Regiona II Championships - Monday, June 25

In my nearly three years with this team, I have never looked forward to a game as much as I did for this morning's match up.  Chicago Magic would obviously prove tough competitors, a fact that we’ve witnessed three times in the last two years.

Our first meeting was in the Fall Best of the Midwest Tournament (Chicago, IL) in the fall of 2005.  We lost 1-0 on a set piece, a direct free kick from about 30 yards out that sailed over our GK’s outstretched arms.  We were U12s playing our first games on the 11v11 field.  I left the game thinking that they were good, but we were not far off.

Our second meeting was last fall in the Eclipse Select Invitational (Libertyville, IL).  We met them in our opening group game and tied 0-0.  I overheard their coach commenting about how much we had improved since our first meeting and I felt that we deserved a better result than the tie that day.

Our third match up against this team came earlier this year here in Des Moines at the West Des Moines Premier games.  We met in the championship game and after battling back from a 2 goal deficit to tie the game in the second half, we gave up two more goals late to finish as runner’s up in the event.  I again left the field thinking we were the better team.  Magic has a superb front runner with a ton of pace and skill to match.  The team is athletic and looks to knock the ball around at times, but not only do I think that our top 11 players (if named) would have an edge over their top 11, but our overall team strength and roster depth was something that they could not match.

Prior to this event, I had a hunch that our group would be decided on Monday morning in our match up.  I know we can beat this team and I believe the girls know as well.  There would be no better time to finally walk the walk than today.

* * * * *

The girls were excited as they arrived at the field.  It was a beautiful morning and I was glad to draw the early slot to beat the sure to be 90 degree heat later in the day.  My thought was to get the girls relaxed with a bit of the always fun and popular Walking Soccer and Link Soccer in the first part of the warm up, then move to crossing and finishing and 4v2 to try and simulate the competitive match environment.

Our warm up was sharp, the girls were ready to go, and there was a very positive vibe in the air.

We came out on absolute fire.  It was a bit of a tense start for both teams but we settled into the match quickly. Many people had told me that the #8 for the Magic was their go to player.  Negate her and we’d be fine.  However, it was #13 who had torn us apart in the last game, and her speed today was tough for our defenders to get used to.  I made a tactical change early and put Becs, our fastest player, out on the right flank to try and hinder the Magic attack through their #13.  Between Becs (RD) and Scratch (CD), two of our fastest and  most athletic players, we were able to somewhat contain the talented Magic forward.

I made substitutions at around the 10 minute mark.  I was a little worried about disrupting our flow, and the game definitely began to shift in Chicago’s favor for the next few minutes.  This had nothing to do with the talent level of the players entering the game.  More so, it was due to… well, due to a disruption of our flow.  I don’t really know how to explain it, but it would have likely happened no matter who I started and who came in at that time.

I’m sure many out there might question subbing at this point at all, and I saw the Magic coaches take a double take as 6 girls got off the bench to enter the game.  However, after serious consideration about severely limiting playing time for some of the group, I made the decision for today that we’ve gotten to this point as a team and will win or lose as a team.  Again, as I mentioned above, IMO our overall team strength and depth gave us an edge on the Magic.  Sure, I might play other girls in the second half more than others, but it has more to do with who is playing well rather than a set starting 11.

It was a back and forth battle for the rest of the half, but I think all who watched would have given us the edge.  We were creative and dangerous on the attack and solid in the back.  I was proud of the girls for their efforts, though we could not find a way to break through.  0-0 at half.

At the break, our main conversation was about handling their #13.  The angle of approach our defenders were taking when closing her down was allowing her to skip by our defenders with quick touches.  I demonstrated a more effective bent angle of approach and reminded then that their primary duty is to DELAY a girl like this as other teammates look to recover and get numbers behind the ball or to double team.  If defenders who close down #13 dive in and get beat, she is off to the races and we are toast.  We wanted to take pride in our individual and team defending, realizing that if we shut the Magic out we would advance. 

The second half was more of an even battle.  The Magic stepped up their game and pressed the attack.  They started knocking the ball around a bit more and had us scrambling in front of goal off two set pieces during the half.

The Magic’s best chance came with about 10 minutes to go.  They were awarded a corner kick that was served in low and hard, and we deflected it out for another corner.  I yelled out to Sting (LF) (who was about 35 yards out during the first corner kick) to go and stand 10 yards in front of the kick taker in an effort to take away the low driven ball.  The Magic coach then yelled out to the defender that was marking Sting to go to the top of the box.  The corner came in, we half cleared it out to… yep, you guessed it... the top of the box, and the defender hammered the ball high off the right post. That was a real fun moment for me.  Not.  I yelled down to the Magic coach something like “Well, I guess I shouldn’t have said anything!”.  He didn’t laugh.  I didn't really much either.

Looking back at things now, I might have made a mistake by not making a tactical shift to defend.  We only needed a tie to advance, so I could have pulled a forward and moved to a 4-5-1.  However, we were defending well as a team and my thought was that any formation shift would add to the girls’ tension on the field and lead to a panicked final half of the half.  Moreover, we were attacking and creating chances.  One goal and we'd likely put this team away.

Three minutes from time, as Magic were pressing forward for the winner, we cleared our zone and found Jilly (RF) at midfield for the counter.  She played the ball semi-square to Bidi (RM) who received the ball about 40 yards out from goal, on the right side of the field close to our bench.  I yelled out encouragement for Bidi to be confident and take her on, and this time (unlike yesterday to set up the goal against Javanon), she obliged.  Bidi has a great stop and go move that defenders have a hard time dealing with, even if they know its coming.  This was evident here as Bidi used the move three times in a row over the 20 to 25 yards. Her last move gave her a yard on the marking defender and Bidi served in a fantastic 30 yard service to the far post.  Maddie (LM) had followed up the play and came running in to head the ball home.  Goose bumps again, just from typing it!  Unbelievable goal.

The game ended without incident and we move on to the semis tomorrow.  Blue Valley Stars Ratpack (KS) won their group by defeating the CSA Fusion (NE) 1-0, so we will face them tomorrow at 8:00AM.  Michigan Hawks (MI) and Internationals (OH) qualified by winning their respective pools, so the final four teams are set.

We’ve seen the Ratpack 3 times.  They’ve beaten us twice and we beat them in PKs once – all on the 8v8 field.  They have a number of skilled players and will be a tough opponent.  As one of the premier clubs in the KC area, I know they’ve likely bolstered their roster since then.  I know we now field a far stronger team than we did when we faced them in the past and I know our girls are ready to give it their all.  I just have a feeling that we will see the Hawks in the finals on Wednesday.  I could be wrong of course, but you never know.

As I mentioned to the girls after the game, everything from here on out is gravy.  We achieved one of our stretch goals, to advance out of group play at Regionals, and the girls have a lot to be proud of.  I’m not saying we’re coming out to lose or tie the game tomorrow.  Far from it.  I want the team to play on Wednesday morning in the finals.  However, win or lose, they have given a memorable account of themselves on this stage.

Hope I'm updating this site from an Iowa Starbucks tomorrow.

Region II Championships - Sunday, June 24

Though I have yet to reset my hotel room alarm clock to the correct time, I managed to actually set my phone alarm to AM this time, and was up with the sun and off to Starbucks to write.

I don’t know why I refuse to reset my hotel clock.  Maybe too lazy, maybe I enjoy the momentary panic I give myself those moments when I glance at the clock and before I realize that it’s still set nearly two hours ahead... probably the former.

I wanted the girls up and at ‘em relatively early in the morning, so I made plans for them to head back out to the field complex for the 10:00AM U15 Minnesota girls game - Woodbury Inferno vs ELA (IL).   Not only do I still have many friends involved with this team and wanted to go and support them, but also I felt it was a great way to address the inevitable questions that would/did come up about “Why are we going to support a non-Bangu team?”  It was easy to sell this outing however as Hannah’s older sister plays on the Inferno and a number of the Woodbury girls on our team know some of the Woodbury Inferno girls.  Moreover, I wanted to set an example for the girls and the parents in our group that we may battle against other local clubs while in Minnesota, but this event is different. Local battles aside, here we want to cheer for the success of other Minnesota teams, regardless of club affiliation.

The Inferno game started about 10 minutes early, and it was nice to arrive at the field and see that 9 out of the 11 starters for this big game were players who I had had the pleasure of working with when with this group.  It was a blast to see them compete on this regional stage and play well against the Illinois team.  I have told the Bangu girls many times that the “experiments” that I did with this Inferno team when they were 11 and 12 allowed me to come into my current group armed with the knowledge and experience of what it takes to develop committed, young female athletes.   I had told the Inferno girls and their parents on a number of occasions that they were guinea pigs of sorts and I was trying to approach their development with new thoughts and ideas that I do not believe were the norm at the time in Minnesota when dealing with girls at this age group – year round training, looking to travel to top level regional events, playing up an age group, etc.  My current group also knows that they are guinea pigs sometimes in some of the things we do.  It is all a process, working towards being able to place the young Minnesota girls on an even playing field with top teams across the country.  Will we ever get to a point where we are consistently better than top young teams from Chicago, St Louis, Michigan, or the Ohio areas?  Tough to do so as these areas have a head start with numerous higher level coaches in place, professional training and directors of coaching, facilities, large population bases, and a soccer club-like mentality (vs a community club-like mentality) already accepted and expected in many areas.  But we can try.

The Inferno game ended 0-0 and if I would have left at that point, I would have left thinking the Minnesota team was the stronger, more dangerous team on the field.  As it would happen, ELA would eventually pump in 5 goals in the second half… isn’t that just how this game goes?  The Inferno deserved better, and hopefully they’ll bounce back with a good performance tomorrow against another tough Illinois team.

The girls left the complex to head over to play some mini-golf and laser tag and I stayed around to watch our U14 boys at Noon and our U14 girls at 1:30PM. They returned to the complex for our assigned team picture time at 3:20PM and then we were off to hang out a bit, cheer on the MU U13 boys, and warm up for our game.

* * * * *

I could tell from the first 2 minutes that we were truly in for a battle with the Javanon team. They were solid. Athletic, skilled, aggressive, and here to play. We, with me leading the charge, rolled into the game thinking it was going to be more of a cakewalk. The Bangu girls were caught on their heels a bit and struggled to get into a good rhythm. We were under pressure for the first 10 minutes, though we defended well and Mudd was not forced into a tough save.

We eventually began to settle into the play and start creating some chances of our own. The offsides trap was not anywhere to be seen… they must have learned their lesson from yesterday.

Half ended 0-0, and we knew we could play better.  It was a wake up call for all of us.  Though Mudd (GK) had not been forced into any tough saves, she was kept busy. 

The talk at halftime was all about stepping up our intensity and effort.  We knew we were now in a battle and I challenged the girls to rise to the occasion.

Our second half was much better and we for sure were the more dangerous team for the last 35 minutes.  We created some great chances through continued wide play and crosses, but we could not break through. 

30 seconds from time, the 4th official came over and said the center ref had indicated 90 seconds of extra time because of injuries and make up time for the time lost due to substitutions.  We were pressing the attack looking for the game winner and there was a positive feeling as we continued to knock on the door. 

A minute later, Javanon was awarded a throw in right in front of our bench about 25 yards from goal.  I was yelling at Bidi (RM) right in front of my to step up and mark her girl tight, but she remaining back about 4 yards.  The Javanon defender threw the ball at the girl in front of Bidi and the girl flick headed it backwards.  Bidi controlled the ball with her thigh and volleyed a long diagonal ball into the danger area.  The Javanon GK came storming out of her goal to the top of the box as Millie (LF) ran on the ball from the diagonal. 

Millie and the GK had a collision in the first half on a similar ball, with Millie bravely heading the ball on goal and a split second later getting a GK glove to the face was the GK missed punching the ball clear but didn't miss Millie's head.  The header was too weak, but it was a feat just to go for it at that time.

This time, the ball bounced and Millie ran through it, allowing the ball to bounce off her stomach past the Javanon GK.  Millie raced to the ball with two Javanon defenders scrambling to cover the open goal and fired the ball into the back of the net.  I get goose bumps just typing it. 

I looked down at my watch... 35:50.  What a finish.

* * * * *

Chicago Magic tied Mequon 1-1 in somewhat of a surprise result.  So... with a win or a tie tomorrow morning we will advance into the semifinals on Tuesday. 

There is a good vibe in the air with this group.  We are a better overall team than Chicago and we'll get a chance to prove it tomorrow morning.  I can't wait.

Region II Championships - Saturday, June 23

I had spent last night hanging with the parent group until around 11:30PM. For those of you who have dealt with newborns you'll guess that this is WAY past my normal bedtime hour. Man, 10 years ago we be just getting ready to hit the town at this our. Now, I can barely get through Jay Leno's monologue before I'm watching the back of my eye lids. I wouldn't change a thing though as our now 9 month old baby girls Emmri is absolutely precious.

On top of the late bedtime hour, I had also imbibed about 4 beers. I'm a light weight easy date to begin with, and I don't think I've had more than a couple beers in one sitting since... well, since our last out of town trip with this parent group.

Suffice it to say that I wasn't surprised when I rolled over in the morning and saw that I had over slept my phone alarm clock by 90 minutes. 7:38AM?!?!?! Crap! I wanted to be up early, hit the Starbucks down the road to update this site, then be out at the fields to watch the 8AM Minneapolis United boys in their opening match.

I hustled out of bed, skipped the much needed shower, finger-brushed my teeth, threw a bunch of stuff into my backpack, and scrambled down to my car. I haven't moved that fast in years. I was so proud of my early-morning-a-bit-hung-over-from-4-beers efficiency that I paused to look down at my phone to see the sure to be world record time of 4 minutes flat from hotel bed to car. 5:58AM. What the...?!?!?

Then it hit me. Power was out, must have came on in the middle of the night, hotel room alarm clock started at 12:00. Now I know how some poor, unsuspecting guests at the Motel 8's must have felt as, being the practical joker that I am, before checking out of the establishment when on Thunder road trips, I would always either 1) point the shower heads out so that they would spray guests once turned on if not noticed, 2) set the hotel digital alarm clocks for 3AM in the morning - radio setting at the loudest decibel level possible, or 3) set the room clock ahead a few hours.

I sat there and laughed at the situation. Well, at least I'll have plenty of time to write at Starbucks.

By the way, at 6:01AM my phone alarm had still not gone off. I had apparently set it for 6:00PM late last night. Funny.

* * * * *

Our first game was at 9:30AM against the Wisconsin State Cup champs, Mequon Red. I had no idea what to expect from this game. We had faced FC Milwaukee a few years back as U12s and managed to tie them 1-1. FC Milwaukee lost in the Wisconsin semifinals to NEW United, and NEW United fell to Mequon in the finals.

NEW United had traveled to Minnesota last weekend to participate in the All American Girls Tournament (or whatever it is now called) in Blaine last weekend. The team ended up winning the U13 flight and Tobbe, one of the coaches for the Dakota Rev U13 girls, told me that people were claiming this NEW United team would give us a run for our money. I had tried to see them play last weekend, if for anything but to try and give me a gauge of what we might be up against with Mequon, but due to the number of younger teams I was dealing with and the fact that the majority of games in that event were scheduled at the same time, it didn't happen.

I showed up at the field complex at around 7:50AM. With 3 to 4 inches of rain the night before and downed trees and branches along the way to the site, I really didn't know what field conditions to expect. As I walked from the main concession area to the back fields, I noticed that the grass area along the way was wet, but not swamped. This same area was ALWAYS a swamp in the three Aprils when I've been here. And I know we got a ton of rain last night. Good drainage I guess, and the ground was obviously not as saturated as in the early spring months.

The fields were immaculate. I was stunned. Where was the long grass? These looked like golf course fairways. They weren't cut that tight, but that's the impression that I got. And every field was like this. It was absolutely amazing. These were the nicest fields I have ever had the pleasure of coaching a youth game on. MN has maybe two fields like this in the Twin Cities area... the National Sports Center stadium field and the U of M field at ELR Stadium. At this complex in Iowa had 8 or 10. Wow. I would later find out that the same held true at the other host complex for the tournament; super nice fields groomed and cut tight. So much for my long grass sermons to the girls.

Apparently, in preparation for the event, the this Hidden Valley field complex had been closed to the local teams for two weeks to get the fields ready. Someone said the other complex was closed for a month prior to this event.

The girls were super nervous and excited to play, I could tell by their initial warm-up as passes were frantic and inaccurate, and what should have been simple control touches bounced yards away from players as if the players had all decided as a group to forego the supple leather soccer shoes in favor of cement blocks. Better nervous here than in the game, I thought.

We settled in a bit and the rest of the pre game warm up was sharp. Prior to the game, I mentioned a few key things to the players.

• Focus in the things they can control - their sportsmanship, effort, and attitude (see Controlling the SEA)
• What did we do well in our last game vs Coon Rapids? Take players on 1v1 out wide, get to the endline, get crosses or win corner kicks
• We are dangerous on corner kicks
• Believe teammates are going to miss the ball. For defenders, believe that your fellow defender challenging for a ball will miss it and provide cover in case of this event. For attackers, if not able to challenge opposing defenders for a clearance ball, believe these defenders will miss it in order to be ready for a breakaway, and believe defenders/teammates in front of you will miss crosses in order for your to be ready to finish
• No matter what happens in the game, stay positive and behind your teammates

We started in our 4-4-2 formation and got on the board within the first 5 minutes. Bidi (RM) recieved a wide pass about 30 yards out from goal on our right side. She served in a great far post cross to Millie (LF) who seems to have a knack of drifting away from the play sometimes to find space as opposing defenders ball watch. Millie controlled the cross and struck a good shot that sailed over the Mequon GK. Nice start for the girls.

I made substitutions at around the 11 minute mark. I had prepped the girls and the parents in the weeks leading up to this event that this would be the first event in which I would not be able to guarantee equal playing time for all the girls. This is the first event that I've ever felt the pressure to do this with any team I'm been at. The club is looking for results here and I think the expectation for all the teams here is to play the best players you have in order to get the job done. When watching the U13 boys game, I didn't see the Missouri team make one substituion save for replacing an injured player. It's tough for me to get into this mentality as I know how it will impact some of the girls who may not play a lot.

I had started with what I thought was a strong line up and made a decision to balance the playing time in this game. Though I knew I could be proved wrong, my thought coming into this event was that if there would be any games that would likely allow me to keep on with the rotation subbing that I have used with this team up until this point, it would be our first two group games. We'll have to see what happens on Monday and, hopefully, beyond.

We got our second goal around the 25th minute. We were awarded a corner kick and Blondie (RF) served in a cross that, what I thought at the time, was going to be too high and lofted... easy for the GK to make a play. The Mequon GK went to make a challenge for the ball but Bidi (RM) rose to head in at the near post area. The cross was high, but what I loved about it is that we had three girls aggresively attacking the ball in the danger area. The heigth of the service allowed time for the runners to adjust and their aggression paid off.

My goal at halftime was to keep everything as positive as possible. We had played very well in the first half and I made sure the girls knew it. We talked about the next goal being huge… if Mequon scored to make it 2-1, we’d be in for a hard fought rest of the second half. If we scored to go up 3-0, we’d increase our chances of having an easier way the rest of the game. This doesn’t mean that we’d let up though.

I highlighted the good points of the first half, talking about our success when switching the point of attack and looking for continued aggressive play down the flanks. I also reminded the girls to take pride in defending and no matter what we did on the attack in the final 35 minutes, we would win the game if we shut out our opponents.

15 minutes into the second half we put the game out of reach on another set piece. Ripper (CM) skillfully turned her defender about 20 yards out from goal and lasered a low shot to the near post that the Mequon GK kick-saved wide. On the ensuing corner kick, Nash sent a great ball into the far post area that Becs (slot runner) began moving backwards to attempt a head on it. The whole park heard Macky (CM) call Becs off the ball as she attacked the service from the far post runner’s position. Becs stopped and cringed, assuming she was about to get run over by a bulldozer, which she might have, and Macky stormed in and headed the ball low and back where it came from for the goal. I was laughing as I noticed Macky had her Full90 headgear off and clenched in her right hand as she made her run. I’ve told some of the girls who have demonstrated confidence and technique in heading that they can remove their head gear when attacking a corner kick like this, but it was the first time I’d seen anyone take me up on my offer.

Again we capitalized on an attacking corner kick, but it was the little things that made this goal great. The ball into a target player’s feet and Ripper’s great turn at the top of the box, followed by a low hard shot. Nash’s solid technique in the corner kick service and Macky’s communication to call a teammate off the ball when in a better position to attack, and the subsequent textbook header on goal (low and back where it came from to the near post relative to the corner kick placement) were fantastic. This is the stuff that makes coaches smile.

3-0 good guys at the final whistle. Chicago Magic (IL) beat Javanon (KY) 5-0 in the other group game. If we can get by with a solid performance tomorrow afternoon, we have a date with destiny against a team we have never beaten on Monday morning that will likely decide the winner of our group. As I’ve said before here, we’ve lost twice and tied once against the Chicago Magic, a team that I, and the girls feel we are better than. It would be a Cinderella Story for the girls to walk the walk on Monday in an event that makes all events in which we faced this opposition pale in comparison.

* * * * *

I had the girls stick around to watch the Bangu U14 girls play their first game against the KCFC Alliance.  We obviously wanted to support our fellow Bangu girls, but I was also interested in having the girls watch KCFC as they are one of the top teams in the nation at the next older age group.  It would be a good indication of where we strive to be in a year.

Back at the hotel, soccer tennis was in full bloom with many other teams picking up on the idea.  Wonder if I can organize a inter-team soccer tennis tournament?  That would be a lot of fun.  Or, maybe a dance-off between the teams at the hotel.  Something for the kids on different teams to socialize would make the event memorable, regardless of the results on the field.

We ended the day with another picnic and grill out at a near by park.  I walked the girls through some ideas of beating an offsides trap, something that other Bangu coaches had noticed that Javanon tried in vain to use against Chicago Magic.  I hope the Kentucky team stays the course and tries to use this on us as I believe we should be able to finish a couple breakaways… if the girls can pick up on the idea that it shouldn’t be our forwards who try and beat the offsides trap, but rather we want to look for 1) long diagonal balls to our wide mids, who can run onto the pass from an onsides position, or 2) greedy mids who see the offsides push up coming and choose to take the ball on their own.  Through runs from deep (from other central mids) would also work, though we have not worked on this and it would be the toughest “new’ concept to implement at this stage.

I also talked with the girls about a possible formation shift into a 4-5-1.  The idea behind this would be to have one, smart target forward who gives us depth in the attack but who also realizes that their main job is to remain onsides.  We would look to have two holding forwards behind this lone point striker who would look to make the through runs from deeper, and hopefully onsides, positions.

The plan will be to start out in our usually shape (4-4-2) and then look to make adjustments if/when necessary.

It’s hard not to take this game lightly as the Kentucky team was hammered by a team I think we are better than.  I need to remember that at least 4 of the Magic’s goals came on breakaways and coaches said most of the play was actually Javanon’s in between the defensive breakdowns.  I’ve been around enough to know that ANYTHING can happen in this game, and I need to continually remind myself tomorrow that we will likely be in a battle.  It’s hard not to look past them to Monday however.

We’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Region II Championships - Friday, June 22

Out my front door in Woodbury around 8:30AM on Friday morning, on the road to Iowa for the Region II Championships.  The plan for today was to hold a light training session with the girls down in Des Moines at 1PM.  We would then check in at the sure-to-be-luxurious Holiday Inn Airport hotel to get ready to head to the Opening Ceremonies at around 4:30PM.

I made a short detour 70 miles into the trip at Medford to stop by the Nike Factory Store, but lucky for my AmEx card the store didn’t open until 10AM.  Bummer, I needed more socks.

Between my iPod, cell phone conversations, and Sirius stations Foxxhole 106 (Jamie Foxx's new station) and SPA 73 (spa/jazz station), the trip flew by.  When I traded in my 2002 I-feel-really-cool-driving-it BMW for my new 2008 wife-says-we-need-a-more-practical-vehicle-with-a-new-baby-girl-and-a-115lb-Italian-Mastiff-pup-Bella-and-there-is-no-way-on-God’s-green-earth-that-I’m-purchasing-a-mini-van Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, it came with a six month free trial of the Sirius Satellite service.  I wasn’t big on satellite radio until this point, but it is really a cool thing.  A ton of choices, though I’ve gravitated to the aforementioned two.  106 has me laughing out loud constantly, and 73 (though I can’t believe I’m admitting to choosing to listen to spa/new age music), is a good station to think and unwind to on the way home from the sometimes stressful U13 girls sessions.

I thought the training field was perfect.  A mile or two from our hotel with very thick, not-recently-mowed grass. We’ve been down to the Hidden Valley Soccer Complex the last two Aprils and the grass is always thick and lush.  I didn’t expect them to be any different this week so our ability to get a little run around on a longer-grass field today was perfect.

I. Name Tag

Set Up

• 2 groups of 8 players in different colored vests in roughly a 40x60 playing area (from midfield to the top of the penalty box)

Procedure

• Coach yells the name of one girl on the field and that girl is now “it”
• Teams get a point by having their “it” player run over the endline
• If opposing players tag the girl that is “it”, the tagger now becomes “it” and “possession” is switched to the other team

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for a team if their “it” player can run over the endline

Coaching Points

• The idea here is to work on field vision, anticipation, moving to open space when your team is in possession of “it”, and defensive awareness (marking up dangerous players)
• The game moves much faster than a soccer game because there is no ball involve
• The players must still think quickly though and make good decisions when to pass “it” by yelling out another teammates name or when to run with “it” on their own

II. Name Tag Possession

Same as above, this time with no direction involved.  Teams look to keep possession by passing "it" around without letting the opposing team tag the "it" player.  Upon a successful tag, possession switches over to the team that was defending. 

III. Sequence Passing

Set Up

• 2 groups of 8 players in different colored vests in roughly a 40x60 playing area (from midfield to the top of the penalty box)
• Players in each group numbered 1 to 8
• Two soccer balls for each team, one with player #1 and the other with player #4

Procedure

• Players pass to the player with the next higher number (1 to 2, 2 to 3… 8 to 1)
• All players must be moving at all times

Coaching Points

• “Ping” the pass (hit it firm) in the long grass
• Anticipate when you will be receiving the ball, know what you are going to do with it (who you are going to pass to) before you get it

Switch Variation

• When the coach yells “Switch!”, players reverse the order they are passing in (3 now plays to 2, 2 to 1, etc)

Pass to Space Variation

• Same concept but now passes are made into space or teammate to run onto

Three Ball Variation

• Three soccer balls, beginning with 1, 3, and 6

IV. Corner Kick Attack/Defense

Same as our last training session, again focusing on prepping to try and take advantage of our attacking corner kicks, while trying to minimize the threat of these set pieces against us.

I had our 4 corner kick takers working on their services, two from each side of the field.  We had a GK and 6 defenders in the box with the remaining 6 girls trying to finish.

The focus was emphasizing attacking the ball aggressively, believing that teammates/defenders will miss the ball when they try and head or clear the ball just in front of you, and sprinting out of the box to remain onsides when the defending team clears and pushes up field.

My new catch phrase with the team in recent weeks has been “believe she’s going to miss it”.  This means that I want the girls to believe that a teammate or defender challenging for the ball just in front them is going to miss the ball.  In this way, our girls are ready and the missed ball, when it does occur, is not a surprise.  I would rather see one of our girls take a swing or follow through with a header on goal and shoot/head the air that a ball would have been in if it had not been played by a defender or teammate, rather than have the girl mistakenly think the ball will not get through to them and be caught not ready when it does.

V. 11v6 Attacking and Defending Set Pieces

The team of 11 defended the big goal and attacked two 4 yard counter goals at midfield. The team of 6 (and me) attacked the goal and I whistled for indirect and direct free kicks at random to work on attacking and defending ideas.

Attacking Free Kicks

• From long distance center of the field kicks, look to play the ball wide for a wide back to serve in at a better angle
• From wide set pieces within 20 yards of the endline, look to set up like a corner kick
• Around the box, simple set up for indirect kicks, hit the target on direct kicks

Defending Free Kicks From Distance

• When defending free kicks from distance, center backs organize the holding line - sort your marks out quickly
• As the kick taker approaches the ball, turn your body and be ready to beat any attacker to the space behind you by getting a few steps head start

Defending Free Kicks Around the Box

• GK announces how many in the wall
• Mids in the wall, first one on the scene is the "post" player and raises their hand - this is the player who one of the forwards lines up with the near post
• Know the ref signals, indirect and direct
• All other players stay tuned in and mark up
• Step up the field but stay organized when the ball is cleared

After about an hour we headed over to the shaded pavilion for a Subway lunch. It was a fun and very productive afternoon. The girls look sharp and ready for the weekend’s competition.

On our way back to the hotel, some ominous storms started forming on the western horizon.  The plan was still to head out to the Opening Ceremonies at around 4PM and I was looking forward to the experience.

I got to the baseball stadium around 4PM, but by 4:15PM officials had made the decision to cancel the event due to severe weather in the area.  I headed back to the hotel (about 4 miles away) and snapped this photo looking south.

There was some serious rotation in this front and the sky was a scary green behind it.  This cloud ended up forming into a tornado that hit about 5 miles south of us.

Due to the severe weather in the area, the girls gathered with other teams and hotel guests in one of the ball rooms to wait out the storm.

About 20 minutes into the wait, the power went out in the building. 

It would not come back on until sometime in the middle of the night. 5:30PM, a whole night ahead of us, and no power in the hotel.

It ended up being a fairly fun night though.  Good bonding time for the kids and the parents, and fun for the players as there were plenty of soccer boys around to make things interesting for the girls.

There was a huge astro-turfed area pool side, so I cleared an area, set up a bunch of chairs, and got a couple fields of 2v2 soccer tennis going.  The girls played for hours and other Bangu and non-Bangu teams came down to try their luck.  The pool area was domed with a huge skylight, so there was plenty of light even without the power working.

Eventful day… looking forward to the morning though!

17 for 17 After Final ODP Cuts

Final roster cuts came out yesterday for the 93, 94, and 95 ODP age groups.  I was very happy to see that all 17 girls on the team were recognized as top players in their respective age group pools by the state ODP staff and were all Region Camp Selections for ODP camp in July.

To the best of my knowledge, this marks the first time in MN soccer history that an entire club team is comprised of all MN ODP players.  This is a testament to the effort and commitment the girls have made over the last few years, as well as a testament to the Bangu Tsunami club, the quality of the selection process used to form teams as well as the to the club's structured, year round training program.

93 Girls (18 girls selected)

• Brownie
• Bidi
• Mudd
• Lily
• Sting
• Jilly
• Becs
• Blondie
• Hannah

94 Girls (36 girls selected)

• Sophie
• Getch
• Scratch
• Macky
• Nash
• Maddie
• Ripper

95 Girls (64 selected)

• Millie