Before I get to the game highlights let me start by saying thanks. Like most Coaches I got started in this out of necessity. My own kids wanted to play and their teams needed a Coach so I was a Coach. With no training in coaching I just began to pay attention to the kids and see if I could figure out what they needed, what would work best for them. The first thing I noticed was that the majority of the kids playing in U6 and below had yet to get a handle on what a "game" actually is. Repeatedly I would see kids, whose parents swore that they were fiercely aggressive while playing with a ball in the back yard, who would show up at games and be timid, outright frightened or even just disinterested. I started thinking, Okay, the first thing we have to do is to start introducing them to the concepts of the game little by little rather than simply throwing them out there and yelling at them to "go get the ball!"
As I gained more experience I began to adhere to two mantras: "patience" and "nothing is obvious". I try to always be patient with the kids and to allow them to repeat things as many times as they need in order to "get it". I talk to the parents and ask them to be patient and to keep in mind that the kids are learning the skills of the game but most importantly they are learning what a game is and that's not easy. I tell the kids to be patient with themselves when I'm asking them to learn a new skill. "Nothing is obvious" means that you have to be willing to break everything down into smaller parts and spend time on the parts and then put it back together. I learned how to teach good kick technique by watching my son, Owen, kick. He always made such good contact with the ball because he ran up on it so close that by the time he made contact he had to use the top of his foot, he was too close to kick with his toe. So, I made that into a drill, getting the kids to run through the ball to kick. That didn't work for some so I started rolling the ball away from them, like reverse kick-ball. For a few that still didn't work because of the way they ran so we worked on their running, on getting them to stay up on their toes. Nothing is obvious. Some kids are naturals but they can all be taught and you just have to be willing to teach even the stuff that seems like it should be obvious.
I learned all this while working with your kids. They're always showing me something new and it's a joy to work with them. So now, beyond the necessity of coaching for my own kids' sake I just love coaching. I love Saturday mornings. I'm taking over as head administrator for NKYA soccer and I'm doing so because I want to share what I've learned with other Coaches so that we can build a tradition at NKYA of excellent amateur instruction. I'm proud of the work NKYA does and I'm excited about what we can accomplish in the future. And, again, I got to here because of what I learned working with your kids. So, thanks.
What I have learned from working with the Sharks is this: basic technical practice combined with some simple but persistent game situation practice can result in remarkable leaps forward in team play. Watching the individual kids who have such great natural gifts is wonderful. Sam E's ball handling and speed, Jackson's sure handedness in goal, Elizabeth's powerful kick and Austin's great sense of the whole field, all of these are amazing and a joy to watch. But seeing them play as a team, as they did again this weekend, is just impossibly awesome. With any team you might occasionally see a shot miss and then another player who happens to be in the right spot puts in the rebound and you call that an assist and a goal but there was a lot of luck there too. The Sharks don't accidentally put together a few passes and then get a shot, they do that intentionally. They communicate, they anticipate, they cover for each other. It's amazing. Obviously some of the kids are farther along but all of the others have made huge leaps forward because they are trying to play up to that level, because they want to be part of the team. Brandon is a great example. He has a strong kick with both feet and can run all day but he has in the past been unable to resist chasing the ball all over the field. In Saturday's game he started to really play his position and was in the right spot repeatedly. The result was a beautiful goal, a chip shot really, that floated over the goalie's shoulder from ten yards out and into the net. Jackson had picked-up the ball in the center then saw Brandon open on his left, made a pass, and boom! Teamwork!
Kendall made a similar brilliant pass that got us a goal and she did so after collecting the ball in the corner and making a really graceful turnaround that left two defenders behind. Her pass across the face of the goal made for an easy shot for Jackson. (We needed that from Kendall as I had asked her to fill in for Elizabeth. She really stepped up!) Austin made a great turn in close to the goal in the midst of heavy traffic. Receiving the ball with his back to the goal, he made a graceful two step turn to bring the ball toward the center then turned and fired. He get's more and more patient and cool-headed with the ball at his feet all the time, as does Jackson. Luke had a goal and played what I thought was his best game ever. Everyone played well. They started in warm-ups to crowd around me telling me about how they'd been practicing at home, trying to one-up each other with their at-home work. Well, it shows. Sharks rule!
The Slime were awesome too and we had the goals to prove it. Lincoln had his best game yet and was a swing and a miss away from a goal. Mason was speedy as usual and Diego was just amazingly patient with the ball. He has great confidence in his ability to posses the ball and so he's never in a particular hurry. He reminds me of Dimitar Berpatov. Our girls played well with Ashley controlling the ball a lot and Eileen managing a goal at the buzzer. Delaney had a great warm-up but was a little behind the action in the game. Maddox was the star this week. He had one goal but his real contribution was his tireless defense. He got back on D so many times, running the whole field to do it, I was amazed. Great work Slime.
The Green Wave made a spectacular run in their season ending tournament. Their first opponent was the Green team which features two "select" quality players, players with real ball skills. But the Wave played loose and used their amazing speed to dominate the game. With Zach and Logan holding midfield most of the game our forwards were free to roam about in the Green half and as a result we had a lot of shots. Two shots that found the goal were from Morgan and they were both left footers. That's huge! Gabby and Kylie took turns in as keeper and were both excellent.
In game two we faced the Orange team and their best player is a big kid who has a few pounds and inches even on Zach but the Wave held their own again and again they played loose and played with great speed. That is the teams strength really, their speed. Gabby may be the fastest kid I've ever coached and Zach and Kylie aren't far behind. Lydia is quick with the ball, as is Jake. Jake has really stepped his game up this session and he showed that in this game by putting in two goals. One was a tap in off of a rebound from a shot from Lydia. The other was a pure blast from the near left side that he got in after some nice dribbling.
Sunday's game was a slightly different story. We played Black and the Wave were all thrilled that we didn't have to face the Red team. But once they saw the Black team's star player, Alex, in action they tightened up and slowed down just the way they would have against the Red team. It was tough to watch. When the Wave plays with speed and energy they can overcome most of their technical weaknesses by simply covering the whole field so effectively. But in this game they were all playing as though they were afraid to let Alex get past them or, worse, hit them with a shot (my thanks to Gabby for enduring just that and doing so with great courage). By the end of the game things were a bit out of hand emotionally with players on both teams loosing their tempers. That was actually the highlight of the game, that despite their fears, many of the Wave stood up to Alex repeatedly and tried their best to stop him. Zach obviously gave him a hard time from start to finish. It was like watching Neo and Smith in the Matrix seeing those two crash into each other repeatedly then regroup and go at it again. Ashley, too, was on Alex and pressing him and Logan had a few good stops too. But on the whole the Wave were forced into playing constant defense and so we didn't manage much in the way of shots on goal. Morgan and Lydia had some flashes of brilliance but just couldn't get past that last line of defenders. So the game didn't go our way and the Wave were really devastated. I honestly think they came into the game thinking they could win. Coach Dave gave them a great, moving pep-talk before kick-off and they were all excited and anxious to play. Oh, well.
I'm proud of them, as Coach Dave is. They were a great group to work with, especially in practice, where they really did work very hard every week. It was an honor to coach you Wave! Finishing second in a tournament with so many talented opponents is a great accomplishment and you should be proud. Congratulations on the amazing finish.
No comments:
Post a Comment