Moving On.

This blog is now defunct.  I'm not sure how long Google will let it just sit here if I'm never posting but I would like to have it be available as an archive.  I learned a lot about coaching soccer from some very wonderful kids while working with NKYA.

I'll still be coaching and writing about soccer so if you're interested you can find me now at my Northern Kentucky Legends soccer blog.

McKenzie of the Sharks Makes a Guest Appearance for the Legends Girls.

Check out the video!  She was amazing!

Spring Session Week Two.

It was great to have the two teams playing each other so that I could work with everyone as a group.  They played beautifully with some really wonderful skill play.  I haven't been pressing them lately to use any specific moves but I think next weekend we'll try to add a move then encourage them to use it in the game.  Here's the one we'll be trying out:



Try to watch the video with your player if you can and ask them to try the move at home.  I can't say this often enough, the kids who actually practice at home, even just a little, improve much more rapidly than everyone else.  Coaching one of my club team games this weekend my assistants and I could clearly tell which players had been working on their skills at home rather than just on practice days.  As I tell the kids, skip one episode of Sponge Bob (you've probably seen it already anyway) and spend 15 minutes practicing.  Do that every day and I'll be able to see the difference on game day.

See you next Saturday.  The Lions play Coach Denigan's green team and the Bats play Coach Petzelt's black team.  I'll be coaching the Lions during their game and Coach Chris will take the Bats.  Coach Chris doesn't like coaching against Coach Denigan's team.

Final Titans Game a Storm of Offense.

The Titans were a force of nature yesterday and they simply overwhelmed their opponent.  Morgan and Drew were unstoppable up front and combined for at least six of our goals I think.  Justin was excellent in keeper as usual and was also attacking from that position.  Will and Owen both filled in at keeper very solidly too.  Will was a big part of the offense too. 
In that first half Karah and Danielle were so good on defense that the other team could never get anything started.  And that spill Karah took?  She is tough as nails!  Ryder was playing tough against players twice his size.  Kaylie played some key defense late in the second half and really shut the other team down.
This was their best showing yet.  Thanks for the great game Titans.

Indoor Season Comes to an End.

I'd like to keep it simple this week as I think the sparkling play of the Sharks speaks for itself.  They played beautiful and imaginative soccer.  They played with fire and determination.  Most importantly, they played with a clear love of the game.  I'm proud to be their coach and I feel lucky for the opportunity.   I love to watch them play.

Thanks coach Sharon for all of your help and camaraderie on the bench.

The Awkwardness of Being Deceptive.

    When you are coaching U4 and U6 players you notice that many of them have difficulty at first understanding how the conventions of a game or sport are different from the social conventions they've been learning at home and school.  At home you're taught to be polite and to be honest.  At school you're taught to take turns and be considerate of others.  Don't bump into other kids.  Respect their space.  But a game, especially in a team sport, is a very different social situation.  We don't take turns, the ball is mine as much as it is yours and within the rules I'll take it from you if I can.  We'll bump and jostle to get the ball and it's nothing personal. Most importantly, I don't have to be honest or polite all the time.  I can fake going left then go right.  I can pretend I'm going to pass the ball but then keep it and shoot.  I can make you think I'm going to kick the ball right at you but then make a move to one side to get open.  In short I can be deceptive and within the context of the game that's acceptable and even normal.
    It takes some kids a while to get to the point where they are comfortable with being a real player, with being the sort of person who will bump into someone else intentionally, who will steal the ball, who will intentionally deceive.  But they do get there eventually.
     Before the start of the Sharks game Sunday I was watching another U8 game and one player in particular got my attention.  I've coached him some before and he's got very good skill and a good awareness of the field but as I watched him working with the ball in the game I noticed that while he was making a good effort to control the ball and attack he was also frequently giving up on his dribble.  It was like sometimes he was letting the ball get a step too far away and he'd just let it go assuming that the other team would get to it first. A couple of times I saw him make one good move to get clear of a defender but when it didn't shake them completely he'd hesitate before trying another move.  I kept thinking, I've seen him in practice and I know he has the skills to dribble around every one out there, he just doesn't know it himself yet.
     Then in the Sharks game I was able to see the same sort of player, our own Zachary, have that epiphany, that eureka moment where he realizes that all the skills he's been developing the last year or so will actually work against good players.  Zach had two amazing runs in the game where he carried the ball for more than half the field and each time he beat at least two defenders with his dribble move.  And to add to the achievement the moves he was using were more than just simple zig-zags and speed bursts.  He was breaking out some really deft Puskas moves, it's a sort of fake pull-back.  He was using his speed but in combination with a really delicate touch on the ball.  As he ran off the field at the end of that quarter I said to him "you are putting on a clinic today!"  I asked him to remember from now on that he can dribble around anybody, from one end to the other.  That's how I'd like to see it go for all of the kids, that they should have a game where they realize "hey, I can do this."  Well done, Zach.

    The rest of the Sharks were playing very well too.  I was so proud to see them playing the trap-and-dribble game that we always talk about in practice because, again, the idea is for them to learn that the moves we work on in practice will work in game situations if they will just let themselves try it.  McKenzie was a particular stand out in this game in that regard.  I know she was aware of the quality of the team we were playing but she still played with great discipline, staying in control when the ball came to her, trapping and dribbling.
     Of course we have a few kids on the team who have already crossed over into being confident players, and at least one who seems to have just been born that way (Jackson).  Sam A. and Samuel were showing their amazing skills throughout.  Sam's got some really crazy footwork lately and Samuel, again, showed that incredible gift he has for stealing the ball right off someone else's feet.  Wyatt stepped up as keeper and was astonishingly good.  His reflexes are so fast he was able to win in two separate one-vs-one situations where I thought we were giving up a goal for sure.  Tyler, Lillian, Braden and Brandon all played very well too and it was a beautifully played game from start to finish.  The score aside, when I see them playing with control and trusting themselves to carry the ball on their feet, that is when I know they're playing well.

   

Sharks Bonus Game! Scrimmaging with Sam E. and Austin.

     The U8 Sharks had a great opportunity to play against a very skilled team in an impromptu Saturday afternoon scrimmage and I was very happy to see the quality of play from the team.  We faced Benson FC which features Sam Eppley and Austin Seng, former Sharks, a team that is very deep in terms of skill and playing with a lot of discipline.  With some of the current Sharks absent we picked up a few players for this friendly match and they were a great help.  The Louden brothers, Finn (5) and Owen (7) helped out and Owen was fantastic in at keeper, as always.  Andrew Willis of coach Lighthall's black team came out too and he was showing some great drive and some good skill.  He and Wyatt teamed up for our only goal and it was a beauty.  After a nice touch from Andrew from the corner Wyatt turned the ball in to the goal and nutmegged the keeper.
     Benson FC played with a lot of skill on display, especially Sam, who continues to amaze.  Just ridiculous talent.  I actually feel the Sharks did well to hold them to only eight or so goals as that team has so many powerful shooters.  By the end the Sharks were starting to wear out and to collapse into a defensive wall in front of the goal.  Instinctive but ineffective.  Overall though there were plenty of moments of good skill work and the teams' attitude was upbeat throughout.  They all seemed glad to get to play, even against such a tough opponent.
     I have to single out Lillian for her performance in keeper.  I wasn't sure I should let her go in there given how hard Sam and his teammates were bringing their shots.  I said to Lillian, you know these guys are hitting it really hard and I'm worried that if you aren't watching the ball you might get hit.  "I'm used to that" she said.  "I've been hit in the face a bunch of times."  Well, okay then.  So in she went and she played beautifully, aggressively going to the ball.  I'll work with her on her punting to round off that part of her game and she will make for a very good keeper I think.
     

Week Eight. What We Were Working on in U6.

     The video above shows the basics of the move we were working on before the games yesterday.  I was trying to teach it to the kids as something they'd use in combination with their pull-back move and my goal yesterday was just to get them to start trying this move in the most basic way.  I was happy to see that everyone seemed to get it in practice and they were all making good attempts at it.  Hailey tried to execute the move in the Bats' game but she was the only one.  The hurdle to get over with any of these new moves is convincing the kids that if they perfect the move it can be useful in a game situation.  So both teams worked at it diligently in practice but I could sense that they were skeptical as to why we're doing it. 
     Spectators at the Bats' game may have noticed that we were playing down a player much of the game.  I decided to do that when it became apparent in practice time that the Bats were very excited about playing the purple team as they were assuming we'd win easily.  Confidence is good and I want them to play with a desire to win but I think it's important to make sure they are always being challenged.  Playing one player down forced the Bats to work a little harder and it opened up the field for them a bit, giving them each more opportunities to carry the ball for longer runs.  Ultimately the purple side was no push-over either, with two of their girls, Hajar and McKayla, playing very strong in keeper.

     The Lions had a good workout in practice but not such a good game.  This was another one of those lazy days where most of the team seemed to have checked out early.  The issue I think, and I've got to figure out how to deal with this as a coach, is that most of the players sort of assess the opposition team based on size and make a pregame decision as to what our chances are.  The yellow team has a couple of very tall players and one of them is very fast.  It looked to me like the Lions as a whole had just decided that they weren't going to get past those big kids so they'd just play defense all game.  Not all of them fell into this though.  William and Ava don't seem impressed by anyone's size or skill.  They just go hard to the ball for the whole game.  I love that the two youngest players are setting the example for the whole team.

Week Seven. U6 Goals and Assissts and Assists to the Assists.

It was a big week for Jackson of the U6 Lions and the video below tells the story.

     That was one of three for Jackson and it had been a long dry-spell before this game.  He was on fire this time though and hopefully he's realized he can do that as often as he likes if he'll go hard for the ball and trust his skills.  Boot it to lose it. Keep it to shoot it!
      I was coaching the Bats when the Lions were playing but Coach Chris told me I've got to be sure to mention Carson's admirable play in the sort of center mid position.  His ability to regain or keep possession of the ball for his team makes for a lot of assists or even pre-assists.  He's not scoring any goals lately but Coach Chris says that the team would not have been so successful this week if Carson wasn't in there doing his part to keep the attack alive.
     Ava is in the same spot with the Bats.  She wants to be up as a shooter but her instincts are so good she can't resist falling back into a defensive position, trapping the ball then trying to move up with it.  As a result she's usually in a better position to get an assist than to get a shot on goal herself.  I hope she and Carson both realize how valuable their play is even if they aren't putting up big scoring numbers every week.

Defending to Attack...

     Today I went to watch a U8 game in another indoor league and I noticed how often the offensive attack from the stronger team began in their own half with solid play from their defense.  The stronger team's fullbacks were consistently either trapping and moving with the ball before passing it up or they were making controlled first touches into open space before attempting to clear the ball.  The affect was that this team possessed the ball for much more of the game with their defensive play leading directly into their attack. 
     I try to encourage that sort of play with my own teams by giving every player who goes into a defense position specific instructions that they are to always attempt to trap and move into open space with the ball rather than simply trying to make a big clearing kick.  Does that occasionally result in an easy shot on goal for the other team when our defender muffs the attempt?  Yes, it does.  That doesn't matter though.  If I don't encourage my players to test their abilities in pressure situations they won't improve and those same skills of trapping and first touch that you need for defense you also need for offense so I want the kids to see even their job in defense as being part of the attack.  Besides, if you watch a lot of soccer you see, at any age level, that the kid's instinct to make as big a kick as possible at every ball they get near just does not make for good defense...unless the other team is playing the same way I suppose.
     I wish we could record a new stat for good defense that tracked the way a player can help keep the attack alive by playing from the back-field with control.  Kids and parents probably see the obvious successes in defense, when a player stops an attacking player, stealing the ball away.  But how often do we connect a great shot on goal with the defensive play that initiated the whole sequence?  Of course we record the assists along with the goals but what about the assist to the assist?  The smooth trap and dribble that gets the ball up to midfield which then leads to a run inside, a shot, a rebound and a goal?  Even if there is no stat for this it is what I'm coaching them to do so if you see your kid back in our own half and the ball comes to them with a little space in front of them don't start yelling "kick it!" because what I've instructed them to do is to keep cool and play the ball smartly.  It may make you crazy at first but keep watching.  They'll get better at it and it will translate into confident play everywhere on the field.  I've seen it work.
   

Week Seven. The U4 Curve.

     There is a funny learning curve that is typical for U4 players.  The players are all close in age to each other yet they are all at different stages in their physical and mental development.  They each come to the game with a different set of, let's say, capacities.   Some have the physical capacities of speed and agility pretty early, some have the mental capacity to understand the basic concept of the game and many have some combination of both.  But we also see lots of beginners who need time to develop their running stride or their balance or who don't yet understand what the game (or any game) is about.  With that in mind what I tell parents and coaches at the beginning of each new U4 season is that it's not really about playing soccer games yet and it certainly isn't about teams winning and losing.  Right now at the U4 stage it's just about letting them have the experience, letting them learn how to run and keep their balance; learn how to be in proximity to other kids, even getting bumped and jostled, all without being offended (that's a big step for many kids); learning the rhythm and flow of the game and the social conventions that are part of a team sport.  We give them time and space to experience all that in the context of weekly practices/games where we just work on the same basic skills over and over again: control the ball with your toes, keep your balance, look around.
     What's funny about the curve of this learning experience is that at some point most kids reach a sort of critical mass of physical and mental familiarity with the game and suddenly they can't play U4 anymore.  It's just not a real challenge for them.  It's like they suddenly become a different sort of animal from the other players, a shark among a school of fish.  The fish stay together but they don't know where they're going or why.  The shark knows exactly what he's doing.  And in my experience it can be any kid at any point in their development, the quick ones and the slow ones, the ones who can stand on one foot and the ones who seem to stumble more than they run, any kid can have that sudden epiphany where the whole situation makes sense and from then on they are predators among prey.  The ball becomes My ball to them and their whole attitude changes.

Week Six. In the Zone Now.

Everybody was in a soccer groove this week!  We saw some really spectacular play in every game.

     In the U4 Yankees game it was all Damien all the time as far as the goal scoring went.  He was weaving in and out of traffic, keeping the ball lightly at his feet.  When he does get challenged he's tough as nails and never concedes the ball.  With Will backing him up as a sweeping midfielder Damien had one opportunity after another and he took advantage.
     I'm trying to encourage Will and the other kids to play the way Damien does, to keep the ball close and beat the opposition player with your dribble moves, but I can't complain about the natural instincts Will has for the game.  He stays back in midfield so much because he is so good at anticipating the action and he knows that a ball that comes loose from the pack can lead him right into an open shot.
     Addie had a great game, putting three shots in the net.  She was headed the wrong way each time but I don't mind.  Watching from up close I could see that she was looking up from the ball to find the goal and that's the first step.  She's off to a great start.
     Caroline's performance in this game was a real revelation.  She was playing with some real fire, staying low over the ball and using her body to maintain possession.  She always shows flashes of skill but in this game there was a new intensity in her play.  She was clearly determined to get the ball to the goal.  Great work there.

     Here is some video of the U6 teams.  There was a lot of great play all around in both games.  The video focuses mostly on Diego and his determined effort to get to the goal but there was a lot of other good play I should note.  I was especially impressed with William and Ava in the Lions game.  William is a whirlwind of energy on the field and I expect him to become a really dangerous attacking player as his touch gets better.  He's got a motor!  And Ava was right there with him several times.  She's toughened up a lot and doesn't seem shy of the in-game contact.  These two might become a really formidable tandem as strikers. 



     In that Lions game Anna played really well too.  She is not shy at all about trying her skills and I love that.  Jeremy was rock solid in keeper as usual too.  For the Bats while it was the girls showing off the foot skills it was the boys who were demonstrating the value of communicating.  Maddox, Luke E., Henry and Micah were doing a lot of talking on the field, calling out for passes, etc. and that was very impressive.  We don't ever work on passing in our practice sessions, devoting all of our time to developing individual ball control skills.  Once the game starts getting from one side of the field to the other to score is a problem the kids have to solve on their own.  If their skills are solid they'll find more than one way to solve that problem and if they find on their own that one solution is to cooperate...wonderful!  

     Well, those Sharks were masterful this week.  I could not have been happier with their play.  I had told them after last week's game that in order for everyone to get their jitters out they were all allowed one big kick in the first quarter of every game.  Get that out of the way then be cool and use your skills.  As the first quarter progressed this week Sam A., who started on the bench, pointed out to me that so far no one had used up their "big kick" yet.  He seemed proud of his teammates for that.  "Are you going to use yours when you go in?" I asked him.  He held his hands up and shrugged.  "Probably not."
     I lost track of the goals eventually.  Sorry.  I do remember that Samuel had one early.  Sam A. scored as did Elizabeth and Jackson.  Jackson's was off an amazing pass in that he one-touch blasted into the net.  Like a pro.  McKenzie had a great game and was close to getting off a shot a couple of times.  Wyatt played with his new solid composure both on the attack and on defense.  Brandon was fantastic all game, playing with his new-found finesse. 
     Zachary got a goal too on a weird late opportunity.  He was in defense and the ball was on the opposite side of the field and down in the corner.  I think Elizabeth and Tyler were down there trying to get it out.  The ball came loose and rolled fast out of the keeper box toward Zach.  He came racing in from half-field and blasted the ball into the net from beyond the top of the key.  The game ended a moment later and when he came in to the bench he sort of apologized for coming up out of position.  "But I could just see that open shot."  Dude, no complaint from me.  After next week's game I'll post some more on how putting the players into a defensive position with specific instructions to attack the goal from there is turning into a very valuable coaching tool.

Week Five.

Headed to Tucson this morning so not much time for blogging.  It was a weekend full of soccer though so I need to post something!  The U4 and U6 games on Saturday were excellent with some really great play all around.  Just a few highlights...
In the U4 Yankees game E.J. executed a pull-back and cut combination that was so sharp you couldn't believe it.  Isabelle got off to a weepy start but after some commiseration with her teammates she rallied and played with very impressive anticipation,  breaking off from the pack to get into a forward position.
In the U6 Bats game Ava was holding down her usual midfield post when she saw the chance at a goal unfolding for her.  The ball had gotten into the right corner with Abby and Hailey both working to get it out.  I think Ava could see that with only two defenders in Abby's way if Abby got the ball out across the goal Ava would have a one-on-one with the keeper.  So she came streaking into the goal box and sure enough Abby got the ball to her.  From there it was just a tap in for Ava.   Great anticipation there, like Jedi soccer.
I saw a lot of very good ball skill in this game and the Bats are making great strides.

Later in the afternoon it was the Legends Academy team tryouts and that was a great success.   All the kids were wonderfully focused and showed us great energy throughout.

On Sunday the U8 Sharks recovered beautifully from a shaky first quarter where we saw a little too much kicking without much control.  The rest of the game was beautiful.  The first highlight was a goal from Samuel that came after a great, slashing run through the defenders.  Samuel has very good tackling technique when on defense.   He knows how to get the ball off another player's foot cleanly with minimal contact.  I'm starting to see him use that technique in his attacking skills too.  He doesn't run away from defenders but rather he goes into them fast, cutting to one side at the last moment and dragging the ball with him just as the defender kicks at it.
We had excellent play from everyone and multiple goals.  One particular beauty was a powerful shot taken by Sam after he'd made a couple of sharp moves to get in the open.  When he broke past the defense at midfield Elizabeth took off to get up ahead and when Sam let go a real blast from about 18 yards out she was in position to give the ball just a slight redirect to keep it away from the keeper.  Amazing team work based on solid individual skills!  That's how the Sharks do it!

The Titans had a great game, lead to victory by Drew , Morgan and Justin.  Justin took a chance early in the first half, putting the ball on the floor and dribbling out of the goal, trying to get all the way up the field for a shot.  The other coach was really taken back by that, like it was totally crazy, but I loved it.  Great instincts and creativity there.
Another big moment in this game was a defensive play by Karah.  A player on the team got loose in our goal box.  Karah chased him down and fiercely got in between him and the ball.  Their feet got tangled and the other player went down.  Maybe it was a foul but even so I can't fault Karah for playing with such intensity and refusing to concede the ball.  That's something I'd like to see from every player, that drive to always make an effort to get to the ball.  I see far too many instances of kids conceding possession of the ball,  apparently assuming that it's out of their reach.  Part of what I have to do as a coach is convince them to test themselves rather than just assume that they know what their own limits are.  Don't be afraid to struggle.

Week Four. Titanic Struggle.

     Man was that a game!?  At first it looked to be a low scoring battle of the keepers with Justin and the other team's goalie, Chandler, trading amazing stops and great punts.  But then things broke open a bit.  We brought Justin in for the attack which helped enormously on offense but also left us exposed in defense.  Drew, Morgan, Ryder and Justin were attacking fiercely for most of the second half and getting great support from Danielle, Karah and Will but we just couldn't keep the other team from answering.
     I saw great play from everyone and I especially want to note the dramatic improvement of Kailey and Michael-Michelle.  They are playing much better than they were at the start of the Fall session and in Sunday's game I saw some flashes of really good play from both of them.  Great work.
    

Week Four. Why They Are Called the Sharks.

     I was thinking about what we saw from the Sharks Sunday and I recalled writing something a year ago about the team's signature style. 

 I would describe that "style" in one word: "fearless".  You'd assume that by fearless I meant their willingness to crash into other players for the sake of getting the ball.  Certainly every player on the team  has that quality.   But what I'm thinking of is a fearlessness when trying new things, when daring to use a new move or learn some new skill or trusting your teammate to play his position while you play yours.  In short, they don't fear failure.  They take chances and risk stumbling over their own attempts to expand their skills all for the sake of getting better at the game they love, and it seems that for them, for these ... players, that has always been their natural attitude.   If the Sharks have a style it is "fearlessness" and the foundation of that style is joy.

      The team roster has changed some since then but not the style and yesterday we were all treated to a joyful display of beautiful soccer.  This wasn't a runaway scoring romp either.  The Sharks managed four goals to the other side's one and the other team played hard, pressing us physically at every point.  Sam A., Jackson, Brandon and Wyatt put in our goals and they were each beauties.  But the overall quality of the game was the way our players built, minute by minute and move upon move to a crescendo of fearless, creative, exuberant play.  Watching from the bench I was flabbergasted over and over.  Sam put in the first goal after gracefully negotiating the traffic.  Then it was Jackson putting one in after zig-zagging through the other team's entire defense.  Brandon got number three for us, finally trusting himself to keep the ball close and dribble in for a shot.  Then last came Wyatt, who had played so beautifully all game, including throwing in a jaw-dropping scissor move.  Wyatt dashed across the goal area to his left chasing a loose ball and caught it just as it was leaving the box.  He ripped it, left footed, right out of the air.  Luckily no one was hurt!  What a rocket!  At that point on the bench it felt like we were at a rock concert.  The team went crazy! 
     And those were just the goals!  Everybody played so well and with so much energy.  I don't want to go on too long but I do want to mention a few other highlights. First what about Samuel and the great runs he made?  And the great defense he played?  His tackle step is really kung-fu like in its precision and I've asked the rest of the team to take note.  And how about Lillian?!  She was fierce in this game. What a game!

Week Four. Saturday Ups and Downs and Ups.

     The weekend got off to a great start with the U4 team.  I wanted early on in this game to work with some of our players on staying more focused on the game, to extend the amount of time that they stay really engaged.  It's something you can only build on incrementally, I just want to be sure I'm always paying attention myself to where each kid is in this process.  So,  I told the team at one point that the ancient kung-fu secret of great soccer was to never take your eyes off the ball.  One of my repeated themes with every team is that if you use your eyes to really see what's going on your brain will know what to do, so keep your eyes on the ball.  Well it usually works but Dakota was a hilarious exception to that in this game.  In the third quarter he was about five yards out from our goal when a player on the other team got possession and started to move toward Dakota to get to the goal.  Dakota had his eyes on the ball.  So firmly on the ball that in order to continue to have a good look at it as the other kid approached Dakota made a little step to one side to make a path for the kid, all the while keeping his head down and eyes focused on the ball.  He dutifully watched it all the way into the net.  I said "hey, Dakota?" and kind of held up my hands in a "what was that" gesture.  The look on his face made it clear that he was actually expecting my approval since he had really, really kept his eyes on the ball!  Later on he nearly had a goal and he probably had his best game yet in terms of being actively engaged, even as he took moments out here and there to talk to me about his dogs at home.
     And that's how it is with the little ones.  They're in the game then they're out of it and you just take what you can get and let them feel their way, slowly building experience on experience.  When they are anxiously talking to me about other things, like what they'll be doing later in the day, I don't necessarily consider that distracting.  Often when the little kids are functioning at a really high level, like their caffeine and sugar are balanced just right (you know the feeling), they can focus on more than one thing at once or just bounce easily in and out of being focused on different things.  I'd always rather have them like that than in a mood where they just want to shut down and nothing shuts them down faster than pushing them at the wrong time.  Patience.
     It was a really good game overall with lots of good skill in play from both teams.  Diego and Will managed goals and so did Caroline.  Isabelle didn't manage a goal but she certainly did manage to get in the right position a couple of times, breaking out of the pack to cross to the goal when her teammates were pushing the ball to a corner.  Excellent instincts there.  Her brother Samuel was like that at the start too and I expect that before long she'll be the same sort of goal-hunting ball hog.  I love ball hogs!

     The U6 teams had strangely opposite sorts of games.  The Lions played first and they were just weirdly out of it the whole game.  Chris and I couldn't make sense of it and after the first quarter we backed-off on trying to motivate them to play harder.  Sometimes when they are playing tentatively you know you can motivate them to get into the game and get past their hesitancy but in this game it just felt like they weren't going to be talked out of it so we just let them play.  Ava and William were all in and they played with great energy but everyone else seemed clearly to be saving their energy for something else.  Oh well.
    The Bats, on the other hand, were full of energy and they played with a lot of discipline too.   By "playing with discipline" in this case I mean that most of the Bats were playing with good awareness of where they were on the field and where their teammates were.  We still had plenty of incidences where they got into each others way but they are improving as a team.  Ava sets the standard in this regard.  She hasn't developed the slashing/penetrating style of play that you see from Ashley, Haley and Maddox (and now Luke E. too), where they just crash into the crowd to take the ball to goal, but Ava has always had the best sense of the field and how to use/play in it of any of the kids in this group.  Anticipation comes to her naturally and you saw that Saturday in a couple of instances where she dashed out of the midfield into the goal box because she could see that things were developing in a certain way.  She was anticipating that the ball might come loose in the middle and she ran in to take advantage.  She didn't get the goal she was working for, missing on one shot just a bit to the right.
     Late in the game I tried setting some of the other players up to play on only one half of the field, hoping that that would help them to start to see the field the way Ava does.  I think it did help and I saw signs of better off-the-ball play.  I don't generally like to talk to them about playing a position.  Rather I talk to them about getting in the habit of looking around and knowing where the ball is and where their teammates are.  I won't discourage kids from going aggressively after the ball but I do try to get them to start thinking about where the ball is and where they are and to ask themselves "is running to the ball the best thing to do here?"  Some things, like dribbling technique, I can teach them, but getting the feel for the field space and how to use it/play in it is a problem they sort of have to solve on their own.  I'll try again next week to get them to keep working on this. 

Week Three.

     The snow on Saturday morning made for a strange situation.  When I got up to head to the field at about 7:30 the roads were fine but then it started coming down hard.  As game time approached it became obvious that the snow was going to make driving difficult in some areas.  It was too late for me to officially cancel the games but I certainly wasn't surprised when so few people showed up.  We'll add a game onto the end of the session to make up for the lost day.

     Some players did show up though so we made the best of it.  Most of the U4 team was there so after a long practice session we played a quick game against the few players that Coach Niemeyer had on hand.  It was fun and the kids played well.  Will Z. was showing some great skills and heads-up play.  He always gives me a funny look when practicing, as though he's not sure that he's really interested in learning whatever skill I'm working with them on.  But then in the games he always demonstrates so much skill and real touch on the ball.  He made a couple of cut moves Saturday that were just amazingly sharp.
     E.J. had a heck of a game too.  He played with great energy straight through and was very determined to possess the ball.  At one point I talked to him about trying to play with his arms down and to make himself "skinny" when trying to get through a crowd to the ball.  He took me at my word and began to play with his arms and hands plastered to his side!

     The Bats had just enough players this week due to the snow but they made the best of it and no one complained about not getting a rest.  Ashley was at it again, possessing the ball and making run after run at the goal.  She had lots of help this week from Haley too, who was getting into good position repeatedly.  Despite their efforts I don't think we managed a goal.  The highlight of the game was really the defense the team played as a whole against a very strong opponent.  Coach Durik's team is very disciplined at possessing the ball and using their skills so they were pounding shots at us all game.  But the Bats held them off, only giving up three but rejecting more that twice that many.      
     Abby had a fantastic game in at keeper taking two quarters for us.  At one point she got a bit flustered as she tried to throw the ball out to Ashley while the other team was marking Ashley very closely.  I took a moment to point out to Abby that the other kids were running to get in front of Ashley because they could see where Abby's eyes were looking, "so you've got to try to trick them with your eyes" I said.  The next chance she got she did just that.  She looked at Ashley and then as two players on the other team sprinted to cut that path off Abby turned quickly and passed the ball out to Haley.  She was so tickled with how that worked she actually started laughing.
     Henry was part of that good defense too and gave us our most consistent period of attack by virtue of the great punts he was sending out.  Those long kicks of his gave Ashley, Abby and Haley some of their best attacking opportunities.  Micah and Zoe had great games too with some very good ball control and energetic defense.

     The Lions consisted of Jagger, Eileen, Ava B. and Diego this week.  They were undeterred and played valiantly to a 1-1 tie.  Diego was tireless and he and Jagger were trying to get their passing game going again.  Ava was fantastic this week and she had one "close out" that was jaw dropping.  She and another player were both headed to the ball as it bounced off one wall.  Ava got there just a step ahead and she used that bit of a lead to get her body turned and in between the other player and the ball "closing out" the ball so that the opponent couldn't touch it.  Once she gets going she definitely has the desire to be a real player.  I could teach players that sort of "closing" technique but if they don't really want the ball they won't use it.  Ava figured out that move on her own, or rather it came to her naturally, instinctively, because she wants the ball.

     Elizabeth was out this week and I figured that would give some of the other Sharks a chance to "run point".  The truth is that most games our offense really runs through Elizabeth even if she doesn't get any goals.  She possess the ball, calls out for players to get in position or to send her a pass and generally sets the tempo and tone for the team.   As grateful as I am to have Elizabeth setting such a great example it was very nice to see how well the team adapted in her absence.  Ryder, Sam, Jackson, Wyatt and Zach all got their chance to play that point position and control the attack for us and they each did very well.  Ryder does so at a frenetic pace, always looking like he's running down hill toward the goal.  Wyatt has that quality too.  You can tell that they love the feel of being up to full speed, like they're flying.  Zach's thing is speed too but you can also see him throwing in just a slight hesitation move when he faces a defender.  Just a little change of speed to throw them off then he's zigging off to one side to get clear.  Sam and Jackson were relying more on a deft touch than on speed and I like that.  Speed doesn't work forever.  Samuel and Tyler were using their ever developing skills too, making a strong effort to just possess the ball for as long as possible.  Lilly had a good game coming back from a cold last week and McKenzie looked good for a lot of the game too, if she could just stop worrying about her hair!
     We had goals from Sam A., Samuel, Ryder, Brandon, Wyatt and Jackson.  Braden was great during his stint in goal too.  The outcome was lopsided but I'm happy to say that the Sharks just played better, with more skill and desire, not with more muscle.  They set a good example for the league that way.

     The Titans came very close to hanging even with the best team in the division.  You saw how well disciplined Coach Cook's team is in terms of ball skill, soft touch and organization.  They possess the ball easily and they see opportunities and act on them quickly.  They had some very good goals off shots from in-traffic but their most impressive shots were those that came on fast breaks as those are the ones that show their conditioning and their ability to anticipate how their defensive play will suddenly turn into scoring opportunities.  The Titans responded well, especially when we got Justin out of the goal and onto the field.  His energy level really changes the way the other team has to play defense.  Drew had a huge game too and the other team was definitely impressed with his skills.  He had several beautiful runs where he showed amazing control and creativity, feinting right then going left with a deft touch that kept the ball just out of the opponent's reach while still in his control.  His last goal of the game was especially impressive in that he seemed to just will his way to the goal in a very impressive individual effort.
     Morgan and Karah had great games, playing with everything they had energy wise.  Owen did some very solid work in keeper for us as did Will and both of them had their flashes of brilliance on the field too.  Danielle played with a lot of energy and was very committed to playing some good defense.   Kailey and Michael-Michelle have improved dramatically since they started and yesterday they played with great energy.  I see improvement from them every week and they should be proud of the effort they are making.  Pretty good game Titans.

Week Two.

I'm glad I finished with the U4 team picture in time to get back on the field for the Lion's last quarter.  I was really amazed at the huge steps all the players are taking.  Ava B. was totally in the game.  William managed a goal.  Jackson was controlling the ball.  And Jagger and Diego!  They were talking to each other and executing passes.  I was blown away by how casually they were cooperating, as though they'd done that for years. 

The Bats played well too with strong efforts from everyone.  I saw so much good ball control, so much heads-up play and so much cool-headed play from everyone.  The highlight of course was the sudden arrival of Ashley as a goal scoring threat.  She beat defenders straight-up over and over through the game and I think she's clearly had a kind of realization that with her skills she can get around anyone.  I'm surprised she only scored one goal.  Ashley is always very disciplined in practice, working hard to learn new skills.  But in games she's not always willing to test those skills.  In this game that hesitation fell away and she just used everything she had: pull-backs, step overs, change of direction and speed.  Just fantastic!
Maddox and Ava each had goals too.  Maddox's was a beauty from the corner as he bowled past defenders and Ava's was a beautiful shot from dead center of the goal box.  She got there by using that soft touch to control the ball and get into position.  Just a great game against a tough opponent.  Good work in there at keeper too Luke Z.

The Sharks played beautifully and their game featured a sort of debut too.  Like Ashley, Wyatt is a diligent practice player.  He likes to get it right.  But then in games he has tended to fall back on his old reliable blast kick rather than put those ball control skills to work.  Not this week.  This week he played with speed and grace and creativity, using the moves he's been working on in his practices to amazing affect.  He had one goal and was joined in the scoring by Ryder (he's so fast it's crazy), Zach and Jackson.  Jackson was looking good again with those skills but he needed a beautiful assist from Elizabeth to get his goal.  Sam should have had a goal with all the great dribbling he did.  He plays with a real gift for slipping past defenders without making contact.  He knows how to get skinny.
We saw great ball control and patience from everyone and I was really happy to see the effort the Sharks made to stick to our game plan for this game:  Keep your head up, find the open space before you give the ball up.  Braden bought in completely and had some great runs, keeping the ball right at his feet.  They were very strong this week and I hope we can keep steadily improving.

Winter Session: Week One for the Sharks.

     With at least one other "Sharks" team in the division Coach Sharon dubbed our kids the Great White Sharks.  And why not.  They certainly look like the alpha predators.  They play with calm situational awareness most of the time but they can play in an energetic frenzy when necessary.  With the new combination of players we have and the fact that everyone had to share minutes there was some over-anxious play on the field.  A little too much ball chasing.  But overall it was a great game with plenty of the controlled and confident type of play we strive for.
     We are joined by some returning players this session.  Ryder, who usually plays up a group is playing with us and he's a great addition.  I look forward to seeing what he and Elizabeth can do together on the attack.  I don't normally work on any sort of passing strategy with the players (or any strategy at all, for that matter!) but Elizabeth is so good at communicating with her teammates and Ryder has such good peripheral vision and such a sound kick that I expect these two to team up frequently in a combination attack.  Perhaps we will work on a little bit of give-and-go and overlapping if we get the chance.
     Brandon and Braden are also back with us.  They both played on those very early Sharks teams when we had to separate the Goofball team from the real Sharks team.  It was great to have them back and they both played very well with tremendous energy.
     We had a goal from Elizabeth and two from Ryder.  We also got to see some amazing work from Jackson on two runs where he dribbled through some very tight traffic then got off a good quick shot.  No goals but the foot work was really amazing.  He's not the fastest kid on the field but when you get in close to the goal where defenders are forced to play with their back up against it you can make the congestion of the penalty area an advantage if you know how to keep the ball stuck to your feet and Jackson was doing that Sunday. 

Winter Session: Week One for U6

     For the U6 teams the schedule worked out perfectly with a session start playing each other.  Both teams remained committed throughout the game to the sort of quality play we want to see.  I saw a lot of ball control on first touches and in dribbling, a lot of clever ball movement, and a lot of thoughtful play off the ball as well.  With that observation I should take a moment to clarify again what I'll be looking for the players to be working on this session as in every session.

     When I mention "first touch" you should think of situations where a loose ball comes bouncing to one of our players and they have to get control of it somehow.  At first for most players their instinct is to just kick at the ball.  Where we try to go from there is to first teach them some basic techniques for trapping the ball, catching it with their feet or bodies and getting it settled at their feet.  Then we are working on getting them to be thoughtful about their next step, to anticipate what to do with the ball once it's trapped.  I think most of the kids on both rosters are at a point where they can be trusted to trap the ball, make a good first touch, rather than kick it away.  And now I'm seeing the development of that next level of play moving like a wave through the roster too.  This past Saturday we saw some great examples of players making smooth traps to control the ball while already anticipating their next step, their get-away step.  Maddox had a couple of brilliant moments like that where he made a quick trap of the ball and then looked up to find the right direction to go, eluding the first opponent who got to him.  With Diego and to some extent Ava, Abby and Ashley, you can even see players who are learning to make a little hesitation move part of that get-away step.  More than once in this game I saw Diego trap the ball then hold it under one toe waiting for the nearest opponent to make a decisive move to the ball.  Watching them out of the corner of his eye he'd hold the ball till they took that step then make a quick pull-back move to leave them behind.  Beautiful, clever and startlingly competent for one so young! 
     Another thing we work on in practice is trying to develop good habits of posture both away from and over the ball.  Too many kids play with a very upright and stiff posture so we work on getting them to be in a flexible "ready" position when away from the ball, like a baseball infielder, and to be in a low position when they have the ball.  Knees bent, butt down, shoulders over the ball.  The great practitioner of that skill so far is Jagger who demonstrated repeatedly this past week his ability to trap and possess the ball in a way that resembles a basketball player's "box-out" technique.  I saw Jagger several times get to a loose ball then step over it, taking possession and immediately getting his body between his opponent and the ball.  It's simple, it's tenacious and it is the perfect technical demonstration of that attitude we want all the kids to have..."it's my ball."  Hailey's got a good version of this same box-out move as does Micah and all three are rapidly developing their peripheral vision, allowing them to establish possession then find the right get-away direction.
     It was great to have Luke E. joining us, a very energetic player with a lot of confidence in his skills.  And I was very happy with everyone else too.  Ava B. was fully engaged in the game as was William.  We are fortunate to have a core group of players who already have that killer instinct to get the ball and find the goal.  They set a great example for our other players who have a great work ethic in practice but still need to get that in-game feeling of playing with a purpose and with real intensity.  Overall the progress is wonderful to see and I'm thrilled to continue working with these great kids.

Last Week of Fall Indoor.

Sorry to just be getting around to this now but with the session ending right before Christmas I didn't have any spare time for blogging.  The session went really well for all of the teams and I saw lots of steady improvement from everyone and even some remarkably fast improvement from some.  Here's a little video of the Midnight Bats in action that gives you a good sense of what I'm working on with all of my teams all the time: solid fundamental skills and field awareness.  You'll hear me asking them on the field "where should you be?" or "what is happening next?"  I'm trying to get them to always be thinking ahead a bit, to anticipate rather than always just reacting.  In the video you can see most of the kids doing that.  There's one great moment near the end (at about 4:30)  where you see Micah trap the ball with one foot then look up to find his teammates.  Good stuff.  And at about 1:10 you see Ashley making a perfect pull-back move without hesitation and doing it in just the right context where it is really effective.



I didn't get to see the Lions play but Coach Chris told me they had a great game too.  The Sharks had a rough time of it on Sunday, at least score wise, though they did play really well and I was very pleased with some of what I saw going on.  In particular I'd note the game Tyler had.  There was one moment where he got possession of the ball and basically boxed the opponent off of it for a good five seconds, just keeping his body between the ball and the other player.  In the end he lost the ball but the fact that he was confident enough to try that was huge and I see that sort of confidence from all of the Sharks now.  They'll get their wins.