Week Four. Three Wins!

The U4 Green Slime were on fire this week with some brilliant play that lead to at least four goals. Prior to the game I reminded the kids about the trouble they'd had the week before with getting in each others' way and admonished them to keep looking around to see where their teammates were. Well, they executed that better than I could have expected and I saw them consistently making the effort to get ahead of the ball rather than simply chasing it. Eileen made a great run to the goal as Mason brought the ball up the left side and Mason's pass was right to her feet for an easy shot. Later Mason fed another great pass in to Maddox for a goal. Diego managed a couple on his own with more of that great, patient ball handling of his. He really seems to see a few moves ahead.
Delaney had her best game yet with one sustained run with the ball. Abby was having a much better time this week than last and she shows great potential in practice where she is very interested in working the ball around with her feet. Right now though she's still a bit uncertain about running into the midst of the crowd. Mason was in a head on collision that demonstrated why Abby's attitude is prudent. He dealt with that crash bravely but needed to sit out the final quarter to recuperate. It was a shame Mason got knocked out of the game because he and Maddox were developing some sort of give-and-go play that worked for them twice in a row. Both times Mason ran into a wall of defenders near the glass and smartly turned back to pass the ball(to drop it, as we say in soccer) to Maddox who was a few yards behind him. Each time Maddox calmly settled the ball then turned toward the center of the field and passed the ball up to his open teammates. It's a thrill to see players developing that sort of instinctive teamwork.
The other star of the game was Ashley who had a goal and who was doing great work with the ball. She is so fast and can turn so quickly with the ball. She just needs to develop the kind of confidence in her skills that Diego has then she will easily run around defenders and she'll be putting up hat-tricks every week.
We play at 10:10 next week.

Oh, those Sharks. I'll admit that they had me frustrated last week. They were playing their best opponent and didn't put in their best effort, but I did feel that they were playing loose and having fun. They were just unfocused. This week they were very focused and both line-ups just played brilliantly the whole game. We work on game strategy a bit in practice because I think they can handle a bit of it. Our expectations are high because they are a talented and motivated bunch. But when you actually see them, these little kids, playing as a unit like a pack of wolves, and yet they're still loose and laughing with each other and squealing like the kids they are it just takes your breath away. When Elizabeth pulled the ball out of the corner and calmly dropped it to Austin who then smartly passed the ball to the eighteen for Sam E. I was cheering like I was at a World Cup game. It was just beautiful.
The first and third quarter line-up was Brandon, Luke, Sam A., Samuel, Kendall and Braiden. Kendall was in at keeper and the other team's only point came on an own-goal when Brandon did the smart thing by passing the ball back to her. Unfortunately Braiden was in tight to the goal on defense and shielded Kendall from seeing the pass which got by her and into the net. That happens. They were all three playing solid defense but just ran into some bad luck. After that they got the ball out into the other team's end and rarely let it back across the half-line. Sam A. was doing great work sweeping back and forth in midfield and his anticipation is fantastic. The goal for this group came on a nice play where Brandon carried the ball into the corner on the right then brought it through a couple of defenders toward the goal where he let go a great pass to the middle which Samuel easily deposited in the net. Luke had a couple of great chances at goals but got blocked by some tough play from their keeper. Braiden was doing a great job in defense, covering for Brandon in the first quarter when Brandon bolted up into offense, then showing Samuel the ropes in the third quarter. Before the whistle that quarter Samuel asked me what he was supposed to do. "What's defense?" he asked. I told him to just keep the other team from getting the ball to our goal. The other team's best player probably had two inches and ten pounds on Samuel but he did as I asked him and blocked that kid repeatedly, just getting in his way over and over again and stealing the ball. Awesome.
The second/fourth quarter group was Sam E., Austin, Elizabeth, Jackson, Aiden and Ryland. Ryland gave us a solid start in keeper allowing Jackson to play out in that sweeping midfield spot. Aiden and Ryland held down the defensive side solidly allowing Jackson to focus on keeping the ball up in the other half where Sam, Austin and Elizabeth could run their give-and-go drill offense. Austin was the main beneficiary with two impressive goals. On the first Austin dribbled through a couple of defenders to get to the left side of the goal and then fired in a low shot from a very shallow angle that still got past the keeper and into the net. Sam, Austin and Elizabeth were talking to each other constantly and shouting out for passes. Amazing play.
In the last quarter while Sam E. did get a great shot in from way out it was really Jackson's turn to shine and he made some moves to get past defenders that were just fabulous including a little twist-off that faked the nearest defender right out of his shoes. On an earlier run Jackson had shown some unusual speed coming along the wall on the left of the goal and after bulling his way past a defender he went one on one with the goalie and put the ball in. If he hadn't gotten that one we'd have scored anyway as Aiden was right there to get the rebound. Great stuff.

Before the game I asked the Green Wave: to remember what we did in practice and to try to put that to work in the game.
They did that for the most part and the result was a very nice win in which they maintained possession of the ball most of the game and had a lot of good attempts on goal. It was great to have Lydia back to demonstrate for everyone what good ball handling looks like. Twice she dribbled around the last defender to go one on one with the keeper and she'd have had two easy goals if she had just taken a few more steps toward the goal before shooting. Gabrielle was leading the offense, mainly with her speed and had a nice goal from distance. Zach, Logan, Cody and Nabil each had nice turns in midfield and our midfield play was really our strength in this game and we made it so hard for the other team to get anything started or to even get over the half-line. Cody had what would have been our fifth goal but it was disallowed as Cody went into just a bit of a slide to kick the ball and in indoor that's a no-no. Still, it was a great effort. At practice this week we'll be working on learning to use our bodies more effectively to corral the ball. If we add that skill to the ones the kids are already developing we should be in great shape.

Week Three.

The U4 Green Slime were getting in their own way a lot this week as evidenced by the three own-goals they put in. The whole game had a strange feel to it. The kids seemed glad to be out and running around but they weren't, as a group, very intent on working together to score. There were some flashes of brilliance though, including Diego's three goals and some good ball handling by Mason. But there was also a lot of random running and Green on Green ball theft.

The two things I talk to the kids most about on the field are the tendency some of them have to run around sort of blindly without knowing where the ball is. I'm glad they're running and getting some exercise but I want them to be more constantly involved in the game as we go week to week. It's a slow process and I know that at this point some of the kids still don't fully grasp the concept of the game so patience is the thing. The other issue is the tendency all players have to get tunnel vision when they are close to the ball and fail to notice that their own teammates may already be on the ball or may even be on track to take a shot. We had a lot of this in this week's game with several of our runs and shots being blocked by our own players. This type of situational awareness takes a long time to develop and it's an issue that I've had to work on with kids all the way up to the U12 level. I've come to think that the thing that will really help players get past this phase is watching more soccer being played. This gives them the chance to see how a team stays spread out while still attacking. If you see a game on TV try to get your player to watch a few minutes and talk to them about what they are seeing if you can.

The Sharks had a similarly disorganized game and with this team it's really frustrating because I have gotten used to seeing them play as a team. The game as a whole had a weird feel to it and of course we had the strange coincidence of hitting two different goalies in the face with shots. I think that threw me off a bit but didn't bother the kids at all. Oh well, we aren't going to be sharp every game. Like the U4 team, the Sharks seemed very energetic but not particularly focused. It was good to have Jackson and Elizabeth back. They played beautifully and I'll have a better line-up worked out for next week that takes better advantage of having those two back on the field. Sam and Elizabeth managed the goals for us.

While the Green Wave took a loss they played well and with lots of energy. They executed most of what they had worked on in practice and I was really happy to see that. The forward line was especially improved as they stayed spread out and consistently worked to make good passes in to the middle. It seemed that in the fourth quarter Gabby, Logan and Kylie had about a dozen chances in the middle but not a lot of luck. I was also very happy to see some players beginning to attempt to carry the ball around the defense rather than simply kicking it away. Logan and Jake were particularly tenacious in that respect with Jake realizing how to use the wall to his advantage and Logan developing a little slant move that got him into the open a couple of times. That was a good game really and the kids never gave in. I think we'll devote some time to defense at this week's practice.

Week Two. Three for Three.

The U4 Green Slime had another great game with strong play from everyone and goals from Diego, Mason, Maddox and Ashley. The thing we were working on most in the game was learning to run while still keeping an eye on the ball. Some players get this already while some need to be reminded occasionally but for the most part the Slime are way ahead of the curve on this. We also got to see Diego, Mason and Ashley all moving into position for shots near the goal while one of their teammates brought the ball up. I'm really proud of how disciplined this team is at practice. They focus well and put in lots of good work. That will all pay off quickly I think. Great work Slime!

The U6 Sharks were a little over-energized this week and if they hadn't pulled themselves together late in the game they might have lost 0-1 on an own goal! But they did get it together eventually and managed a 2-1 victory with some great team play, some excellent defense and some good work in goal. Kendall was doing great work trying to improve her dribbling and she had some great possessions. Ryland played some great defense for us and was really developing a good sense of how to track the ball from that position. Samuel played with amazing toughness for his size and was involved in several multi-player spills and each time he jumped right up and kept going. While Brandon had some trouble with direction a few times he also made a bunch of great clearing kicks and that left foot of his should eventually get us some goals. Sam and Austin teamed up to get us our goals and Sam had the funniest play of the game when he headed a fly ball down to his own feet. Crazy game Sharks, but in the end a good one.

It was a big win for the Green Wave today as they faced a team that was, for lack of a better word, inexperienced and just enough so to allow the Wave to stretch out and test their various skills. Most importantly they were trying, with Coach Dave and I pressing them constantly, to stay in their respective positions and open the field up somewhat. The result was some very nice goals from Zach, Morgan, Gabrielle, Kylie and Nabil. Nabil's was a great surprise as he came out of midfield to cover the far post when no one else was in position. The result was an easy tap in that he put in the back of the net. Aiden was also learning how to sneak up from that midfield position to steal a chance at a shot and he nearly had one. Great work guys.
Last week we saw Gabrielle showing off her speed. This week it was Kylie's turn and on her best run of the game she really turned it on and managed a little move to her right to pass the last defender. After that it was just the goalie to beat and a deft flick with her right foot put the ball under the goalie's hand and into the net. Logan had a similar run that culminated in a good change of direction move around a defender. We need to see more of that sort of control from everyone. There was great play all around this game and hopefully this week's practice will be a great opportunity to build on what they learned in this game. Practice is from 7:00 to 8:00 this week and Coach Dave will be in charge.

Spring Soccer. Week One.

The Wednesday night U4 clinic was a huge success with the kids having a great time and the parents and Coaches all having an opportunity to meet. I know that the actual games on Saturday may have seemed like some barely controlled chaos to many parents but the early start in acclimating the kids that we got with the clinic was a big help. With kids this age the main thing is repetition and routine and while at first many of the kids don't seem to even be aware that there is a game going on they will over time, I promise you, start to get it. It's just a process that requires patience. So don't give up.

The first weekend of a session is always a bit hectic as we get shirts handed out and put players together with Coaches they haven't met yet. As a result, even though I love coaching my head is usually in two places at once on opening weekend. With that in mind please forgive me if I don't remember every highlight of each of the games.

Your U4 Slime got started by choosing their name. I expected some vegetable or fruit based name to win the vote but Green Slime was suggested and easily gained approval. Our team lost a few players, some of whom moved up to U6 (more on that later). But the core group of Ashley, Diego and Eileen remained strong with Diego putting in another hat-trick of goals. After his last he came charging back to the center pumping his fist and doing his best Andres Cantor impersonation. "Goooooooooooooooal"! Ashley was doing her usual excellent ball handling work but is still working on finding the goal. I've never seen a player her size cut and turn the ball so well.
Our new players were Abby, Mason, Lincoln and Delaney and they all did very well. Mason and Lincoln each had a couple of assists and I'm sure Mason had at least one goal. Delaney ran after the ball a lot which is a good beginning and Abby was also getting after it a lot too. As a team the Slime were also doing some great work with players moving into position away from the ball quite a lot and that is a huge step in their understanding of the game. That's the aspect of their development that we will work on most during the games, their ability to see where they need to go when they don't have the ball. In practice we will always work on fundamental skills and never talk about game situations. But once the game starts I will be constantly talking to the players about where they need to move to. So if you see your player run away from the ball they may be doing that because I asked them to.

Wearing green didn't pacify the Sharks. They were on the attack, as usual. Sam E. and Austin led that attack and their level of team work continues to amaze. On one particular play Austin dashed into the corner on our own side and recovered the ball. He then calmly turned back to the field and scanned about to find Sam. When he found him he made a quick, accurate pass to Sam in the middle and then bolted up the side line to get in position. By the end of the session these two will be running give-and-goes, pick-and-rolls and ally-oups like pros. Kendall was right in their with them and on her three best runs she was working hard to pick up her pace. By the last possession she had she was moving with the ball at nearly her best running speed. Her confidence is really growing fast. On two of those runs she took the ball all the way to the other goal and made good passes in. Really great plays.
With those three in together Sam E. managed three goals and was really feeling his kick. He even surprised himself a few times with the velocity he put on the ball. But the best goal of the game had to be from our youngest player, Samuel, who made a very heads-up play on an outlet throw from the other goalie. Samuel was about five yards out and watching the goalie closely. When the goalie made a weak throw right at him Samuel stepped up and struck it firmly while it was still in the air and drove the ball into the net. Pretty nice work for a kid who just moved up early from U4.
Luke was in good form this game and had one goal. Brandon was back with us after a layoff and he stepped right into the sweeping midfielder role. He's got the foot for it and with Brennan taking the session off we really needed someone to cover that spot. Aiden was back after a layoff too and he and Ryland, another new player, were doing great work in defense. Ryland especially made very rapid progress in learning to track the ball from the backfield and always being in position to intercept the attack.
So, we've got a great team with some very skilled players and some very enthusiastic rookies. What are we going to work on this session since we get some practice time? We obviously will be devoting lots of time to fundamental ball skills but we are also going to be working with the kids on some basic passing strategies (I wasn't kidding about the give-and-goes). As we progress this season I'd like to see the Sharks doing even more dribbling and passing to move the ball and I'm sure they can do it.

Our U8 team chose the name Green Wave and that turned out to be a great choice as they really did a great job repeatedly crashing into the other side's end. This team is a new team. Some of the kids know each other. Some have played before, some not so much. None of them have played together as a team. Before the game I let them know that the team we were facing was clearly the best team they would meet and so I didn't want them to worry about the score but to just commit to doing the things I was asking them to do and to play with all the energy they had and have fun. Well, that's what they did and while the other team did manage seven goals they didn't have an easy time doing it. The Wave pressed them hard, especially in the midfield and while we don't have any really experienced goalies we did have plenty of enthusiasm there. We'll be focusing on those goalie skills during this next practice along with some fundamental ball skills. We did see lots of great passing for a team that is just getting to know each other and an amazing number of shots on goal. That game could easily have ended with the Wave being within a goal or two.
Everyone played well and here is what I noticed about this new team:
Jake had his best game ever and had at least three good shots on goal,
Logan was tenacious on defense,
Gabrielle was great up front and is amazingly fast,
Lydia is really tireless and a great ball handler,
Jordyn and Montana both did good work in goal and Jordyn showed some surprising patience while dribbling the ball,
Cody, like Logan, was also a defensive pain to the other side,
Nabil and Aiden worked well together as a fullback tandem,
And Zachary really led the team with his fierce play, attacking the ball at every opportunity and making some great saves on defense and putting the ball up into position on offense.

All in all I was really impressed with how well they played and I can tell you that the other team's best player was feeling genuinely frustrated by how well he was being defended. Thanks to Ashley's dad, David, for helping out on the bench. He's going to help out at practice too and I expect those practices to be very effective. See everyone then.

Session Schedule

The link at the right leads to the NKYA soccer schedule. When you get there it will be in a printable form so you can print off a copy if you need one.

Our team color this session will be Green, which is nice for Spring. At practice Monday I did end the practice by asking the kids to spend some time each day doing the toe tap drill. I encourage everyone to try to do that. It only takes about ten minutes a day but it will really help them over time to be more comfortable with the ball at their feet.

See you all this weekend for some soccer!

Spring Session

The Spring session will begin the weekend of April 9th. I'll be contacting everyone as soon as I have rosters and schedules.

In the mean time practice those toe taps, do your change of direction drill and play some shooting gallery!

USA v Argentina

Tonight we have an international friendly featuring USA v Argentina as the USA men's team begins developing their roster for CONCACAF and World Cup qualifying. Landon Donovan is expected to appear for USA along with Tim Howard and other star players from last year's World Cup team. Argentina will feature soccer genius Lionel Messi.
The weather conditions will definitely favor USA and this should be a good game. Check it out. 7:00 PM on ESPN.

UPDATE! USA 1, Argentina 1.