer game to play a little "monkey in the middle".
Girl Power displayed a lot of that sort of play in that game and it was beautiful but late in the second half their style changed a bit. FC Kentucky had managed a goal finally on one of their rare shooting opportunities and in response our squad seemed to become a little more desperate. We saw less quality passing and more efforts by individual players to dribble-penetrate through the FC line. The girls seemed to be taking turns picking the ball up in midfield and dribbling straight into the heart of the defense, usually with good success until they got to that last defender. No one seemed to be able to break through.
Obviously it can often seem like the girls have more success when they pass the ball around, when they break through a defense as a team rather than as individuals. The truth is though that as both their game coach and their trainer I have to have two different views on the games. As a coach working within the games to teach the players a tactical perspective I naturally want every player to recognize the passing opportunities. I want them to see how they can exploit the openings in a defense by cooperating. But as their trainer I also want to see everyone putting their 1v1 skills to the test. As the trainer I still want them to be fearlessly, even selfishly, pushing forward with the ball. So when I see a player dribble into traffic rather than releasing the ball I see two things. I see that they missed a tactical opportunity that I'd want them to be aware of but I also see a technical deficiency that could be addressed. If a player chooses to dribble into a crowd in an effort to get to goal on their own and they lose the ball does that mean that getting through the crowd was impossible, a bad decision? Or does it mean that they didn't execute technically? As the trainer it's the later that I see. I see players who actually might have gotten through if they'd just used that one move we've worked on so many times...if they'd tried a fake shot...or shielded the ball. So even as the other players and even the parents might be thinking "she should have passed the ball" I might be thinking "yes, maybe...but maybe she could have gotten past that last defender if she'd tried something else."
My feeling is that we still have to let players at this age have the option of dribbling. I don't want players who are merely competent dribblers in 1v1 situations, players who can dribble but who prefer to pass. I want players who are excellent in 1v1, who can reliably dribble-penetrate with confidence and who can then choose their options calmly and with patience, exploiting whatever weaknesses they can discover. A team full of players like that can then find many paths to the goal. They can work together patiently relying on the combined quality of their individual skills as they search for the killer ball.
End-of-season High Note for the Ninjas
Over the course of their first season together I've seen each player on the Ninjas squad have moments of real individual brilliance. I've seen them all play hard against physically bigger, more aggressive teams. I've seen them deal with the knocks and cheap fouls with grit and the indignities of their roster situation with grace. On Saturday, in their final match of the season, they showed all of that again and more. It was without a doubt the team's best performance of the season and, I think, a real indication of the high quality team they can become.
The first half of that game was, for most of the girls individually, their best half of play. Not only were they displaying a great combination of skillful play and raw athleticism but they were playing with a very high energy level and intensity. There was a wonderful amount of communication going on and most of it was in the limited vocabulary we work on in training: "Square, Drop, Through". Kylee has certainly been the leader in that aspect of the team's play but in this game she was combining that willingness to communicate with a great vision for the flow of the game. Not only was she calling for "square" or "through" passes, she was really getting into the ideal position for them. It seemed to me that she was always in an advantageous position, always "in" the play even when off the ball. This made for an exemplary display of how to actually play a "position", in this case the #10 and #6, which is where I put Kylee in the first half. Something I've been talking with the team about lately is that the key to playing your position well is to understand your responsibilities and how those intertwine with those of your teammates and then, most importantly, to be patient and let the game opportunities come to you. Don't chase...not the ball, not your teammates. Rather, be patient and strike when the time is right.
Annabelle also played her first position very well in that first half. I'd started her in as the #9 or "striker" as she has the speed and the physical toughness to play that role in a "hold up" style. That means she's a player who is able to receive the ball with her back to the goal, shield off the defenders and then turn into her run for a shot. In past games she's had a tendency to start in that #9 role and then run out of position chasing the ball back into our own half. My advice to her and all of our players when they take the strikers position is that you now get to be "the big whinny baby" who says to her teammates "your job is to get me the ball...and by the way...I don't play defense." Annabelle was perfect in that role Saturday and just by successfully holding the ball up in the other team's half for long periods of time she contributed to our defense the way a good striker does: don't let the other team have the ball.
Ashley was brilliant in midfield (the #10, #8 or #6) most of the game and it was a kind of brilliance that might be easily missed. She's the artist of the quick trap-and-pass, receiving the ball cleanly with one touch then after one dribble step at most she's passing it off right to a teammate's feet. As a result you could easily get the impression that she didn't get involved in the run of play very much but that's not the case. She plays the role of #10 perfectly, acting as a conduit to move the ball quickly up the field or side to side. It's subtle but indispensable.
Juliana has from the start of our training season shown that her greatest gifts are her speed, balance and courage. She runs full tilt straight into crowds of players who tower over her and like a spinning top she impossibly maintains her feet while being tripped and pushed. I've thought since the beginning that if she could develop a good touch on the ball she'd become a tremendously effective penetrating player. If you ever get the chance, watch some video of Leo Messi the FC Barcelona star. Jumping over tackles, stumbling on after being hacked, driving relentlessly to goal...that's his signature. In this last game I think Juliana was finally showing that she is developing that soft touch on the ball that will allow her to turn her speed into a real advantage on the attack and she had some lovely long runs with the ball where it seemed that nothing could knock her off her balance.
Samantha had a great game too, especially in as keeper. Her hand technique is really good already and while I don't like to move players into specializing in any position at this age I have to say she certainly shows some real aptitude for playing goalie. Out in the field she had a good game too and like Annabelle she seems really suited to playing that "hold-up" style of forward player, someone who likes to body-up to a defender and receive then shield the ball before turning in for a shot. It's especially the quality of Sam's first touch that makes her so effective in that role and I hope all of us, parents and players, as we watch the game more and understand it better will come to understand that "first touch" is probably the single most important skill a player can have and frankly nothing short of perfect first touch will suffice. When it comes to first touch there's an old soccer training adage that really applies: a good player practices until they get it right...an elite player practices until they can't get it wrong. So I always say to my teams "don't waste a single touch...we never know which one will lead to a goal or at least prevent one for them." Sam gets that as well as any player I have.
Charlie also got some quality time in as the #9 in this game. Her natural gifts make her an interesting contrast in style to the way Sam and Annabelle play as strikers. Charlie, because she's reliably two-footed and also has good field vision, plays the position less as a hold-up striker and more as a "runner" who looks to either dribble-penetrate from near the half line or else likes to run through seams in the defense onto through balls from her teammates. Charlie is a surprisingly good dribbler who can move with ease through a crowd of defenders. I say "surprisingly" because I think the grace of her touch on the ball can seem incongruous to someone who is only judging her based on her size. You don't expect such a tall player to have such deft control of the ball in tight spaces. In contrast, Kennedy looks just like the sort of player you'd expect to see dribbling crisply through the scrum. Kennedy has a brilliant ability to control the ball with either side of her right foot and this allows her to move at good pace without ever letting the ball too far away from her. As a result she can step around defenders lightly without needing any dramatic cuts side-to-side.
I describe those two players, Charlie and Kennedy, together there because they combined for the one season-defining highlight from that last game that I want to describe in some detail. In the second half we'd had some very nice long runs of play where our fullbacks (#2 and #3) and central defenders (#4 and #5) were bringing the ball up to one of our midfielders who then made steady headway dribble penetrating into the center of the other team's defense. I think we must have had five or six really good chances generated in this way and there was a fair amount of good passing between the mids and the striker too (Ashley!) but one play really stood out. Late in the game Annabelle, playing in the #3 position, received the ball near the sideline then took a few dribble touches diagonally toward the center of the field before making a beautiful pass to Kennedy. Kennedy then won the 1v1 in front of her and started moving diagonally to her right back across the remaining defenders. Just as Kennedy made that change of direction Charlie, who was in the #9, turned and ran out ahead of her toward the right corner, staying on-side but getting a good five yards out past those nearest defenders. The pass that Kennedy delivered wasn't just good, it was thrilling. The communication between the two players was in this case clear but wordless. Everything in Charlie's posture and body language signaled Kennedy "I'm headed into this space and I need the ball" while Kennedy was herself clearly signaling "here it comes...you'd better get this."
Charlie had a good shot but didn't convert. No matter though. That sort of interplay is as good as it gets and my feeling as a coach is that for many players it's that sort of thing that becomes the real addiction. Everyone likes having the ball and scoring or making any other sort of individual play that makes a difference, but that feeling of being in concert with a teammate, of wordlessly knowing where to be and when, is at once magical and primal. It's like being part of a wolf pack, moving forward, knowing that the prey has no chance. When a team develops that sense of being predators, opportunists and killers then every aspect of the game, even their play in our defensive half becomes part of the attack.
Thanks for the great season Ninjas. Can't wait for the spring!
The first half of that game was, for most of the girls individually, their best half of play. Not only were they displaying a great combination of skillful play and raw athleticism but they were playing with a very high energy level and intensity. There was a wonderful amount of communication going on and most of it was in the limited vocabulary we work on in training: "Square, Drop, Through". Kylee has certainly been the leader in that aspect of the team's play but in this game she was combining that willingness to communicate with a great vision for the flow of the game. Not only was she calling for "square" or "through" passes, she was really getting into the ideal position for them. It seemed to me that she was always in an advantageous position, always "in" the play even when off the ball. This made for an exemplary display of how to actually play a "position", in this case the #10 and #6, which is where I put Kylee in the first half. Something I've been talking with the team about lately is that the key to playing your position well is to understand your responsibilities and how those intertwine with those of your teammates and then, most importantly, to be patient and let the game opportunities come to you. Don't chase...not the ball, not your teammates. Rather, be patient and strike when the time is right.
Annabelle also played her first position very well in that first half. I'd started her in as the #9 or "striker" as she has the speed and the physical toughness to play that role in a "hold up" style. That means she's a player who is able to receive the ball with her back to the goal, shield off the defenders and then turn into her run for a shot. In past games she's had a tendency to start in that #9 role and then run out of position chasing the ball back into our own half. My advice to her and all of our players when they take the strikers position is that you now get to be "the big whinny baby" who says to her teammates "your job is to get me the ball...and by the way...I don't play defense." Annabelle was perfect in that role Saturday and just by successfully holding the ball up in the other team's half for long periods of time she contributed to our defense the way a good striker does: don't let the other team have the ball.
Ashley was brilliant in midfield (the #10, #8 or #6) most of the game and it was a kind of brilliance that might be easily missed. She's the artist of the quick trap-and-pass, receiving the ball cleanly with one touch then after one dribble step at most she's passing it off right to a teammate's feet. As a result you could easily get the impression that she didn't get involved in the run of play very much but that's not the case. She plays the role of #10 perfectly, acting as a conduit to move the ball quickly up the field or side to side. It's subtle but indispensable.
Juliana has from the start of our training season shown that her greatest gifts are her speed, balance and courage. She runs full tilt straight into crowds of players who tower over her and like a spinning top she impossibly maintains her feet while being tripped and pushed. I've thought since the beginning that if she could develop a good touch on the ball she'd become a tremendously effective penetrating player. If you ever get the chance, watch some video of Leo Messi the FC Barcelona star. Jumping over tackles, stumbling on after being hacked, driving relentlessly to goal...that's his signature. In this last game I think Juliana was finally showing that she is developing that soft touch on the ball that will allow her to turn her speed into a real advantage on the attack and she had some lovely long runs with the ball where it seemed that nothing could knock her off her balance.
Samantha had a great game too, especially in as keeper. Her hand technique is really good already and while I don't like to move players into specializing in any position at this age I have to say she certainly shows some real aptitude for playing goalie. Out in the field she had a good game too and like Annabelle she seems really suited to playing that "hold-up" style of forward player, someone who likes to body-up to a defender and receive then shield the ball before turning in for a shot. It's especially the quality of Sam's first touch that makes her so effective in that role and I hope all of us, parents and players, as we watch the game more and understand it better will come to understand that "first touch" is probably the single most important skill a player can have and frankly nothing short of perfect first touch will suffice. When it comes to first touch there's an old soccer training adage that really applies: a good player practices until they get it right...an elite player practices until they can't get it wrong. So I always say to my teams "don't waste a single touch...we never know which one will lead to a goal or at least prevent one for them." Sam gets that as well as any player I have.
Charlie also got some quality time in as the #9 in this game. Her natural gifts make her an interesting contrast in style to the way Sam and Annabelle play as strikers. Charlie, because she's reliably two-footed and also has good field vision, plays the position less as a hold-up striker and more as a "runner" who looks to either dribble-penetrate from near the half line or else likes to run through seams in the defense onto through balls from her teammates. Charlie is a surprisingly good dribbler who can move with ease through a crowd of defenders. I say "surprisingly" because I think the grace of her touch on the ball can seem incongruous to someone who is only judging her based on her size. You don't expect such a tall player to have such deft control of the ball in tight spaces. In contrast, Kennedy looks just like the sort of player you'd expect to see dribbling crisply through the scrum. Kennedy has a brilliant ability to control the ball with either side of her right foot and this allows her to move at good pace without ever letting the ball too far away from her. As a result she can step around defenders lightly without needing any dramatic cuts side-to-side.
I describe those two players, Charlie and Kennedy, together there because they combined for the one season-defining highlight from that last game that I want to describe in some detail. In the second half we'd had some very nice long runs of play where our fullbacks (#2 and #3) and central defenders (#4 and #5) were bringing the ball up to one of our midfielders who then made steady headway dribble penetrating into the center of the other team's defense. I think we must have had five or six really good chances generated in this way and there was a fair amount of good passing between the mids and the striker too (Ashley!) but one play really stood out. Late in the game Annabelle, playing in the #3 position, received the ball near the sideline then took a few dribble touches diagonally toward the center of the field before making a beautiful pass to Kennedy. Kennedy then won the 1v1 in front of her and started moving diagonally to her right back across the remaining defenders. Just as Kennedy made that change of direction Charlie, who was in the #9, turned and ran out ahead of her toward the right corner, staying on-side but getting a good five yards out past those nearest defenders. The pass that Kennedy delivered wasn't just good, it was thrilling. The communication between the two players was in this case clear but wordless. Everything in Charlie's posture and body language signaled Kennedy "I'm headed into this space and I need the ball" while Kennedy was herself clearly signaling "here it comes...you'd better get this."
Charlie had a good shot but didn't convert. No matter though. That sort of interplay is as good as it gets and my feeling as a coach is that for many players it's that sort of thing that becomes the real addiction. Everyone likes having the ball and scoring or making any other sort of individual play that makes a difference, but that feeling of being in concert with a teammate, of wordlessly knowing where to be and when, is at once magical and primal. It's like being part of a wolf pack, moving forward, knowing that the prey has no chance. When a team develops that sense of being predators, opportunists and killers then every aspect of the game, even their play in our defensive half becomes part of the attack.
Thanks for the great season Ninjas. Can't wait for the spring!
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