The Long Drive Home

Though a little apprehensive about the drive through Chicago on my way home (based on my eventful trip to the tournament on Friday), an hour and a half from the Chicago Magic complex in Indiana, I was gazing westward at the string airplane lights in the gathering night sky as they taxied in line to land at O'Hare, with the downtown Chicago skyline rapidly disappearing into the gray haze in my rear view mirror.

As with every trip home from a tournament like this, I was pretty exhausted.  "But you just sit there!", one of the girls pointed out to me as she heard me mention my weariness to another parent after the final game.  Very true.  But it's the constant mental tuned-in-ness that I experience the hour or so leading up to the game, the hour of the game itself, and the hour or so after the game that catches up to me by Sunday afternoons that leaves me drained.

Prior to the Game

• Where are we at in the tournament?  Do we need a result in the upcoming game?  If so, what changes do I need to make?
• What to take the girls through for warm ups?
• What team formation to begin the game in?
• Who has started a game, who has not, how can I tweak the line up to get everyone a start at some point in the event yet keep a good balance between stronger and weaker players on the field?
• What do I know about the other team based on  observation or based on results against known competition?  Where are they strong, where can they be exposed?  What instruction to I need to give the girls to contain opponent strengths/take advantage of opponent weaknesses?
• Which girls to I need to talk to individually to help with confidence issues, technical/tactical issues, etc.
• What is our team "vibe" today in warm ups?  Do the girls look flat or sharp?
• What am I going to talk to the girls about in warm up?  What are we trying to accomplish in the upcoming game?  What do I need to say to help motivate the girls and get them ready to play?

During the Game

• How did we come out to play early on?  Is the sharpness/flatness from warm ups carrying over?
• Are we able to possess or are we playing more direct?
• How is our team shape as we move up and down the field?  Are we connected and do we move as a unit?
• What are our opponent's individual/team strengths and what changes in formation or tactics do I need to make to address these?
• Where is our opponent weak and what changes do I need to make to take advantage of these weaknesses?
• Where are we finding success (balls over the top?  wide play?  changing fields?), where are we struggling?
• Who is on the field and who is on the bench?  Who just came off the field and who needs to get in the game?  Who has played in which position and do I have the opportunity to get them in somewhere else?  How to I have to tweak the substitution pattern to give me the line up I need when I need it?

I'm constantly surveying the whole field wherever the ball is to analyze player positions and team shape.  For example, if we're in possession of the ball on the right flank - can that player dribble/pass/shoot and does she make what I think is the correct decision?  does that player have support?  does that player have options to play forward or play a dangerous ball?  do we have numbers in the box for a cross?  where is our opposite side midfielder?  how is our shape in the back in case we lose the ball?  where are our central players and can they switch the point of attack if they get it?  I am constantly giving feedback to the girls on the field on technique and decision making, while praising effort and ideas and being as encouraging as I can.

On top of all this, I'm in a running commentary with the players on the bench.

• Did you guys understand what I was telling Meg out there?
• Did you guys see how we won back possession there?
• Did you guys see how Bargsy could have switched the play?
• Did you guys see how Raley was probably a better option there?
• Did you guys see how it's tough to get power on a shot when running away from goal?

After the Game

• What did we do well today?  What needs work?
• How did our individual players perform?  Who played well in which position?  Who didn't I get to move around the field into different positions?
• Who do I need to talk with individually about technical suggestions, who need a little pick up or boost of confidence?
• Did the overall game plan for the game work out as expected?  What changes do I need to make for the next game?
• Where does this result put us in the tournament standings?  What result are we looking for in the next game?

Seem like a lot?  I think it is.  I'm not looking for sympathy from readers, as I can think of a lot worse ways to spend a weekend, but I think it's helpful for people to understand that when some coaches just appear to just be sitting there reclining in their folding chair soaking in the sun, there may be a lot more going on than people might think. 

So, with a full weekend under my belt, I just couldn't manage to make the 7+ hour drive home in one shot.  I stopped west of Madison at a Holiday Inn Express, and finally made it home around 10AM on Monday morning.