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.