11/24 3v2 With Target Continuous

Today was our day with 1/2 the field so we put it to use right away by going into our 1v0 to 4v4 game.  The key points that we worked on today were
-The target players checking back at angles and combining off of them
-Regrouping and relaxing on the ball if the defenders halt our initial break 

The second point was the main focus because the girls need to recognize when our counter attack is no longer on and we need to keep possession of the ball.  The visual cue that we used for this was when the player on the ball had a defender in front of her and she had lost her momentum.

After talking with Schaefer about the 2v2v2 With Targets Transition Game we decided that there were too many kids standing around in that game at this point of our learning curve.  It was a pretty complex game that the girls were starting to grasp the ideas of but we felt that we could make it better as we learned the principles of transition.  So in order to do that I came up with the following 3v2 Transition game.

-The Blue team starts with the ball in their half and plays the ball into their target player to begin the game.
-As Blue plays the ball into their target player the two blue players from the sideline step on to become the next defenders.

 -The Blue Attackers attempt to score within 5-7 seconds of entering the grid.
Point System 
Getting a shot = 1 point
Shot on goal = 3 points
Goal = 5 points
Bonus points for combinations or criss crossing runs?

-After Blue shoots and a save is made or goal is scored the yellows get a ball from their goalie and play their target player on the other half.
-If the yellows steal the ball they can attack immediately and the Blues cannot defend them
- The Blue who took the shot remains to become the new target player
-The 2 Blues who did not take the shot exit to the half line and wait to become the new Blue defenders
-The 2 yellows who were on the sideline enter on as defenders 

-Yellows not try to score in 5-7 seconds

After they shoot the blues counter the other way and the new blues come on with the yellow who shot staying on as the target and the other 2 yellows leaving to wait and become the new defenders. 

This version of the game worked out very well and the kids were moving non stop with everyone involved and no standing around.

The key points in the game that we focussed on today were:
-When your goalie gets the ball can the 2 defenders get wide immediately to start the counter attack
-Can the 2 transitioning defenders criss cross as they are entering the attacking zone

We finished the day with a 7v7 scrimmage. 

11/23 Optional Finishing Session

We did not have futsol today but I found some dome time at Holy Angels that Mark's 12's and I decided to rent and split.  It was kind of nice just having 1 session today.  (1 if you don't count the U16's session later tonight)

We began the session with some volley work and then we got right into our exercise for the day.

1v1 to 2v2

Set Up:
-2 Teams
-Each team forms 2 lines at the post of the goal they are defending
-Opposite lines have the soccer balls

-To begin the players with the balls pass at the same time to the players across form them and run out to defend the girl that she just passed the ball to.

-These players go 1v1 trying to score on the goal they are attacking 
 

-One a goal is scored or the ball goes out of bounds the game becomes 2v2 as long as the other ball is in play.
(If the goalie makes a save, she rolls the ball out to her teammates and the ball is still in play.) 
 Key Points:
-Vary up what you are doing.  Shoot from distance to set up the fake shot and move in closer
-Set up your moves so you are in a good shooting position
-Use the defender as a screen 

We played games up to 10 goals and I had other activities planned but this was going so well that we ended up doing it for 45 minutes and the girls declined the opportunity to scrimmage 8v8 with the 12's in order to continue playing.

11/22 2v2v2 Transition Game and Shooting

Once you get behind on these entries it is really tough to get caught up but here come some entries in an effort to get caught up.

This was from the session the morning of the EP scrimmage.

0-15 Street Soccer

15-45 Basic Shooting Technique

45-65 2v2v2 Transition Game

65-80 Scrimmage

11/22 Scrimmage vs EP U14

We were out at EP's dome tonight for a scrimmage with their U14 team.  I had yet to see the EP team play last year or this fall so I wasn't sure what to expect.  If you have never been to Eden Prairie's dome, the field is tiny.  Even for U13's the field is tiny.  The dimensions of the field are about 100 yards long by 50 yards wide.  I would recommend playing 8v8 to 10v10 depending on your age group if you want to play a really good game.  For us the size of the field helped us working on our quick combination play because the small field meant that we were always under pressure all over the field.

Before the game we talked about making sure that we played with skill starting at the beginning of the game.  Against our U14 Blues we spent a majority of the first half playing rushed and the girls were able to see that when they slowed the game down through using skill they played a lot better.

From the beginning of the game we did a great job of controlling the ball and playing with skill.  The first 15 minutes we possessed the ball and put together some nice combinations.  The only issue was that we were doing everything between our 18 and just into EP's half so despite our possession we were not dangerous at all. I pointed this out to the girls on the sideline and we talked about being able to continue the nice possession play that we were doing, but we wanted to do it in their half.  

When the subs went in they did a great job of moving the ball into our attacking half and we immediately began creating chances.  Jordy and Kenzie each had mini breakaways which EP's goalie made some really nice saves on.

In the 22nd minute Blitz earned a Cristiano Ronaldo Skillzy.  We were possessing the ball in EP's half and Blitz (CF) called for the ball 10 yards outside the top of the box with a defender on her back.  As the ball came to her she flicked it up with her first touch and juggled the ball over the defender with her second touch sending Jordy through on another breakaway.  

In the 30th minute Becks hit a great free kick from just outside of the top of the box which their goalie made another good save and held onto the ball.

Since we only had an hour to play we decided not to do half time so we could maximize our playing time.  

In the 55th minute we finally were able to get one past the EP goalie when Gaffer and Kenzie completed a give and go that put Gaffer to the right side of the goal 12 yards out and she hit a quick toe poke into the near post.  

After we scored we continued to press and with 2 minutes left we had a corner kick.  Everyone but 2 defenders pressed forward for the corner.  We decided to play the corner short and once we did this our defender on the far side decided to go forward to get in for the impending cross.  As she went forward our only other player who was back went forward to get a pass from the corner and possibly get a shot off.  This left no one within 20 yards of the half line for us.  Oh boy.  We put a cross into the box which was cleared up to the half line and it sent their forward in on a breakaway which she finished.  After the game we would talk about awareness and game management.

 The final whistle blew shortly after the goal and we ended up tied 1-1.  The 3 points that we talked about after the game were:
1) During the first 15 minutes we possessed the ball but didn't go anywhere so we didn't create any chances.  The rest of the game we did a great job of possessing and going forward so we were able to create a lot of chances.
2) We only took 2-3 shots from outside the box so we were not able to create as many chances as we could have and we did not get as many shots as we should have.
3) Be aware of your surroundings.  We can't have everyone go forward leaving no one at the back.  Especially when we are up by a goal in the closing stages of the game.

Despite the score I was really happy with how we played.  Due to the small field we were constantly under pressure but we booted the ball without looking less than 6 times all game.  (I didn't keep track but as I look back at the game I can really only remember 2 clears from inside our box.)  That included 3 corners and the other times that EP was in our around our box.  Our defenders did a great job of using skill under pressure.  Jazzy earned her second Ronaldo card by continually using her moves coming forward from the back.

The following players had give and go's: Lydia and Becks, Taz and Carly, LK and Stokes, Bella and Jazz, Taz and Hannah, Bella and Becks, Jordy and Taz, AJ and Bella.

I am looking forward to next weekend when we are scrimmaging Mark Yuiell's U12 Boys team and our U13 Boys White team to see how our quick play really is coming along. 

11/17 Transition Game Training

Today we only had a quarter of the dome to train in.  Before having half of the dome last Monday I was wondering what I would do with all of that space and worried that I would be paying for a large space that I wasn't using.  Today I found myself wishing that I had the entire half of the dome to progress the 2v2v2 With Targets game that we did on Saturday.

Before training I was also wondering how the parents would cope with having training starting at 5pm.  It was good thinking of Cook to schedule the 1/2 field training later when theoretically it should be easier for more people to make it to training.  But I actually had more people here today than I did last week at the later time.  Today we were only missing 2 kids.  Really good.

We started off with our partner juggling.  With 2 touch mandatory with feet only our record was 18 and we had another group get to 17.  

For our footskills today I wanted the girls to get lots of reps with a defender since we have been spending so much time going over the moves without a defender and with a dummy defender.
 For the first 10 minutes I encouraged the girls to take their time and try out all of the new moves that we have been working on.  I put a lot of emphasis on getting the girls to try and nutmeg the defender.

The next 10 minutes we went over how to beat the defender while going at speed.  Now we were concentrating on when how we could beat a player on a quick transition so we could attack with pace and create numbers up opportunities.

We stopped a couple of times and talked about the visual cues of when you have a defender beat (hip swivels, off balance) and how to set up the defender as you are dribbling at her.  

I encouraged the girls to try to limit themselves to only 1 cut back when they were on offense and to believe that the move they were doing was going to work.  

While I was doing this Schaefer was able to work with AJ on goal keeping.

After this we did the 2v2v2 With Targets to Goal transition game that we did last Saturday.  After 10 minutes of continuing to really learn how the flow of the game goes, we stopped the girl and focussed on not running straight up and down the field as they transition forward.  

We talked about criss-crossing in the middle after playing the target.

We also talked about making sure that both runners didn't run past the target player because the forward flick on pass for the target player facing the other way is not a high percentage pass and will cause us lots of turn overs.

We finished up training with a 6v6 scrimmage and 2 of the girls went and played with the U15 Green's to give them more numbers and allow us to have everyone play.