Winter Storm in the NE - Jefferson Cup Cancels Some Boys Flights

So they cancelled some boys flights at the Jefferson Cup for this coming weekend (March 17 and 18).  There's bad winter storm coming through the NE and I think many fields were in too poor of a condition to play all the game this weekend. 

I checked the forecast for next weekend when the girls tournament takes place.  Looks like low to mid 70s! 

I have three more training sessions with the girls prior to making the trip out east.  It worked out well last Saturday for us to be in Shattuck for the friendlies as we were able to give our U13 White team the full 1/2 dome on Saturday morning so they could prep on a larger field for a tournament in Indianapolis this weekend.  Since they will be gone, we will be able to use 1/2 of the dome Saturday, and it's our turn to train late and use 1/2 the dome next Tuesday.  Our third session will be Futsal Training this Sunday. 

I haven't yet decided what I'll cover in our final two dome training sessions before the event, and I'll try to put some thought into that tonight.

Man, I'm getting nervous for next weekend!

MN ODP Round Table Discussion

Ian Barker, our State Director of Coaching, sent an email last week to a number of coaches in the area requesting presence at the MYSA office today to discuss the role of Minnesota ODP within the state and to try and help determine how much programming to do.  I was not able to make it into the office in person and took part via a phone bridge for the 90 minute discussion. 

In attendance at the MYSA office were the following people:

• Ian Barker, State Director of Coaching
• John Curtis, Associate Director of Coaching
• Jen Jaeger, Associate Director of Player Development
• Candace Daley, Executive Director
• Alan Merrick, VP of Player Development
• Steve Bellis, Head Coach St Kate's (MIAC) and ex-Wings SC Coaching Director
• Manny Sanchez, Wings SC Coaching Director
• Mikki Denney-Wright, Head Coach University of MN Women

On the phone bridge with me were the following:

• Janet Rayfield, Region II ODP Girls
• Jim Launder, Region II ODP Boys
• Roberto Lopez, USSF Men's National Staff Coach
• Kate McNeil, Long time MN ODP Coach and Women's Head Coach, College of St Benedict

Mike Dickey (USSF Women's National Staff Coach) was also supposed to be involved, but he apparently thought it was 12:30PM EST instead of CST. 

It was a very interesting discussion.  Ian was moderating and looking for feedback on frequency of ODP programming, identification/selection criteria for players, and all around improvement of the ODP experience as a whole for the players.  There were many very knowledgeable soccer minds in this group, and to be honest, I felt a little out of place.  I did a lot of listening and there were a number of key issues discussed.

I had only worked in the MN ODP program for a few years in the late 1990s.  I remember running a crossing and finishing session for the 12 year old 84 ODP girls in the West District.  There was this little girl who had a pure knack for finishing and an instinct for making well-timed near post runs.  I remember pointing her out to a number of the lead ODP staff members at that time, saying that she had the potential to do good things.  They commented about puberty, body changes, burnout, etc, but the little girl (Caroline Smith from Edina) went on to have a stellar youth playing career with the Tsunami Sota team as well as to set all kinds of collegiate scoring records at Kansas.  Caroline currently plays for the Minnesota Lightning.

I would have liked to stay involved on the ODP staff for I enjoyed working with the talented players.  However, MYSA was taking some heat about ODP coaches recruiting players from OFP for their own club teams and I really only had an interest in working with the younger girls age group.  With my affiliation in the years to follow with the WSC Inferno and now with the U13 Bangu girls, I would likely not have been given that age group to work with. 

Anyway, the discussion went on with Ian looking for guidance from the higher ups in Region II ODP (Rayfield, Lopez, and Launder), input from the college coaches (Bellis, Denney-Wright, and McNeil), and then thoughts from the higher level club directors (Bellis because of his long history with the Wings prior to taking the St Kate's position, Sanchez, and myself).  Sanchez had also been the State Director of Coaching in Tennessee, and had extensive ODP experience in Region III.  It was a nice mix of personalities and experience, and I think it was a very productive meeting for the MYSA ODP people.

From a club directors position, I appreciated the chance to make my voice heard and have some say here.  I believe in ODP (having gone through it for 6 or 7 years growing up) and I believe Ian and the MYSA staff have a real interest in making it an effective programming.  All but one player from my team last year took part in the program and they all had a great experience at ODP camp last summer.  You can read more about why I encourage participation in ODP here - Why I Send My Girls To ODP

PACT - Well Worth My Time

OK, I'll admit it.  I had zero interest in attending the PACT workshop tonight at the MYSA office.  But since the Minnesota Thunder Summer Camps are now "PACT Certified", as one of the lead staff members of the Thunder programs I needed to attend.  I had Eric Carl (BTFC 92/93 Blue coach) take my girls for training tonight with the suggestion that they some work on the timing of pressure (when to high pressure, when not to) and also some work with the defenders about when to push up to compact the field and when to drop off to take away a long ball over the top threat. 

From the MYSA website:

Parents and Coaches Together (PACT) is an educational program developed at the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Ethical Education and Development. The program is based on the latest research from developmental and sports psychology and is designed to help coaches and parents to get on the same page in successfully creating a positive and nurturing climate in Minnesota youth soccer.

MYSA/PACT™ helps coaches and parents realize their unique roles in fostering athlete intrinsic motivation, developing character, optimal performance, well-being and satisfaction. This program helps develop the potential of youth soccer to all it can, and should be!

It was really an enjoyable and interesting 2+ hours.  There was a PowerPoint presentation, video, and discussion.  We were fortunate to have Dr. Nicole LaVoi herself lead this seminar as I believe she was one of the key researchers involved in putting this PACT program together at Notre Dame.

It's funny, mush of what is discussed in PACT is similar to what I've been compiling on this site (see Recipe For Success section).  Much of the PACT talk about "play like a champion", nurturing vs toxic environment for the kids, parental behavior, motivating athletes, goal setting, etc. can be found here.  Though the terminology differs, the thoughts are the same.

I am thinking about trying to mandate this PACT training with all the Academy families starting next year.  We'll see how that goes over.

Arsenal Elite Invitational - Accepted Teams Posted

Accepted teams were posted for the upcoming Arsenal Elite Invitational in late April.  We are planning on bussing down there with 5 BTFC teams (the East Academy U10G, U11G, and U12G, the South Academy U11G, and my U13s).  Should be a fun event!

This should be a great event for us in prep for Regionals as (assuming things work out as planned for us and for other top seed teams) we will likely see many of these teams in Des Moines in late June.

Arsenal Elite Invitational - U13 Girls		State	Region	Nation
94 Impact USA Nike	Knoxville, TN	4	22 (R3)
Bangu Tsunami 93/94 Blue	Woodbury, MN	1	15
Blue Valley Stars Ratpack	Overland Park, KS	1	6	20
Brentwood Power	Brentwood, TN	1	10 (R3)	45
Canton Celtic 94 Red	Canton, MI	4	36
CUSC Academy 94	Carmel, IN	1	7	22
Eclipse Select	Libertyville, IL	1	1	1
FC Pride	Indianapolis, IN	2	22
Germantown Fury	Germantown, TN	3	17 (R3)
Hillard Hurricanes	Hillard, OH	10
JB Marine - Mason	St Louis, MO	4	14
Michigan Gators 94 Orange	Macomb, MI	2	4	11
Michigan Hawks	Livonia, MI	1	2	5
Missouri Premier SC	St Louis, MO	3	12	42
MTSC Blaze	Cincinnati, OH	3	13	48
Ohio Premier Green	Dublin, OH	4	19
St Louis SC - Schmitt	St Louis, MO	1	5	17
Sycamore Arsenal	Cincinnati, OH	8
VardarStars 94	Detroit, MI	3	9	27
WC United Blue	Mason, OH	1	3	8
Rankings as of March 12/2007, www.nationalsoccerranking.com

Futsal/Street Soccer - Sunday, March 11

5:00PM - 6:15PM @ Lake Junior High School (Woodbury)

Long weekend for the girls.  Two game on Saturday, FIT Training this afternoon, and now Futsal.  I thought the girls would be dead tired, but they walked into the gym excited to be there and play.  Bidi brought her iPod and speakers, so we blasted music during the entire session.  The sitting team would occupy themselves with various dance moves and a lot of laughing. 

We had 17 girls there (the entire team), so I divided them into three teams (2 teams of 6 and 1 team of 5) to play winner stays.  We played games to 1 goal and each team got a point for a win.  I also awarded team points for Scissors, Step Overs, Fake Pass Slap Cuts, and Nutmegs.

I didn't coach much this session, focusing more on the fitness aspect of four activities this weekend to simulate a possible four games in an upcoming tournament. 

I love watching these girls play Futsal.  Many play with confidence and flare, and the more shy girls are slowly coming around and being more assertive on the field and with the ball.  The games are super competitive and super enjoyable for all the girls, and I love seeing the tired but smiling faces at the end.