This session brings us a nearly new line-up and a new team name. Your U4 team are The Bluejays. We saw lots of really great play including some very skillful ball handling from this group of players. Our returning players, Austin and Eileen, led the way, especially during practice with great energy and focus. Samuel, Ethan, Diego and Dominic jumped right in and showed themselves all to be more accomplished players than I'd have expected. They all played with lots of enthusiasm and had a great time. Samuel and Ethan are especially adept ball handlers already. This will be a fun group to work with and I'm looking forward to helping each player build on their skills.
The snack schedule is mostly filled with just the last two dates still open. The Lakkis family (Diego) will be handling the snack next week and we play at 10:30 AM on field A.
The U6 Sharks picked-up where they left off with just one hitch: they didn't seem to think that their light blue shirts are the right color for "Sharks" so they wanted a new name. Among the many suggestions the silliest was "The Strawberries", from Elizabeth I think, and when I repeated that one back to the whole team with some embellishment ("the smelly, rotten, moldy blue strawberries?") it instantly won wide approval. So, your U6 powerhouse will now be known as The Strawberries. Fierce, huh?
Well don't be fooled by the name. These kids can play. While we did loose a few players from last session we picked-up four new teammates who showed right away that they will fit right in with the team's energetic style. In the first quarter we had Jackson in at keeper sporting a stylish keeper jersey to go along with his excellent play. He had three powerful clearing kicks that sailed over the attacking players and put our forwards right back into position to go at the other goal. Two of our new players, Noah Roach and Noah Steinmann led the way up front with help from Collin. Noah has played for me before and is famous for the power of his kick, left or right. He showed plenty of power in this game as well as his speed. But his partner, little Noah Steinmann, was just blazing fast and seemed to be everywhere at once. He also played with excellent intelligence, seemingly always aware of which direction he needed to be headed in. Collin balanced the two Noahs by smartly maintaining his position in the middle of the field. Karolyn and Kendall rounded out the side playing fullback for us. While they let their enthusiasm take them out of position frequently they did play with a lot of energy and Kendall was in the thick of things constantly.
In the second quarter Luke and Austin jumped into the fullback positions and were just impenetrable. They played smartly as a tandem, covering the field and anticipating the action. Luke even struck out into offense when the situation was right. Austin never let the ball get past him and, as he pointed out to me several times, kicked the ball a lot! Sam, Elizabeth and Aiden were in offense for us and they began pressing the other team immediately. Elizabeth played so toughly, crashing into the crowd to get to the ball and Aiden was right there with her. Sam moved elegantly in and out of traffic with the ball stuck to his feet and eventually got through the other side's defense to score.
In the third Elizabeth went in as keeper so Jackson could play in the field and she was tough as nails making a couple of great stops and being very patient in making good outlet passes. Jackson played a very smart midfield/striker position, repeatedly allowing the Noahs to take the ball up one side or the other and then dashing up the middle for his chance to drive a pass in. Noah and Noah played fiercely without getting a good chance at a goal but that's how it goes some times.
In the final quarter we had goals from Aiden and Sam both getting us to a nice 3-3 tie. Collin was solid in goal for us and with Luke and Austin's help kept the other side from getting ahead late.
Just a great game all around. I wish we had more practice time because this is such a great group with so much potential. Oh, well, we'll do the best we can with the time we have. The snack schedule is filled out, thanks. Thanks to Karolyn's mom for picking-up snack this week. Next Saturday we play at 9:40 again on field A and Austin's folks are getting the snack.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Fall/Winter Indoor Session I
The new session begins this Saturday, October 30th. U4 plays at 8:00 AM and U6 plays at 9:40. A link to the complete schedule for all divisions is in the menu to the right. I won't be coaching U8 or U12 this session. Good luck everybody. Have fun and play hard.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Next session starting soon
The Fall indoor session will begin the weekend of October 30th with games on Saturday for the U4, U6 and U12 divisions. While U8 and U10 games will be on Sundays those divisions won't begin their session until Sunday November 7th (due to the 31st being Halloween.) Coaches will be picking up their rosters and schedules this Friday evening and should be contacting families over the weekend. I don't know yet if we will be getting any practice time indoors.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
USA Women's Soccer V China
Tonight you can watch the US Women play against the Chinese National side on ESPN2 at 7:00 PM. Of course you shouldn't switch over to the soccer until the Reds have finished beating the Phillies.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Week Seven: Fall Weather, Great Soccer
Sorry I missed updating the blog last week. My schedule has been very hectic.
We had really perfect weather for soccer this week and everybody played with a lot of energy. I want to remind everyone that registration for the first indoor session has started and you can sign up on line or in person this coming week at Richardson Road. I will be coaching U4, U6 and U8 again. I'm not sure yet about U12/13.
The U4 Blueberries had their best game yet with the most consistent level of participation we've seen. Everyone stayed involved the entire game. Carson was our most active player and he had a couple of goals, including one off of a nice corner kick from Eileen. Carson will be missing the last game. Good luck, Carson!
The Sharks had their best game of the session with strong performances from everyone. We had excellent play in at goal from Elizabeth and Kendall among others. Out in the field Kendall had a bit of a breakthrough game, playing with more determination than ever before. She finally started to bring some of the great skill she shows at practice to the game. Kendall had at least three genuine chances on goal but each time was a bit unlucky.
Sam E. had his best game since moving up to U6 and after three straight goals plus another couple of good attempts I actually had to take him off the field to let the other team get back on their feet. Sam has been doing such a good job of bringing everything we work on in practice to the games and it seems like every week he adds some new move to his repertoire. Sam Atkins had a great game for us too, taking on most of the striking duties while Sam E. was on the bench. Sam A. is still working on his ball handling but he already has a huge kick.
Finally, I'm thrilled to say that the Sharks were jubilant and gracious in victory sharing a sincere hand-shake with the other team at the end of the game.
The Warriors got their groove back playing against the Light Blue side this week. Nate and Will combined for our first goal and from then on the Warriors kept the pressure on most of the game. It was a good return to form but I tried to remind the team after the game that while they are playing with a lot of energy and a lot of good communication they still aren't being patient enough with the ball. We spend almost all of our practice time working on ball control and yet as a team they rarely manage to execute that basic skill. There is far too much "kick-ball", where they wildly kick the ball away as soon as they get near it. We'll just keep plugging away at that at practice.
The Strikers had a fantastic game as a team coming up just short in a 1-2 loss. The star of the game was Isabel who scored our lone goal and who has dialed her game up several notches since the beginning of the session. Iz shows amazing confidence now while dribbling the ball and seems confident that she can get around anyone. Lydia is another player who has really turned her game up lately, playing with great energy throughout the game.
It was great to have Meaghan back from her injury lay-off. She played wonderfully, like she hadn't lost a step. Sam was great in defense for us showing great patience and poise handling first touch and then moving the ball forward for her team mates. Everyone else played really well too. They played as a team and were really working to back each other up. Great work strikers!
We had really perfect weather for soccer this week and everybody played with a lot of energy. I want to remind everyone that registration for the first indoor session has started and you can sign up on line or in person this coming week at Richardson Road. I will be coaching U4, U6 and U8 again. I'm not sure yet about U12/13.
The U4 Blueberries had their best game yet with the most consistent level of participation we've seen. Everyone stayed involved the entire game. Carson was our most active player and he had a couple of goals, including one off of a nice corner kick from Eileen. Carson will be missing the last game. Good luck, Carson!
The Sharks had their best game of the session with strong performances from everyone. We had excellent play in at goal from Elizabeth and Kendall among others. Out in the field Kendall had a bit of a breakthrough game, playing with more determination than ever before. She finally started to bring some of the great skill she shows at practice to the game. Kendall had at least three genuine chances on goal but each time was a bit unlucky.
Sam E. had his best game since moving up to U6 and after three straight goals plus another couple of good attempts I actually had to take him off the field to let the other team get back on their feet. Sam has been doing such a good job of bringing everything we work on in practice to the games and it seems like every week he adds some new move to his repertoire. Sam Atkins had a great game for us too, taking on most of the striking duties while Sam E. was on the bench. Sam A. is still working on his ball handling but he already has a huge kick.
Finally, I'm thrilled to say that the Sharks were jubilant and gracious in victory sharing a sincere hand-shake with the other team at the end of the game.
The Warriors got their groove back playing against the Light Blue side this week. Nate and Will combined for our first goal and from then on the Warriors kept the pressure on most of the game. It was a good return to form but I tried to remind the team after the game that while they are playing with a lot of energy and a lot of good communication they still aren't being patient enough with the ball. We spend almost all of our practice time working on ball control and yet as a team they rarely manage to execute that basic skill. There is far too much "kick-ball", where they wildly kick the ball away as soon as they get near it. We'll just keep plugging away at that at practice.
The Strikers had a fantastic game as a team coming up just short in a 1-2 loss. The star of the game was Isabel who scored our lone goal and who has dialed her game up several notches since the beginning of the session. Iz shows amazing confidence now while dribbling the ball and seems confident that she can get around anyone. Lydia is another player who has really turned her game up lately, playing with great energy throughout the game.
It was great to have Meaghan back from her injury lay-off. She played wonderfully, like she hadn't lost a step. Sam was great in defense for us showing great patience and poise handling first touch and then moving the ball forward for her team mates. Everyone else played really well too. They played as a team and were really working to back each other up. Great work strikers!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Week Five
Pictures are behind us. Thank you all for your patience. NKYA has begun registration for the fall indoor session which will begin in mid-October. I anticipate coaching U4, U6 and U8 again. You can register online at NKYA.com or on Saturdays at the games through October 9th.
The Blueberries had a good game this week, as usual. Madison was particularly sharp this week and Carson and Austin were also very much in the game. Eileen made a great corner kick that led to a goal from either Carson or Madison, not sure who touched the ball last.
I want to assure all the parents at the U4 level that we are just taking the first steps toward learning the game and having your kid get spooked and not want to come out onto the field, even for game after game, is not unusual. The whole point of the U4 division is to just get the kids used to the idea of playing soccer, get them used to wearing the gear and being on or at least near the field. At this age level there is no pressure on the kids to play competitively even though you may see a kid or two on each team who appears to "get it" more than the others. It's all part of the process, so just keep showing up and eventually even the most recalcitrant kid sees the other kids having fun and, naturally, wants to join in.
Your U6 Sharks were positively on fire this week. We had early goals from the two Sams and lots of great play from everyone else. After his first goal Sam E., who had received the ball on a nice pass from Jackson, came back to the circle and told Jackson "this time I'll pass it to you so you can kick it in." That's a big step and I was glad to see it
We had good turns in goal from Sam A., Luke, Kendall and Jackson. The highlight of the game was a simple play on defense by Karolyn. At one point the opposing team got the ball and headed down the side line into our end. Karolyn turned immediately and sprinted back toward our goal, not toward the ball, and without ever taking her eyes off the ball got into position to help the goalie defend. Brilliant stuff!
The Warriors played to yet another tie and currently are in a tie for second in their division. From my perspective it looked like the Warriors were in control of the ball most of the game but we did catch a break when the other team's one good shot on goal bounced off the post. As for our own shots, while there were a lot of them none were very convincing. At practice we will definitely work on being more patient and taking a few more steps toward the goal before shooting. Will was the star of the game with two excellent quarters in as keeper. Kaleb's turn in as keeper was also a brilliant display. Kudos to Kaleb and Justin both for taking balls off the nose and managing to keep on playing.
I'm always very pleased with the intensity of my practices with the U13 Strikers. The kids always work hard and seem to improve on their fundamentals every week. But in the games we don't get consistent intensity from everyone. I'm not sure what the problem is but we'll just keep working in practice to develop those fundamental skills and hopefully we'll have a game soon where everyone is in sync.
See you all Saturday.
The Blueberries had a good game this week, as usual. Madison was particularly sharp this week and Carson and Austin were also very much in the game. Eileen made a great corner kick that led to a goal from either Carson or Madison, not sure who touched the ball last.
I want to assure all the parents at the U4 level that we are just taking the first steps toward learning the game and having your kid get spooked and not want to come out onto the field, even for game after game, is not unusual. The whole point of the U4 division is to just get the kids used to the idea of playing soccer, get them used to wearing the gear and being on or at least near the field. At this age level there is no pressure on the kids to play competitively even though you may see a kid or two on each team who appears to "get it" more than the others. It's all part of the process, so just keep showing up and eventually even the most recalcitrant kid sees the other kids having fun and, naturally, wants to join in.
Your U6 Sharks were positively on fire this week. We had early goals from the two Sams and lots of great play from everyone else. After his first goal Sam E., who had received the ball on a nice pass from Jackson, came back to the circle and told Jackson "this time I'll pass it to you so you can kick it in." That's a big step and I was glad to see it
We had good turns in goal from Sam A., Luke, Kendall and Jackson. The highlight of the game was a simple play on defense by Karolyn. At one point the opposing team got the ball and headed down the side line into our end. Karolyn turned immediately and sprinted back toward our goal, not toward the ball, and without ever taking her eyes off the ball got into position to help the goalie defend. Brilliant stuff!
The Warriors played to yet another tie and currently are in a tie for second in their division. From my perspective it looked like the Warriors were in control of the ball most of the game but we did catch a break when the other team's one good shot on goal bounced off the post. As for our own shots, while there were a lot of them none were very convincing. At practice we will definitely work on being more patient and taking a few more steps toward the goal before shooting. Will was the star of the game with two excellent quarters in as keeper. Kaleb's turn in as keeper was also a brilliant display. Kudos to Kaleb and Justin both for taking balls off the nose and managing to keep on playing.
I'm always very pleased with the intensity of my practices with the U13 Strikers. The kids always work hard and seem to improve on their fundamentals every week. But in the games we don't get consistent intensity from everyone. I'm not sure what the problem is but we'll just keep working in practice to develop those fundamental skills and hopefully we'll have a game soon where everyone is in sync.
See you all Saturday.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
September 11th, Picture Day Schedule
This week is picture week and here is the schedule:
U6 Sharks Photo at 8:30 AM Game at 9:00 AM
U4 Blueberries Photo at 9:45 AM Game at 10:00 AM
U8 Warriors Photo at 10:55 AM Game at 12:00 PM
U13 Strikers Photo at 11:50 AM Game at 1:00 PM
As you can see there will be some overlap for me and so I will be needing help from everyone to make this run smoothly.
U6 Sharks Photo at 8:30 AM Game at 9:00 AM
U4 Blueberries Photo at 9:45 AM Game at 10:00 AM
U8 Warriors Photo at 10:55 AM Game at 12:00 PM
U13 Strikers Photo at 11:50 AM Game at 1:00 PM
As you can see there will be some overlap for me and so I will be needing help from everyone to make this run smoothly.
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