U15 Premier Leage Game #1 vs EP

We opened up our 2008 U15 Premier League season against arguably our biggest league play rival, Eden Prairie.  When I say "rival", I say it out of respect to a team that provides us a stiff challenge every time we match up against them.  We finished #2 behind them in the U14 Premier League last year as U13s, and the year before we lost to them in the U12 State Tournament Championship as U11s.  I said last year that either team was capable of beating the other by three goals on any given day, and we proved that this winter when we scored 4 on them in an indoor friendly. 

The EP team has a core group of solid U15 players.  Overall, we are a more skillful team as a whole, but their additional year of size and speed keeps the games tight.  Oh, and they have a forward who we have yet to stop from scoring on us.  I'm almost 100% certain that she has scored on us at least once in every game we've seen her in over the last 3 years.  EP without her, it's a pretty even contest between our teams, though I (with all the bias I bring to the table) give us the edge.  EP with her, and we need to score more than 2 goals to beat them.

Before all the cut-paste-haters (I love that newly coined term I saw on another local soccer blog - a term for people who don't really care for me, yet read this blog then post what I write on the other blogs in order to rip apart) somehow interpret from this last paragraph that 1) I'm totally disrespecting the other 16 EP girls on this team, or 2) am trying to somehow recruit this player away from EP, I'll state that I'm simply posting my thoughts as I see them.  Do I think we walk all over EP if their star forward is not with them?  Of course not.  Do I think that a player like that would take her soccer development to another level if she was training with a team made of of more talented players?  Of course I do.  Will it break my heart if chooses to remain in EP rather than move to what I think is a better development environment (our U15 Blue team) for her?  Of course it won't.  If I ran into her parents on the street (assuming I even knew who they were), I wouldn't hesitate to give them my opinion on what I feel is the best development option for a player like her.  The same thing would happen if I came across a super talented U16 girl - I'd encourage her to seek out the most competitive team at her age group, which happens to be a team outside our club.  Anyway, I can see my train of thought is leading into a rant about recruiting and all the nonsense that surrounds that topic.  So I'll move on.

* * * * *

Nice night for a game.  The match was scheduled under the lights in the EP high school stadium at 8:15PM.  Cool atmosphere for the girls!

Cook and I talked before the game and decided to go with our 4-4-2 formation as we prep for Portland in a few weeks.  With very few training sessions this last month and in the weeks prior to our Memorial Day trip to the beautiful upper Northwest, we are looking to use our league games as training opportunities for the girls.  All youth games are training opportunities, but with the pressure to get results in State Cup and in MRL (to ensure that the girls are in the most competitive MRL division next spring), it's tough to stress the development.  Neither of us give a rat's behind about where this team finishes in our MYSA Premier league standings.  That's the honest truth.  We want the girls to compete and work hard in every match, but we are focused on preparing the girls for Portland where we will face some of the best competition at our age group we've seen.  We want the girls to play well in Portland so we can best gauge what we need to focus on developmentally prior to Regionals (assuming we get out of our State Cup).  

Historically, we've needed at least 5 in the midfield to stay competitive with the EP girls, and tonight was no different.  They killed us the first twenty minutes, forcing Tori into a number of very good saves.  We just couldn't get a hold of the ball in the midfield, and our two central mids (Ripper and Korky) were disconnected and running ragged trying to defend.

Gratz (CD) signaled that she needed a sub about 20 minutes into the game as she's been battling a sore hip.  Ripper was on the bench for a needed break, so we decided the timing was right to make a formation change to our 3-5-2.  Gratz came out, we tucked our wide backs (Blondie and Hannah) ina bit to help Becs at the center defender position, and asked Ripper to go back in as a holding mid, playing alongside Korky.  That change proved to make all the difference as we dominated the final 20 minutes of the first half. 

EP still created chances, and a few minutes later as we were still trying to settle into the new formation, EP's pressure paid off.  A long ball clearance from an EP defender about 20 yards in their own half, skipped past Blondie (LD), caught Becs by surprise a bit, and sent Terror (my own personal nickname for EP's forward) off to the races at our goal.  Tori came out, but Terror calmly slipped the ball past her at the top of our box to give EP the 1-0 lead.

However, the rest of the half belonged to us.  Finally able to play through midfield and finally able to stop EP from doing so, our skill began to show through with some great combination play, change of fields, and chances at goal.  The half ended 1-0, but I was proud of our effort and adaption to the situation.

At halftime, we talked about the formation adjustment we made and the girls were aware of how the game had changed because of it.  We encouraged our central players to look to switch the point of attack as we had worked on yesterday at training, needing to continue looking to play across the field at times, not always up and down the pitch.  We also talked about trying to match EP physically as best we could. 

Second half was a good battle.  A very even battle with boths teams creating good opportunities at goal.  I think Tori might have had to make one or two very good saves in that half, as opposed to the 5 or 6 she was called upon to make in the first half.  Our girls played hard, got stuck in on 50/50 tackles better, fought for loose balls, and were more composed with the ball under pressure.  Again, our side to side movement was the focus and the girls really seemed to begin to be warming to it.  We couldn't find the back of the net though, and the game ended 1-0 for EP.

3/4 of the game was very good for us, and I'm encouraged after our so-so showings in State Cup and MRL over the last two weeks.  Our side to side movement is getting better with more and more of the girls on the same page.  Our holding mids in the 3-5-2 are starting to click (Korky and Ripper have been the usual suspects in those roles and are really starting to work well together).  We have another training session on Saturday which I'm sure will be another one focused on keeping the ball and changing fields through midfield. 

Training - Finally!

OMG!  A training session!  Our first in nearly 3 weeks.  Finally.

Out at McMurray in St Paul, we were on the practice field there.  We've (the coaches) have watched the girls play so many games as of late that is was good to finally get the girls in for some training work on an aspect of our game that needed focus - our central mids. 

Now don't get me wrong, we are far from perfect in any aspect of our play.  However, we have been fairly creative in the attack and have been scoring goals, and we're fairly solid in the back, even defending with 3 in our effective 3-5-2. 

We've settled into the 3-5-2 as our preferred formation.  In Arizona in January, we came into the tournament with the 4-3-3 (or more specifically the 4-2-1-3) formation as our bread and butter system of play.  This was based primarily on the success we had with that formation through regionals last summer.  Not having played together at all through the fall, save for a few friendlies, Arizona was our first shot at real competition for the 0708 season. 

In Arizona, we were forced to shift to a 4-1-4-1 (modified 4-5-1) which the girls, for a time, really seemed to be able to work well in.   

We took that formation into Vegas in March, then, based on performance there, shifted to a 4-4-2 Diamond formation that once again proved an evolution into a better system of play for the players we had and for how they were all developing.

Then MRL play began and we found ourselves using the 4-5-1 again, looking for more width in the attack as well as for more control of the central midfield.  

Our State Cup began in May, and we came into it comfortable that our 4-5-1 formation would be the way to go.  Though it seems like a more defensive formation, our wide mids had been able to get into the attack well, so many times we looked as if we were playing a 4-3-3. 

However, in our first State Cup game against EP, we finally stumbled into the right fit.  We began the game in a 4-5-1, but were counter-attacked early on as the EP forwards received a number of passes in the huge gap between our two central backs and our 3 central mids.  In order to fill that gap, we pushed one of the central defenders into a more holding mid role, asking our wide backs to tuck in a bit to help the now lone central defender.  Now, in a weird 3-6-1, we pushed a central mid up into the attack, and sorted out the midfield triangle with two holding mids and an attacking mid.  Things started to click, though we were worried about the 3-5-2 against regional level teams.  Comfortable in defending with 3 here in MN at our age group, unsure about the future.  

We went back to the 4-4-2 in Madison for our last travel MRL weekend, struggled with it the first half against a decent New United (WI) team, shifted to a 3-5-2 for the second half, completely dominated play with a terrific performance, and that was that.  It's the formation we play our best soccer in.  Now we needed to address our central midfield play to make use of the width the 3-5-2 give us.  We needed to train.  

* * * * *

Functional Training for Central Players - Receiving to Swing It

The idea coming into this training session was to work with our central players on proper receiving technique in order to change the point of attack from one side of the field to the other.  I tell the girls that playing across the field is just as important as playing up the field, sometimes more important.  This is a needed concept for the girls to grasp as their usual first thought when getting possession of the ball is to look straight up the field for options.  Playing across the field forces the opposing team to shift across the field to defend.  Since the 10 opposing girls don't share a single brain, it is difficult to coordinate their movements with each other, thus gaps tend to appear in danger areas.  We are looking to exploit this uncoordinated movement and attack the gaps.  It's really pretty simple.

Phase 1

Set Up

• 4 players per group, 2 soccer balls
• 4 disks per group, set up in a diamond as illustrated below
• Soccer balls with the two "wide" players

Procedure

• Central players simultaneously trigger the sequence by quickly backing up (1), away from their starting cone (defender), creating space for themselves below (behind and in support of) the ball

• Wide players pass to their specified central players (2)
  
• Central players receive the ball across their body and pass (3) to the opposite side wide player

• Central players then reset to their start cones and then trigger the sequence again by quickly backing up to create space
• Wide players play to the opposite central player so the central players work on receiving and playing with both feet (in both directions)

 

Coaching Points

• Central players drop quickly
• Take peeks over your shoulder to the opposite side of the field as you drop and as the initial pass is traveling to you
  
• Receive the ball across your body in order to see the field better and make playing in the opposite direction easier
• First touch in the direction you want to play
  
• Passes should be crisp and firm throughout the exercise

Comments

Pretty straightforward warm-up type exercise.  Corrected repetition is key.  I put the girls who usually find themselves in the center of the field in the 6 central roles in the 3 different groups.  I did, however, switch the 2 central players with the 2 wide players within each group after a time to give everyone the  experience. 

 

Phase 2

Same as Phase 1, this time with the wide players an additional 5 yards wider.

 

 

Winged Addition #1 (unplanned addition)

The girls were finding it difficult to remember to take the peeks over their shoulders.  This awareness is essential for the central players who want to play at the highest levels of the game, and I needed to find a way to encourage it here in training.

 

So I added a simple rule.  The second a wide player passed the ball to their specified central players, the wide player would either raise one or both hands high into the air.  The central players were asked to identify and call out "One!" or "Two!" depending on how many arms were raised of their intended wide target.  The kicker here was that the peek and call must come after the initial pass was made to them and before their first touch on the ball.  This would ensure that the identification and awareness came as the ball was traveling to them. 

 

Not a fancy addition, but worked like a charm.   

 

Winged Addition #2

Repetition, though critical, is never really fun.  How do I spice things up to allow the girls to continue to drill through the exercise without them really knowing they are still drilling on the same boring stuff?  Make things competitive.

 

Simple races between the 3 groups of 4.  All the groups would start at the same time on my "Go!" signal.  First team to go through the sequence and have both soccer balls controlled by the opposite side wide players (foot on the ball) would get three points, second group done got awarded 2 points, last group would get 1 point.  Note that EVERY group gets points, rather than awarding 2, 1, and none. 

 

Again, worked like a charm, with the girls re-focused, crisper passes, quicker movements. 

Communication - Getting on the Same Page

Just so we were all on the same page,  I had the wide players begin to yell "Swing it!" as they made their initial pass, verbally encouraging the central players to look to continue the movement across the field, helping to trigger the change of field thought.

Phase 3

Same as Phase 2, but now I asked the central players to take 3 touches.  The first touch, still with their body open and facing up the field when they received the ball, was to be a tight one under their body.  Their second touch, with the outside of the same foot they used to control the initial pass (the foot furthest from the passer) would push the ball away in the opposite direction from the initial pass, their third touch would be the pass to the opposite side wide player.

 

Same races after each group practices the sequence on their own.

 

Phase 4

The idea here is to now work on some pattern play, using two staggered central players to swing it. 

 

Set Up

• 4 players per group, 1 soccer ball
• 4 disks per group, set up in a diamond as illustrated below
• Soccer balls with one of the "wide" players

Building off the set up of the Phases above, all I needed to do was to move the 2 central disks for each group another 5 yards out.  This put the disks right on top of the central disks for their neighboring groups (as the initial gap between the groups was 10 yards), but that was OK as the players would be now working inside of their disks. 

 

Procedure

• The wide player with the ball begins the sequence by passing to a specified central player (1)
  
• The receiving central player must take 2 touches (2), then plays a pass to the other central player (3)
  
• The second central player can play 1 or 2 touch, completing the swing movement (4) to the opposite side wide player

• Begin the next sequence with the player now in possession of the ball, in the opposite direction

 

 Coaching Points

• Crisp passing
• 1st central player must still look for the swing option, even if then playing up the field to the other central player
• The pass between the central players (3) should be directed in the swing direction and paced well in order to help ensure quicker, 1-touch play from the second central player
  
• "Swing it!" talk for every player by every player

Comments

Good exercise for the girls.  Lots of little technical items that need to be done correctly in order for the girls to execute the movement quickly.  I also added the race competition among the 3 groups to add some pressure to the technical work.

 

Phase 5

Finally, we ran through the Phase 4 competitive race sequence with a simple variation.  The players starting with the ball now had to face away from their group and, at the "Go!" signal, dribble the ball across the touch line, turn, then execute the first pass. 

 

 Thanks to the variation and competitiveness, we were able to spend nearly 60 minutes on these exercises.  That meant a TON of repetition for all the players in a very fun and lively atmosphere.

 

Swinging It Around the Back

I then took our 6 or 7 defensive players to do some shadow play, working on group movement and passing combination ideas with our 3 backs and 2 central mids as we swung the ball around the back.

 

Set Up

• 60x40 yard area around midfield
• 3 defenders
• 2 holding mids
• Coach with 3 soccer balls
  

Procedure

• Coach begins the exercise by playing a ball out to either one of the wide backs
• Players work on movement to support the ball and different pattern combinations to "play in" the opposite side defender into the space on the opposite side of the field
  

Defender to Defender

 

 

Through a Holding Mid

 

 

Mid to Mid

 

We then finished up the session playing 7v6 to Goal with Counter Targets, working on changing the point of attack.  I introduced the idea of recognizing numbers up situations and the need to move the ball quickly across the field to exploit these situations, but this is a whole other set of training sessions in and of itself.
 
All in all, a VERY good session for the girls.  We'll look to build on this tomorrow against EP in our first league game, a league that Cook and I are looking at as additional training opportunities for the girls in this hectic time of league, State Cup, and MRL.  We'll then look to another training session on Saturday, with an MRL make-up game vs Wayzata U14P on Sunday, our second league game vs Wayzata U15-2 on Monday, and an MRL game vs EP U14P the following Wednesday.   

State Cup Game #3 vs NSSA

Tough week.  Lots of games, travel, and ODP.  The girls gutted out good performances on Saturday in Madison, but I must admit, I was worried about our State Cup game vs NSSA.  Tired legs, tired minds, one fluke goal resulting in a packed in defense and our run to Regionals might end today.

 

I had asked the 94 and 95 girls to forego ODP tryouts this morning, knowing the importance of the game tonight.  This was about putting personal goals aside for the good of the team.  Some of the parents were a little put out that their daughters missed the first day of ODP tryotus yesterday, and were now being told to skip today by their coach.  But I had spoken to ODP officials already and they were open to setting aside a make up date on May 18 for all those girls missing, know the MRL and State Cup conflicts we were facing.  I'm not checking up on people, trusting that parents trust my judgement here regarding our team needs.  I'm sure I'll hear if anyone attended on their own, but I think everyone saw the need for rest. 

At least it was finally a beautiful spring day in Coon Rapids.  

Prior to the game, we sat that girls down to talk to them about the offside trap that NSSA liked to pull on free kicks near midfield.  We’d likely only have one chance to break it, so we discussed the duties of the forwards at the defensive line (to run back to the ball to stay onside or to drop to one knee if they knew they were caught offside in order to not be involved in the play).  We also talked about the delayed run from deeper midfield players and the service of free kicks.  I also talked to the refs prior to the game to make sure they were aware of what we would be doing in order to avoid a hasty offside flag and whistle when players were clearly in offside positions but not attempting to track down through passes.  Overkill?  Maybe, but we would use every possible advantage given.  

We came out in our 3-5-2, and it was a dismal performance.  It was just one of those games with absolutely no energy on our part.  We were not sharp to the ball or in the great majority of our decision making.  

To NSSA’s credit, they played us tough.  They have improved their team since we saw them last fall, and their tenacity caused us problems and disrupted our mediocre flow.  

We created chances, hitting two posts in the first half, one off a fantastic save from the NSSA GK.  NSSA didn’t really threaten Tori in our goal at all, but I still wasn’t comfortable.  Was this going to be one of those games that would see us get close a number of times, only to never get on the scoreboard, then give up a weak goal (or a good goal) late?  

The pressure was getting to me.  I could feel it, and though I know it wasn’t helping, I could hear it in my tone with the girls.  They were giving everything they had on the field, I guess my expectations were too high, forgetting at times what the girls had gone through this week.  I’ve got to keep reminding myself that this isn’t about me as sometimes I’m guilty of forgetting about this.  

Halftime came with the score still deadlocked at 0-0.  

We talked with the girls about continuing to look to change the point of attack across the field, looking to attack the flanks (where the space was), winning corner kicks or getting crosses off, and making the most of our chances when they next came.  We needed a goal.  The longer the game stayed 0-0, the more tense we’d become, knowing that a NSSA goal could end our tournament.  I firmly believe we are 3 goals better than every other team at our age group here in MN.  Some might see this as arrogant, but I believe in our girls’ abilities and the abilities of the coaching staff.  The sky is still blue in my world, at least today.  

Too focused on winning?  Most of the time, no.  In State Cup for a team like this, absolutely.  

We pressed the attack more in the second half, though everything still seemed to be played underwater.  

Halfway through the second half, we took the lead.  Or I guess I should say we SHOULD have taken the lead.  

We won a corner kick to the left of the NSSA goal as we faced it.  Blondie (RM) stepped up to take it.  The wind was blowing across the field into Blondie’s face, but slightly at our backs, towards the NSSA goal.  Blondie is right footed and hit an in-swinger that saw the ball rotate right to left towards the goal.  Got the picture?  Good.  Then someone please explain to me the physics of this situation as the ball was served, bent in, caught the NSSA GK a bit by surprise as she was moving to her left, then back to her right as the ball swerved in towards goal, hit her hands, trickled into the net, AND WAS THEN CALLED OUT OF BOUNDS BY THE AR STANDING NEXT TO BLONDIE.  What?!?!?  It’s just not possible for a ball to have the bend Blondie imparted onto it bend first out of bounds, then back in bounds to then bend back in towards the goal.  

I was stunned at the call.  Cook and I were both yelling out to the center ref to explain how that call was made, he finally had enough and came over to shut us up, telling us he’d discuss it after the game.  After the game?!?!?  What good would that do us?

Cook’s turn to play bad cop with the refs as I turned to the girls to instruct them that they never should talk to the refs, that’s for the coaches to take care of.  Sometimes when I get on the girls a bit, Cook gets to play good cop by taking the girls off to the side to explain things in more detail.  One of the benefits of having two people involved.  

The ref wasn’t going to change his call, nor take time to even discuss it a minute longer, so the game continued with a goal kick.  Unbelievable.  

Within 10 minutes, we finally had our needed breakthrough.  Another coach’s dream as Ripper (Att Mid) found herself under pressure about 25 yards out from goal.  She turned out of trouble to play back the way she was now facing to Korky, formly known as KK, (Holding Mid).  Korky played a first time lofted ball forward, over the stepping up NSSA defensive line, that Millie (LF) ran onto.  After two bounces and from about 12 yards out to the left of goal, Millie hit a powerful half volley past the fingertips of the NSSA GK.  Phew.  

I was still flustered by the AR’s no-goal call, as well as by by own team performance frustrations, and by my further frustration at my frustrations.  I needed to slap my butt, like I tell my girls to do after mistakes, and trigger the “leave it behind” thoughts.  Time to dwell on all this later, time to now focus on the present.  It was tough.  

Within a few minutes, NSSA responded with their best chance of the game.  The ball got played long down our left flank.  The NSSA forward got to the ball first and delivered an early cross to the far post.  NSSA’s left mid got in behind our retreating right mid, took a touch, then thankfully proceeded to kick the ball over the net from about 6 or 7 yards out.  

That was fortunate.  

“Mark!”  They have 3 forwards!”, came the call from Becs at Center Def.  “I know!” I lied, quickly shaken out of my self-contemplation.  When had that happened?!?!  Wow, I must really be off tonight, mentally exhausted like I’m sure the girls were.

We made an adjustment to drop a mid back, into a 4-4-2, but then proceeded to put the game away on another good goal.

Soph (LM) won a good header off an NSSA goal kick.  The ball bounced to Ripper (CM) about 25 yards from goal, just to the left of the “D”.  She won her 50/50 battle and the ball fell to Blondie (RF).  Ripper made an overlapping run towards the middle of the field and Blondie played her a good ball into the space in front of her.  Ripper took a good first touch and hit a high shot into the upper right corner of the goal.  Phew, again.  

3-0-0 in group play, 10 goals for, 0 against.  We’re not playing as well as I would like, that’s for sure.  However, we’re finding ways to get results when needed, a trademark of championship teams. 

MRL Game #6 vs Chicago Fire Jrs (IL)

The weather cleared up a bit for the afternoon.  Still a bit chilly and windy, but dry. 

Lots of soccer this week for the girls, so Cook ran them through a very light=hearted warm-up with some fun games and competitions.  The girls giggled, laughed a ton, and seemed relaxed.  I'm sure the Fire coach was looking over at us thinking "These guys are the Region champs?!?!", as he took his team through a WAY more professional-style warm-up, but we didn't really care.  

We came out in a 3-5-2.  The Fire were scrappy and had a talented central midfielder who ran the show on us most of the day.  We were a bit flat with heavy legs.  Jilly was back in MN with family commitments, and Maddie (though on the trip with us) was out with a back injury, leaving us with 3 subs.  Looking at the bright side, we'd work on our game fitness for sure, and if we could get another good result this afternoon, the girls would come out of the trip having battled hard (against roster numbers, poor weather, and bumpy field conditions) - something that would go a long way towards bringing the team together more. 

We got on the board midway through the first half as Ripper (RF) slotted a ball through to Millie (LF) at the left corner of the box.  Millie took a good first touch inside towards goal to set up her right foot shot.  This morning, Millie had had 2 or 3 very good looks at goal, but failed to get any power behind her shot.  Prior to this game, I brought her off to the side and had her strike 8 to 10 shots, focusing on her shooting rhythm and power.  Armed with that pre-game confidence, she hit a solid low shot under the Fire GK to put us ahead.  That would prove the only goal in a relatively ugly match.  

The work with Millie reminded me that now as we get into the meat of our season, looking for results through State Cup and hopefully Regionals, Cook and I need to do more functional positional training with all our players one on one or in small, position-specific groups.  We haven't had a training session in two weeks, so hopefully starting next week we can look at addressing this.

On the road back to MN for our group-deciding 3rd MN State Cup game tomorrow against NSSA.  We're tired and beat up - a problem with MRL and State Cup in the spring.  I'm hoping for nothing silly tomorrow as even a fluke goal and a packed penalty box could end our Regional run.