Okay, I think it’s time for some action. It seems pretty clear the Social Distancing and Stay at Home orders will continue thru April….and May….well, maybe into May as well. I am hearing some rumors that MYSA may be thinking about having a shortened season May-June but I think everything is still up in the air. We have talked on the site about what’s next.

Training on your own is really our only option currently….will we be able to meet in groups, very small groups, in the near future? Can we train using social distance rules….all good questions….but for now, it’s really up to each individual player to find some time to build their skills.

So let’s talk about that.

What should you or could you be doing in the next month while we see where this thing goes, is a season possible. Every player is faced with the same dilemma…..how can I stay sharp…..how can I keep or even build my skills, especially for players about to advance into High School. The one element we don’t have is live game play and we know that’s ultimately the best teacher but we do have some options.

Skill Building Options

I will keep it pretty simple…I think there are three basic options that every player can work on. Ball Mastery…Juggling….and Passing. Here is the thing, the first two you can do by yourself. As we discussed last post, do you have a ball, do you have a basement or yard or garage, and do you have some time. I know you have some time and pretty sure you have the others as well. Even with no other equipment, no cones, you should be good to go.

BALL MASTERY. Let’s start with Ball Mastery. ECU has been posting some really cool videos the past few weeks. Rippin’ it with Rips. Tuesday Skill building sessions with Shamus, Susie, JD, AK and others are out there. Please take a few minutes to check out the ECU Facebook site (ECU Communities 715) for some inspiration. I must say, I love the videos people have been sending into the site. Kids are doing it….they are training, they are working on their skills and I LOVE IT!! I am not as brave as JD or Susie or Rip or AK. I applaud you guys, well done, impressive. You should give yourself a ton of credit for stepping up for the club. Appreciate you! I am taking a little different path. I have been checking out YouTube and there is a ton of training stuff there, with really high quality videos showing and demonstrating skills and techniques….way better than I could ever do. I know….not as personal as if I did it….but hey, I am just a coach…I always got my kids to do the demonstrating at practice. I am leaving the demos up to the youngsters. I have found a few I think are awesome and really cover the Ball Mastery component of the training you can execute.

OMG! Amazing feet. The first 10-12 are super foundational moves. Things I have been coaching my whole life…inside cuts…outside cuts, sole rolls, toe taps, croquetas, push pull, etc. Some of these moves are pretty mind blowing. This dude has really really good Ball Mastery. 50 different moves….wow!! Pretty inspirational and worth a shot. If you are planning to train a bit, get your phone out, watch the video and then get to work. You can follow right along. 30 minutes of even the first 10-15 exercises will increase your ball mastery and confidence on the field.

I know…50 seems a bit overwhelming and a bit daunting. And he moves it along pretty quick, not sure you are catching all the steps in the move. Ahhh….you want less. Okay, I hear you. Let’s try just 10 moves and a little more time explaining the moves so you can really follow along. Same guy, same amazing feet and some really nice boots as well. Check it out.

JUGGLING. Let’s move on the juggling. I think coaches just assume players know how to juggle. I have found even at the older age groups, that is just not the case. Juggling a soccer ball can be hard. It is a process and takes time and I know….it can be frustrating. But hey, right now you are on your own, no one watching, so no big deal if you are not great right away. You have time to get better and now is a great time to improve your juggling. With every team I’ve coached I have 2-3 really good jugglers but a whole bunch of others who struggle to get past 15-20 juggles. It’s hard. It takes practice. I am going to assume nothing….let’s start with the basics so you feel comfortable. Check it out.

Okay…you got that down. Now on to the coolest juggling trick….that I have never mastered personally, but I am excited to see you guys kick it!. The “Around The World Juggle”. Here is a step by step on how to master this skill. I can’t wait to see if my team can do it once we are back together. And by the way, Juggling really improves your confidence and translates to ball control on the field, winning 50/50 balls, helps with volleys and shooting as well and it’s really cool if you can pull off more than 50. I had two videos last post of a few of my U13 players hitting 79. You can do it!

PASSING. So lets talk about the last one. I know your first question….don’t you need two players to pass. Well, that makes it easier, but if you can’t get someone….a brother, sister or parent. then maybe a wall in your basement, a wall in your garage, a wall at the side of the house….as long as mom and dad say its okay. Passing and Receiving are so fundamental to the game and now is a great time to work on it. Using proper technique to execute a push pass and also how to receive a vall and keep it close to our feet.

Let’s start with the basics again. In the video they do a nice job….I’ll just add a few thoughts. You notice in the video the toe on the passing foot is either level to the ground or slightly raised. That’s important for control. As well, they hit the ball at the equator. That’s important to keep the ball on the ground and not hopping on you. The placement of the plant foot…pointing at the target…and having the passing foot at the 90 degree angle and really critical for accuracy! You can do it!!

So that was a great tutorial on short passes, using the side foot or a Push Pass. Let’s take a quick look a long passes or Driven Balls. A bit different technique. Check out the video .

So, now we make a few changes. Plant foot is further away from the ball, 6″ in the video. I want to point out a few things. First….weight is back. You can actually see the trainer leaning back as they strike the ball. This is important to get lift. They do a nice job showing you foot placement. Rather than side foot….you roll your foot over to catch the laces area. The video shows some good stop frame on this to follow. Second…the follow thru. It is very low. The kicking foot stays low and has a short follow thru. The tip on ball spin versus a flat ball is right on. As you master longer passes, you’ll want to experiment hitting the ball low with your foot just scraping the ground…this does create back spin. If you catch the ball slightly higher….but still well below the equator…the ball comes out flat with no spin and can go farther and with more pace. A true driven ball!!

So…there you go. BALL MASTERY…JUGGLING…PASSING. These are three very important elements to the game and all three you can work on by yourself. Maybe each week you train on all three areas once a week. If you can dedicate 30 minutes to an hour three times a week….your game will significantly improve. I won’t complain if you train everyday, but we did pick three areas….so three trainings a week seems like a good start.

One last note…CONDITIONING.

It is hard to stay in shape when you are not training consistently. Conditioning is so important in soccer so you’ll need to find a way to keep up your conditioning so that if the season does kick off in May….you’ll be ready. So many options here but I’ll mention just a few quick ones. Every athlete is at a different place for conditioning so you’ll want to set individual goals for sure.

GO FOR A RUN. Once a week a 1-2 mile run will be awesome to keep you conditioned. Especially if you are doing the three trainings a week mentioned above, running once a week you serve you well. Again, everyone is different, but 8 minute miles is pretty good. Mark off a mile with help from mom and dad…and go for a run. You’ll improve quickly…track your times and set a goal!

GO FOR A BIKE RIDE. A long bike ride would serve you well. Find a safe spot to ride around your neighborhood. Set the gears so its hard to peddle and go for it. A 30 minute ride is awesome. If you can’t do that safely, maybe mom or dad have a stationary bike you can try!

SPRINT/SUICIDES. If you are feeling really motivated and really brave then we have this one for you. Sprint/Suicides. This will rock your world and give you a great conditioning workout and get you a little sweaty.

Find some space in the yard or a playground. Set 4 cones or markers at 10 yard increments. Set them at 10-20-30 and 40 yards. From the start line, Sprint to marker 1 and back to the start….sprint to marker 2 and back to the start….sprint to marker 3 and back to the start and finally sprint to the final marker 4 and back to the start. The goal is a 30/90 ratio. 30 seconds to complete the sprint and then 90 seconds of rest. The goal is to complete 10 rounds under 30 seconds. You may not be there at first but just see how it goes. How long does it take on your 10th round. You will improve rapidly and be at 10 rounds under 30 seconds each in no time!

I think that’s it for now. A complete guide to stay at home training and conditioning. It’s what we have for now and will keep your skills sharp and ready for when our real season begins….whenever that is. As a coach….I just want to coach. And for a little bit longer that is going to look different. I hope you will give this a shot and find the time each week. Remember…..for the next month.

3 Training sessions a week. One each of Ball Mastery, Juggling and Passing and of course one conditioning session a week as well. And maybe, just maybe sometime in May or June we will be able to meet as a team and train together.

Stay safe, stay strong and TRAIN! And a little fun to finish. How about a little motivation. I coach girls so I am partial to the USWNT highlights.

As a coach and proponent of player development, I spend a lot of time thinking about the best way to develop players, improve their skills and give them confidence. Training and drills is an option and definitely part of the process, but playing, that’s where the magic happens. And to increase player touches, small sided soccer on a quick surface adds to that magic….and that’s why I have always been a big fan of Futsal. If we are to develop top quality soccer players in Eau Claire, we need to focus on player development.  We do not have numbers on our side, we just don’t.  Eau Claire has approx. 65,000 and when we add in the surrounding communities we get to maybe 100,000.  The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro market has approx. 3.8M people.  When it comes to resources, available player pool, etc. we can’t compete with that, so, we focus on player development. And Futsal is a great option.

Futsal–A Little Background

Futsal, (literally “mini-football”), is a form of soccer played on a hard court or smooth surface (field turf) that is smaller than a normal soccer pitch and mainly played indoors. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlimited substitutions are permitted. Unlike some other forms of indoor football, the game is played on a surface controlled by lines…..walls or boards are not used. Futsal is also played with a smaller, harder ball.  The surface, ball, and rules create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity, and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces.

I heard about Futsal years ago when I was coaching and started bringing players to the Stillwater Dome over the winter of 2010.  We had a quality group of 8th graders who were looking to prepare themselves for the high school game.  They were also looking for another level of skill and competition to push their development forward. It worked.  The game is fast, fun and forces you to improve your foot skills. Other teams I have coached have joined in the fun and development. Both girls teams I have coached had players participate in the winter program and it was a real boost to their development. I can say that each player involved improved their skill and confidence during the season.

Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center. We do have some options here in Eau Claire and Eau Claire United and the Sports Center have done a great job developing winter leagues for local players to build their game.  The field turf and hard court are fast surfaces that force players to adapt, play quick and develop good feet.  The chance to play over the winter is huge for development, so we have a great resource with the indoor sports center.  So what is the difference in playing Futsal and playing in the indoor leagues at the Sports Center.  Basically it is the field size, ball and structure of the sports center fields with walls.  Traditional Futsal has lines and no walls.  Players tend to use the walls to pass or to beat a defender.  Your pass does not need to be as accurate when there are walls, the ball always stays in play, so there are no penalties for a poor pass.  The ball used is also a big difference.  Futsal uses a smaller, harder, heavier ball.  The concept is the ball stays on the ground and does not bounce as much.  It promotes passing and quick play.  The standard ball tends to bounce around and players are forced to get the ball back on the ground in order to play quick.  5v5 is also a great concept.  4 players on the field mean a ton of touches for every player.  The only other difference is the competition.  The Futsal games in the Cities provide an opportunity to test yourself against the best players in that area, clubs like Salvo and St. Croix and others all have teams participate.  No walls replicates the full game much better and really forces the players to focus on touch and passing to feet.  Both Futsal and Indoor Sports Center provide great winter options.  Either option, a Futsal league or winter leagues at Sports Center provide great opportunities to develop skills. We are pretty fortunate in a small town to have an indoor facility for winter work…maybe someday there will be a true indoor soccer facility without walls….but until I hit the lottery we are thankful for the Sports Center.

U14 Girls.  A group of players from the U14G team has joined a Futsal league the past two years.  I have the pleasure of coaching the girls for ECU and recently had an opportunity to watch them play one of their Futsal games. They have 6-7 girls and play 5 v 5 at the Stillwater Dome. The other thing I love is their concept for rotation.  The team plays a 1-3 or 2-2 formation.  About every two minutes or so, they rotate.  The player coming into the game goes into the defensive spot.  All the other players rotate clockwise and one of the offensive players comes off the field.  The concept is simple…force the players to play every position to build their game. It is noticeable when a player gets “out of position”.  Defenders are uncomfortable playing up top on offense.  Forwards are uncomfortable playing back on defense as the lone defender.  But in this case, being uncomfortable is a good thing.  It forces growth and development. Games are 25 minute halves so lots of touches, passes and game play. I also love there is no coaching.  The girls coach themselves.  The parent “coaches” are just there to make sure they rotate properly.  Great to see the girls learning the game and pushing each other.  The game is the best teacher.  In all the videos you will see below, not one coach yelling to make a pass.  It is all about the girls working it out and understanding the flow of the game. Love it!

I had the chance to take some video of the game and wanted to share some of the highlights.  One thing to point out is that as these players move into high school, the game gets faster.  Learning to play quick is good.  Learning to play 1 and 2 touch soccer is critical for success at the next level.  As well, ball movement is critical.  The ball moves faster than players, so if you can move the ball quickly, it is hard to defend and usually leads to a successful outcome.

I dropped this goal in because it shows off something I love in soccer.  Getting lots of players involved and playing fast generally leads to great success. 3 of the 4 field players touch the ball and it all starts with pressing an offensive player to create a turnover and then quickly capitalizing on that. I love that the ball dropped back and that then a player attacked aggressively into space, forced a defender to commit and then played the perfect pass! Boom! Goal! This is the lesson to really learn as you develop as a soccer player.  One v One is fun and required, but for team success, learn to play fast, 1-2 touch soccer and get everyone involved. 

Here is a great example with a shot at the end for a goal. Off a corner, there is a turnover, but then a great defensive step wins back the ball, from there a few quick touches, a great drop pass and then the beauty of the game….an attacking play with quick feet beats a defender and then boom! Another goal! A fun night of soccer and some excellent play as well.  Good stuff and great player development!!

Being a soccer coach has been a real pleasure in my life. It wasn’t planned or expected, I just kind of fell into it as my kids grew up and found the game. I found my first favorite team a few years back coaching my son’s U11 team. A rag tag bunch of kids who were not good enough to make the C1 team and ended up playing in back to back State Tournaments (runner up at U11). A bunch of kids who just loved the game and worked hard all season. It was pretty cool to see several of those boys make it on the High School Varsity squad, become starters and make it to a few State Tournaments with Memorial a few years later. Coaching youth players is like that…can you just give them a few good years and prepare them for the next level….can you inspire them to work hard and develop their skills….and can you balance that out with them having some fun and a great experience along the way.

So that takes me to my latest favorite team, a group of really incredible players I had the good fortune to coach for 4-5 years from U10 and up until they headed off to high school. They are about to try out for their first high school team and I had a recent chance to go watch the core of that team play in a Futsal League game. Coaches are not to supposed to have favorite teams or favorite players, but there just are some groups that stick with you. This was one of those groups. It was the first time I had coached a group of girls and what an experience it turned out to be. Having 3 boys of my own, it was my first time trying to figure out teenage girls. I loved it. I think I got lucky. A group of talented, hard working and respectful players. A bunch of born leaders in the group as well. I can count on one hand the number of bad practices I had in 5 years. Plus there were a ton of great memories; winning seasons, winning tournaments, a bunch of smiling faces and watching the players develop into top notch soccer players. A few of my favorites include watching them as 8th graders playing in the high school league and holding their own, winning a few games, and putting a pretty good scare into the Memorial Freshman and Sophomore teams. Over the past summer, watching them beat a team comprised of current high school players was pretty rewarding. It was the moment I could take a pause, take a deep breath and feel like we did it together….we got them ready for high school.

Now a new challenge awaits these girls and I am really confident they have what it takes. I mentioned to them at the Futsal game I was expecting them to challenge for some Varsity spots in the spring. Not sure they were thinking that, but it was important to put that thought in their minds. Once they accept it as a possibility, and it really is, then they can just relax and play their game and see what happens. My only regret is that I don’t get to coach them anymore. But I do get to keep watching them, cheer them on, maybe offer some advice or a pep talk if they need it, and just appreciate the time I had with them. At the recent Futsal game, I decided to take a little video for the Blog. A trip down memory lane for me. Pretty cool and really proud of them as I watched. Just to see where their games have advanced and how well they played together. While walking off the field I was approached by a father from the opposing team, a St. Croix team of Freshman I think, maybe a few 8th graders that the girls had just dominated. He was asking how old the girls were, I think their parents assumed they were all older, Sophomore or Juniors. When I told him they were all Freshman but had been playing together for 4-5 years, he was a bit surprised, but also, very complementary of their play. “Those girls are pretty good” he said….and I agree, they are pretty good.

Here is some of the video I took. Sorry to Teagan…she scored twice but too fast for me to catch the goals. My bad! Sorry to MJ as well, she really dominated the first half, but I did not get to the video rolling until the second half…was too caught up just watching them play; the teamwork, the passing, the unselfish play, the movement and field awareness. It looked really good. Maybe more than good, it was impressive stuff!

An example of the ball moving really quickly to secure a shot, winning the ball back quickly and then looking for the dangerous thru ball. Didn’t work out, but the movement and thought process is perfect. The combination play between Teagan, Shelby and Grace is really good. All 1 and 2 touch soccer. The ball moves really fast!

This would have been quite the highlight if Shelby scores. More excellent combination play and a great seeking long ball from Greta. What a turn and cutback from Shelby and then….just a few inches lower and that is bar down and the best goal of the game.

Goal Keepers don’t get much love so thought I would share this video. Greta almost scores off the corner but then St. Croix has a nice spell of passing to get an open shot near the box. Addison correctly anticipates the shot and has a nice kick save on what probably should have been a goal.

Dropped this one in as another great example of their play. Greta wins a ball back using really good tackling technique, the ball falls to MJ who immediately plays hard and direct pass to Greta who has advanced down the field. A really nice pass played to feet. Greta traps, turns and shoots before the GK really is aware of what is happening. The touch and control of the ball is really high quality!

So that’s my stroll down memory lane. Not everyone from the team is playing in Futsal, but many of the girls that started as U10 players stuck together. I wish Molly Brickner had been there. Big expectations for her as well. A great player, a real anchor on the back line and one of the team leaders who made my job coaching much easier. A coach on the field who just gets in. Throw in all the other great players who were part of those years and you see why it’s one of my favorites. Just so happens this group of 7 started it all many years ago.

I am working on a new favorite team, coaching U13 Girls with a bunch of gritty, hard working, talented players who just love the game. Sound familiar. Give us another few years and maybe I’ll have a team that might challenge for my all time favorite, but it will be hard to beat that first group of girls. Sorry Austin….I know, I know, you should be my favorite team. Can I have more than 1 favorite team?

Thanks for letting me share.

A few months back we posted a fun idea….ECU Juggle Challenge.  We had MJ pitted against Coach in a one v one battle to the death.  As fate would have it, MJ took down Coach and planted herself as the one to beat.

Thought I would drop in another entry for the crown.  Check out this video of Greta at our recent practice.  She had not warmed up much and I told her I was going to get her on video, grabbed my phone and this is the first take.

Man…pretty impressive.  Lots of touches with both left and right foot, threw in a thigh touch at one point…and made a few really clutch saves!  I got her at 79.  I bet you already know, but guess how many MJ had in the original challenge, yep, you guessed it…79.  So you know we are going to need a showdown to figure out the ultimate Juggle Champ!  Can’t wait!  Way to go Greta!

Okay, you have had your fill of Premier League updates and are looking for something a bit different to keep your attention this winter.  Spring is coming.  High School girls soccer is coming.  But….to try something a little bit different I decided to have a little challenge at a recent training session with the U15 Girls team from ECU.

We work on juggling and foot skills every session.  Seems simple, but actually takes a lot of practice and patience to get good at it.  And controlling the ball with your feet is the core of soccer.  Every now and then we like to test the team and check their development.  So…what better way than a coach vs. player challenge.  We kicked it off last week and I had no idea what would happen.  I told them I was going to take a video of the challenge.  Will they get nervous and not be able to keep it up.  Will it last only 10-15 seconds.  No idea.  But I was pleasantly surprised and excited to see a battle taking place.  The competitive fire kicked in and it was fun to watch.  Check it out.

Molly took on Cooper and it turned out to be quite a battle.  I am not sure Molly’s best ever, but this must be one of her best ever.  Pretty impressive under the pressure of being videotaped.  I counted 79 or 80.  I don’t think Cooper thought he needed to go that long…lost his focus. 🙂  Anyway…the challenge is out there.  Can you beat 80?  Greta…can you take down MJ.  Next training is Wednesday so we will see if anyone wants to challenge MJ.  If you have a video of you want to submit…send it to scottlyonssoccer@gmail.com.

Premier League update later today, but a quick teaser, Manchester United went down today.  Big upset. Huge win for Newcastle that pushed them a few points clear of the relegation zone.

So, if we are to develop top quality soccer players in Eau Claire, we need to focus on player development.  We do not have numbers on our side, we just don’t.  Eau Claire has approx. 65,000 and when we add in the surrounding communities we get to maybe 100,000.  The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro market has approx. 3.8M people.  When it comes to resources, available player pool, etc. we can’t compete with that, so, we focus on player development.

Futsal

So what is Futsal and how can we use the game to develop our players. 

Futsal, (literally “mini-football”), is a form of soccer played on a hard court or smooth surface (field turf) that is smaller than a normal soccer pitch and mainly played indoors. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlimited substitutions are permitted. Unlike some other forms of indoor football, the game is played on a surface controlled by lines; walls or boards are not used. Futsal is also played with a smaller, harder ball.  The surface, ball, and rules create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity, and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces.

I heard about Futsal years ago when I was coaching and started bringing players to the Stillwater Dome over the winter of 2010.  We had a quality group of 8th graders who were looking to prepare themselves for the high school game.  They were also looking for another level of skill and competition to push their development forward. It worked.  The game is fast, fun and forces you to improve your foot skills.

Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center. We do have some options here in Eau Claire and Eau Claire United and the Sports Center have done a nice job developing winter leagues for local players to build their game.  The field turf and hard court are fast surfaces that force players to adapt, play quick and develop good feet.  The chance to play over the winter is huge for development, so we have a great resource with the indoor sports center.  So what is the difference in playing Futsal and playing in the indoor leagues at the Sports Center.  Basically it is the field size, ball and structure of the sports center fields with walls.  Walls make a difference.  Not the good kind.  Players tend to get lazy when there are walls.  Players tend to use the walls to pass off to beat a defender.  Your pass does not need to be as accurate when there are walls, the ball always stays in play, there are no penalties for a poor pass or sloppy touch.  The ball used is also a big difference.  Futsal uses a smaller, harder, heavier ball.  The concept is the ball stays on the ground and does not bounce as much.  It promotes passing and quick play.  The standard ball tends to bounce around and players are forced to get the ball back on the ground in order to play quick.  5v5 is also a great concept.  4 players on the field mean a ton of touches for every player.  The only other difference is the competition.  The Futsal games in the Cities provide an opportunity to test yourself against the best players in that area, clubs like Woodbury, St. Croix and others all have teams participate.  No walls replicates the full game much better and really forces the players to focus on touch and passing to feet.  Both Futsal and Indoor Sports Center provide great winter options.  Definitely play at a minimum in the local indoor leagues to build your game. If you are able and can find 6-7 interested players, I would definitely encourage your team to check out Futsal.

U15 Girls.  A group of players from the U15G team has joined the Stillwater Dome Futsal league the past two years.  I have the pleasure of coaching the girls for ECU and recently had an opportunity to watch them play one of their Futsal games. They have a group of 8 players and generally have 6-7 at each game.  I love their concept for rotation as well.  The team plays a 1-3 formation.  One defender with 3 midfielders across the front.  About every two minutes or so, they rotate.  The player coming into the game goes into the defensive spot.  The defender goes to right mid, right mid goes to center mid, center mid goes to left mid, and the left mid comes out of the game.  Phew…did you follow that….that was interesting to write and maybe hard to follow.  The concept is simple…force the players to play every position to build their game. It is noticeable when a player gets “out of position”.  Defenders are uncomfortable playing up top on offense.  Forwards are uncomfortable playing back on defense as the lone defender.  But in this case, being uncomfortable is a good thing.  It forces growth and development. Games are 25 minute halves so lots of touches, passes and game play. I also love there is no coaching.  The girls coach themselves.  The parent “coaches” are just there to make sure they rotate properly.  Great to see the girls learning the game and pushing each other.  The game is the best teacher.  In all the videos you will see below, not one coach yelling to make a pass.  It is all about the girls working it out and understanding the flow of the game. Love it!

I had the chance to take some video of the game and wanted to share some of the highlights.  One thing to point out is that as these players move into high school, the game gets faster.  Learning to play quick is good.  Learning to play 1 and 2 touch soccer is critical for success at the next level.  As well, ball movement is critical.  The ball moves faster than players, so if you can move the ball quickly, it is hard to defend and usually leads to a successful outcome.

Let’s take a look.  Sorry about the video quality….it is dark in the dome!  And a bit chilly!  On to some highlights.

I dropped this goal in because it shows off something I love in soccer.  You can really get rewarded for hustle and hard work.  As this play develops, MJ could have dropped back and not chased down the ball.  That would be the easy thing to do.  The hard thing was to press and close down the defender, not once….but twice.  The little pressure she puts on the other player forces the turnover and leads to a goal by Greta.  Nice trap, touch and shot by Greta. But ultimately, the play is made by MJ.

Ball movement.  This is the lesson to really learn as you develop as a soccer player.  One v One is fun and required, but for team success, learn to play fast, 1-2 touch soccer and get everyone involved.  I went back and looked at all these plays a few times and in every case, all 4 players on the field touched the ball.  The ball is moving and switching sides and that is hard to defend and almost always leads to a shot.

Here is a great example with a shot at the end by Nevaeh. Only one player touches it twice, Addison, and that was a nice turn and layoff by her.  Good soccer!

Here is another good example. The ball is settled by the defender, nice trap Addy, and then played forward.  After that, it is all one touch soccer.  The ball is moving constantly and leads to a great shot by Molly.  Great work ladies!  Again, also notice, every player on the field touches the ball.  Really good stuff.

So I dropped this one in for another great example of ball movement. We coach that if the ball can’t go forward, then just drop it and start over.  MJ makes a nice wide pass to Molly who does a great job of dropping a pass to the defender Greta, who swings it opposite to Shelby for a powerful shot on goal.  Nice save or that was going in! As well, if you listen closely, you will hear a player shouting, “Shoot”.  Pretty sure that is Molly.  She is the “coach” on the field.  Love it when I hear her calling out plays, positions, encouragement, etc.  You don’t want to disappoint her either, she is a bulldog out there.

Here is the last example.  This turned out to be a really good game and was tied late in the second half.  ECU kept pressing and playing good soccer and then came up with the game winner.  It really is just a culmination of all the things we have been discussing. Every player touches the ball.  There are 5 passes before the shot.  The ball starts on the far left and the shot is taken from the far right.  They actually score two on this one, Greta’s shot crosses but was not called a goal, Addy, follows it up and jams it in for the game winner.  Great work by the whole team.

So there you have it.  A fun night of soccer and some excellent play as well.  Turns out the team we played was all high school girls and mostly sophomores with a few juniors.  We thought they looked bigger than our girls (mostly 8th graders).  In Futsal, skill and quality of play are important.  Maybe on a full size field, 11 v 11, the older girls win, but on a smaller field, with Futsal rules, ECU was the better side with better skill and team play.  Fun night and great to see all the girls developing their games.

So what do you do after playing hard and having some fun on the soccer pitch.  Of course, only one option….ICE CREAM at Culver’s.  What a group.  What wonderful players. Awesome kids and great families.  A joy to coach.  I can’t wait till they get to play High School soccer.  It’s going to be fun!