ECU Spring Season Kicks Off
It was about a year ago… the first surge had kicked in and across the country sports leagues were cancelling games and then eventually, cancelling their seasons. It was pretty dramatic when March Madness just shut down. Here in Eau Claire, we followed guidance and our Spring/Summer and then Fall Eau Claire United seasons were canceled. But, we responded with training following all the appropriate guidelines for social distancing, wearing face masks, and doing our best to keep everyone safe. First, it was Zoom training, then we went outdoors in the fall and trained in socially distanced space. And now over the winter, we have had two groups of approximately 25 players training indoors at the YMCA Sports Center. It has been an evolving process… with guidelines changing, and loosening up as the year progressed. And now, March 2021, a year later, we are about to kick off Eau Claire United Spring/Summer Season. I can’t wait! I can’t wait to watch kids playing soccer outdoors on a big field… against competition. I can’t wait to see their smiling faces… even if that’s thru a mask. I can’t wait for that first goal… and I hope a big celebration by the player and the team. I can wait for that first win… it will feel good. I can’t wait for that first loss… it will suck, but we need to feel that too. I can’t wait to get going again!
It has been a tough year for ECU, both financially and emotionally. It was hard to tell kids we could not play. In other cities and other states, practice and games continued… so that was confusing to administrators, coaches, parents and players. Other sports kept playing, I guess different organizations had different guidance from their National Leadership, and some were just local leagues without a State or National organization providing the guidance… and that was confusing to parents, players, coaches and our administrators too. To play or not to play… that was the question. And now a year later we are about to start it all back up. Some of the impact of the past year… our club is a bit smaller. Kids found other things to do in the past year, in some cases other sports that were still playing games. Families discovered they actually liked having free weekends with no soccer… crazy I know!! As well, no ECU tournament last year to bring in revenue for the club, so that’s been a challenge to navigate. But here we are. We made it thru. And now we begin the process of building again. If you have a good product, the kids will come, so that is the focus.
From a coach’s perspective, it has been interesting to watch it all develop. No games is hard for a coach. But the other reality is, we did a pretty decent job given the circumstances. I can honestly say, during Zoom and then during the fall outdoor training….players skills improved. The feet looked better, the touches improved, the passing improved. Now… I didn’t get to see that in a game, so it will be very interesting to see how it all translates this spring when we play. We designed training sessions to build players skills. We focused on ball control, ball mastery and small sided games…..RONDOS…..to develop the full player. And now, we get the chance to see how we did. I can only use the winter training as a gauge. This was the closest thing to a “normal” season I have seen since we shut down. The players were energized, excited and working hard. From the first session to the last, you could see them develop. Now I also need to admit, it looked a little rough in the first few sessions. It took us some time and focus and effort… coaches and players… to get back into the flow. But then, boom! There it was, a Rondo session that was just cooking. The ball was moving, the passes were crisp, the focus was intense… it looked like soccer!
The last day of the winter training, we played a full field game for the last 30 minutes. A “real game”, yes, we played a real game. The first 10 minutes, yep, you guessed it, it was rough, it didn’t flow, the players were playing as individuals. Makes sense, that’s kind of what we had focused on the past year. But then, it just started to change, the players “remembered” the team shape, passing combinations, working together. And most of all… they remembered the competition part of the game. As a coach, it was pretty cool to watch it developing. For the older group, it got pretty exciting. As the clock was winding down on the second 15 minutes, the yellow team was down a few goals… but then boom!… they scored and the intensity picked up… and then boom again!, score tied. As the clock ticked down, the coaches yelled out… “next goal wins”… and things really picked up. Over the next 5 minutes, there were 4 or 5 almost goals, a few great stops and a few just a bit wide. And then it happened, a little break away, a slotted pass, a shot… and a winning goal! And then what happened next, I didn’t expect. The winning team erupted in joy… high fives, yells, excitement, cheering… it was like they had just won the World Cup. It was so cool! Pure joy and excitement… and that was the missing element and the final piece to the puzzle. Soccer is back! ECU is back! We are ready to go and find some more of those moments. Thanks for hanging in there with us. We are ready to roll!
Wisconsin High School Soccer
I have been trying to keep up and track down updates on our local High School seasons. The information is still a bit sketchy, for me a least. We may have a few parents with high school players who can help out here, but here is what I have gathered.
High School Boys will have a season that runs April and May. Hearing it will be local Big Rivers games and maybe some quads as well. Not yet sure if it will finish with an “official” State tournament yet…they did have one in the fall, so not sure they would do another one in the spring. ECU is putting together a Summer session for High School Boys as well, with tournaments late May and thru June.
High School Girls season starts with tryouts the week of April 26th and a condensed season that runs in May and June. A combination or Big Rivers games and quads along with a season ending State tournament. It could run well into June if they progress deep into the tournament. ECU is reviewing ideas post the high school season to put together something for the ladies. More to follow.
Premier League Update
The Premier League enters Match Week 30 starting next Saturday. Teams are on an international break this week as National Teams play friendlies and World Cup qualifiers. Just 8 weeks left in the season and here is where things stand currently. Manchester City has taken full control of the season and it will be very difficult to challenge them for the title. They are looking for a really big year…Premier League…FA Cup…League Cup….Champions League quadruple. Not sure who can stop them. The top 4 race is heating up. There are 7 teams with a legit shot at finishing in the top 4 behind Manchester City. And most of these are all within 2-3 points of the Top 4. It is going to get exciting from here to the finish. Only 11 points separate positions 2-8. Only 5 separate 4-8.
Race for the Top 4. W-D-L
- Manchester City 22-5-3 71 Points
- Manchester United 16-9-4 57 Points
- Leicester City 17-5-7 56 Points
- Chelsea 14-9-6 51 Points
- West Ham 14-7-8 49 Points
- Tottenham 14-6-9 48 Points
- Liverpool 13-7-9 46 Points
- Everton 14-4-10 46 Points (but one game to make up)
Relegation Zone. Sheffield United and West Bromich Albion seem locks to drop down with only 14 and 18 points respectively. But the third relegation spot will be a battle. Fulham have 26 points and Newcastle have 28 points. One will stay up and one will drop. It will be close the rest of the way.
FA Women’s Super League
The women’s league is rolling along and the top teams are starting g to separate from the pack. Chelsea, last year’s champion, has risen to the top of the table. They are quickly becoming the dominate force in women’s professional soccer. Here are the op 4 after 18 games.
- Chelsea 15-2-1 47 Points
- Manchester City 14-3-1 45 Points
- Manchester United 12-2-4 38 Points
- Arsenal 11-2-4 35 Points
Champions League Update
UEFA Women’s Champion’s League. The women’s tournament is in the Quarter Finals….8 teams remaining. The first round of the Quarter Finals have been completed. Here are the Round 1 Results.
- Barcelona 3 v. Manchester City 0
- Chelsea 2 v. Wolfsburg 1
- Lyon 1 v. Paris 0
- Bayern 3 v. Rosengard 0
UEFA Men’s Champions League. The men’s tournament is also in the quarter finals and the first round of games is April 6/7th. Here are the match ups.
- Real Madrid v. Liverpool
- Manchester City v. Dortmund
- Bayern v. PSG
- Porto v. Chelsea
FA Cup Update
And then there were 4. The FA Cup moves to Wembley for the Semi-finals on April 17/18th. Three of the current top 4 teams in the Premier League have advanced along with “underdog” Southampton, sitting in 14th in the current table. It should be 2 really good games.
April 17th Chelsea vs. Manchester City
April 18th Leicester City vs. Southampton
Team of the Month
US Women’s National Team. The Team of the Month, based on their performance in the She Believes Cup in February and the fact that they are still fighting for gender/pay equity for both themselves and women across the world, is the US Women’s National Team. In the 6th Edition of the She Believes Cup, the US team won again, their 4th overall and back to back titles. Featuring 4 top women’s teams including, Brazil, Argentina and Canada, the She Believes Cup is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the best women’s teams in the world. The US finished 3-0 and the winner of the Cup in 2021. And they continue to battle for equality for women in sports and across the workplace. They are still engaged in a legal battle with US soccer and have made some small victories, but it is still pretty amazing the disparity in the pay scale. Both teams represent the US Soccer Federation…they have the same boss and work for the same company basically, but the results and salaries paid are significantly different. The
Women’s team has an amazing recored of success, are the #1 team in the world the past 5-6 years, have won 4 World Cups, 4 Olympics, with only 1 loss in the past 4 years. I think they are the most dominant team in all of sport right now, all of sports, men’s or women’s….not just soccer, every sport. But they are not paid that way….making approx. 1/2 what men’s teams players make, on a team that is middle of the road in the World Rankings….so, here’s to the USWNT. Think about it…how many members of the USMNT can you name? Christian Pulisic, Sergino Dest come to mind, maybe Zach Steffan too. On the women’s side….Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Kristie and Sam Mewis, Rose Lavelle, Christen Press, Tobin Heath, Crystal Dunn and Julie Ertz come to mind pretty quickly. Just sayin’. A great victory last month and a shout out to fighting for gender equality. It’s time you got paid!
More posts to follow, getting back into the swing, so keep visiting. Thank You for the support!