Week Three

I was worried that last week's loss would be a tough one to come back from for the Strikers but on Tuesday they practiced well and seemed in really good spirits and on Saturday they showed up ready to play and anxious to get on the field. Samantha arrived with a new set of goalie gloves and was ready to get in there and try it again. She did a great job in the first half and then spent the rest of the game in at fullback and did some really great work there, especially with some great throw-ins.
The Strikers found the goal early off a great set piece from the corner in which Helen put a fabulous kick right in front of the goal where Taylor could step to it and drive it in. Later in the first half we got our second goal from Bryce who was showing off his ball handling in this game.
We had great play in goal from Keegan who made some fierce diving saves for us. Despite the fact that we lost our defense was really the highlight of the game as the Strikers managed to play with a lot of poise and composure, maintaining their positions and working solidly as a team. Isabel, Meighan and Hailey got the defensive play started in the first half and were great together. Meighan is a tough competitor who doesn't give ground easily. Isabel is tireless and has a great ability to anticipate where the ball will be moving. She seemed always to be in the right position. Lydia gave us great play in defense and, especially in the second half, dealt with some fierce elbow throwing from the Red team. She handled it with a cool head. Anna was strong for us both in offense and defense. In the first half she got close to the goal a couple of times and had a few shots go wide. She runs with the ball with such confidence I know another multi-goal game is coming up for her.
Meighan took a spill in the first half and landed on her right hand awkwardly. Her wrist started swelling immediately and so she sat out the rest of the game and left early so her Dad could take her to get that wrist looked at. I haven't heard from him yet how she's doing. I want to say that I was impressed with how Meighan handled the whole thing. Given the amount of swelling I would guess that her wrist was really hurting but she seemed as calm as she could be about it. Tough kid.

Practice for the Sharks on Monday prior to this week's game did not go smoothly. The kids showed up with lots of energy but very little focus. Probably because the weather was so good and they'd all been in school that day they just had energy to burn. After some stern warnings that I might have to separate them into two teams, the real Sharks and the goofball Sharks, they settled down a bit and got some good work done. Then on Saturday only real Sharks showed up and they played beautifully.
Austin lead the way on kick-off with a lot of energy and determination to get to the goal but some confusion as to which goal he needed to get to. I was thrilled to see him so engaged. He has a great kick and will easily score some goals if he keeps his head in the game. We had two goals from Sam E. early on with lots of energetic support from everyone on the field, especially Karolyn who continues to play like a tasmanian devil, crashing into the action fearlessly. We had good goalie play from Elizabeth in the first quarter and she had one really good stop to save a goal. In the second quarter Braden came in and led the Sharks in their now trademark huddle. Their strategizing didn't lead to a goal but they certainly had a lot of good attempts including a shot from Sam A. that went wide left by less than a ball's width. Brandon was great in goalie making a couple of really good stops.
Luke was in goal for us in the third quarter and he held his own making at least on solid stop when challenged. Jeremy, like Karolyn surprises you with his fearlessness and he always stays close to the action. And at the start of every quarter he always wants in. Jackson was good in the field for a couple of quarters but when he came in at keeper in the fourth he was brilliant. He had three great stops where he really had to take the ball right off the attacking player's foot. Then on the last of those he made a beautiful outlet pass right down the middle of the field that really should have lead to a goal. Great work all around for the Sharks. See you at practice Monday.

The Blueberries had their best game yet with lots of engaged play from everyone (despite the presence of the Kona Ice truck). Carson was the star with a long run down field to make a goal. I know there is a lot of running on and off the field and the kids rarely look like they get the whole picture of what the game involves but this group is doing just fine. That includes the kids who aren't even sure they want to be on the field. Just showing up every week with the gear on is part of the process.

After a wonderful practice session early in the week I was expecting the Warriors to come out with an impressive performance and they did not disappoint. Before noting the individual highlights I want to say that every player brought great enthusiasm and energy to the game Saturday and that is a carry-over from their practice. These kids, as a group, are a more serious team at practice than any I've coached. They really know how to get to work.
Whitney lead us off with an early goal to get things rolling. Not long after Will nearly put in an incredible header for a goal. Missing just wide left, Will got enough on the ball from some twenty feet out to have easily put it in the back of the net. It was a great shot.
Nate delivered our second goal when, in the second half, he recovered his feet and the ball after getting knocked down using a move that looked part ninja, part break-dancer then dribbled to his left and kicked a low shot that the goalie did grab but then fell across the line with. Great effort on the goalie's part but also a great goal for Nate.
Dakota was fabulous for us in keeper during the last quarter, making some great stops and delivering a couple of really well placed goal kicks to get the offense re-started.
The big highlight of the game was a play involving Olivia and Whitney and you may not have even noticed it. Both girls play with a tireless energy although Whitney has been playing since she could walk and Olivia is new to the game. In the last quarter, when some of the Warriors were getting heavy feet Whit and Olivia were still going strong. We had a couple of throw-ins in a row where Whitney couldn't find an open teammate to get the ball in to. On the next ball out Olivia, unprompted by me, ran to the touch line and took the ball from Whitney then told her to go down the line. Olivia then made a quick throw-in that landed right where Whitney needed it. It didn't lead to a goal but that heads-up play easily could have. I would say that in every practice we work on two things. One is some basic set of ball handling skills which we work on till the kids are bored with it. The other is developing in them the ability to see the whole field as they play, to know where the ball, their teammates and their opponents are. It looked to me Saturday like Olivia may have taken a huge step forward in that area.

No games next Saturday. Enjoy the Holiday.