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.