JFG Fall Invitational - Saturday, Sept 22

I woke up excited for the weekend.  It was a chilly early morning but promised to be a gorgeous day out weather-wise.  I made a detour by Starbucks then made the 12 mile drive to the James Cownie field south east of downtown Des Moines.

I was hit by a flood of positive thoughts and memories as I drove into the complex.  My last visit here this past June made for my absolute most enjoyable soccer memory to date (see Of Goose Bumps and Finger Tips - the page will take a while to load, but it's worth it).  I got goose bumps again just driving into the place.

I had asked the girls to arrive at 7:15AM for the 8:00AM kick off.  I checked my watch and it read 6:43AM.  The sun was starting to peek out and the fields and parking lots were still quiet.  In case anyone wanted to know, I love my office.

The girls began arriving just after 7AM.  As I walked over to our assigned field, I was amazed at the quality field conditions.  They were awesome.  I knew the facility was capable of producing good fields, as they were in almost even better condition for the Region II Championships last summer.  However, for that event, I hear they closed the fields to play for nearly a month leading up to the event.  They couldn't possibly do the same for this tournament, but the fields were pristine nevertheless. 

I had some a little anxiety about the parent groups this weekend.  However, I think many read my thoughts after the NSR Gold Cup, and many took to heart some of what I put down in the Building a Love for the Game handout last Wednesday, and I went into the weekend believing that the atmosphere surrounding both U11 teams' games this weekend would be better.  I plan on addressing all this again face to face with all Academy parents this fall in our PACT Training Sessions in October. 

Some of the group had their own ideas for controlling Tourettes-like outbursts.  Gotta love 'em!  I think we'll be just fine this weekend.

We started our warm up around 7:25AM with some Walking Soccer, Linked Soccer, some passing and movning, and some stretching.  Fifteen minutes into our warm up, the Omaha team was still no where to be seen.  The eventually started arriving around 7:45AM and looked rushed a bit in their own warm up. 

The refs arrived, called for captains, and looked to want to get us going even a bit early.  Field #3 ran east/west, so with the early morning sun there was a definite advantage for the GK of the team attacking the west goal.  However, seeing our opponents apparent early morning disarray, I instructed our captains to take the kick off if they won the toss.  Why?  Well, we've got a very talented 1v1 dribbler in the group.  If we had the kick off, I wanted to have the girls run our Warpath kick off play.  Play?  What is this, football?  Maybe play is the wrong word.  Kick off "idea" is better.  Nothing fancy here.  At the whistle, one player taps the ball to Maddog (our talented 1v1 dribbler) and I give her free reign to attack the opposing team.  The thought here is that our opponents 1) aren't really expecting it, and moreover, 2) didn't look really ready to play.  My only instruction to Maddog was to not worry about moves (Step Overs, Scissors, etc) and focus more on speed and surprise. 

The girls lined up and the whistle blew. 

Off went Maddog.  Past one, past two, past three... then hings didn't work out exactly as planned... Maddog through in a Step Over to beat the fouth. 

6 seconds later, the girls were jogging back to midfield as the stunned Gladiator GK was picking the ball out of the back of her net.  Nice start.

At 12 minutes we doubled our lead as Raley (CF) picked up a loose ball around 30 yards from goal on the left side of the field.  She dribbled the ball across the field a little ways then found Phi Phi (RM) with a good change of field pass.  Phi Phi beat her marking defender and shot home a powerful shot over the Gladiator GK. 

We created a few more very good chances at net but failed to capitalize.  B-Money, Emi, Maddog, and Raley all had good 1v1 chances against the Gladiator GK but could not convert.  Gladiators then got back in the game one minute from the halftime break. 

A long punt from the Gladiator GK was allowed to bounce near the midfield line between Gizmo (LD) and Maddog (CD) and one of the Gladiator forwards ran onto it, 1v1 with Maddog.  Gismo ran beside the play a nd slowed down thinking Maddog was going to make the tackle.  Maddog, instead of jockeying patiently giving other teammates time to recover goal side, dove in with a hard challenge that took the Gladiator player down about 25 yards from goal.  Our defenders were a bit disorganized, not fully grasping that I wanted a defensive line held at the top of the penalty box (got to work on this idea in training).  The Gladiator player took a hard shot over the wall that Mal (GK) made a good initial save on, but another Gladiator attacker pounced on the loose ball and shot home the rebound. 

2-1 at the end of the first 25 minutes in a very good game.  Gladiators were athletic and tough, with some really skilled players.  I was pleasantly surprised at their level of play. 

At halftime, we talked about more composure and trust in our own skill when 1v1 with the opposing GK.  We had missed at least 3 clear 1v1s like this in the first half as players went for inaccurate power shots instead of more accurate inside of the foot placement shots.  While fresh in their minds, I also talked about defending free kicks near our goal, holding a line giving our GK needed space, and retreating towards goal as the ball is kicked in order to provide assistance if the GK gives up a rebound. 

We came out and played very well in the second half, regaining our 2-goal cushion 5 minutes in as Raley finished a breakaway... with a low, inside of the foot pass by the onrushing Gladiator GK.  Nice. 

Midway through the half, Gladiators made it 3-2 as a cross from their right side was deflected around in our box, finally dropping to a Gladiator forward for an easy tap in.  The game ended with this score line.  A good result against a very good team.

* * * * *

All the games at this event were 90 minutes apart, leaving me ample time to get from the end of one game to another.  My schedule was going to be pretty solid, with games today at 8:00AM (Blue), 9:30AM (White), 11:00AM (Blue), 12:30PM (White), Blue White team lunch at a laser tag/mini golf/arcade place, then a 3:30PM game with the U14 White team. 

The one good thing about the schedule is that the Blue and White teams can catch most of the other team's games.  It is important to me that I try and build more of a club-like feel in our Academy.  Moreover, it is important that I build a sense of club in this age group with the two teams.  Heading to events like this and the age group bonding that occurs is nice to see.  In the past years, our Blue and White teams at these young age groups have been almost completely separate from one another.  My goal is to change that this year, and I think we're well on our way towards this goal.

The White team opened up their event against VSA White (Waukee, IA).  They played very well and handled the Iowa team easily.  The game ended 5-0, with goals from Kait, Jordan (AJ cross), Ash, Jordan (Maddie E lay off), and Neve.

The Blue team came up against the CSA Fuerza for their second match of the day.  The Lincoln, Nebraska, team proved a stern test in the first half, but the Goo Girls scored four in the second half to win 6-0.  B-Money and Maddog each tallied one in the first half, then Phi Phi, Normy, Bargsy (Phi Phi cross), and Maddog in the second. 

In the last game of the day, the White team beat BSC Calypso (Bellevue, NE) 5-1n to cap off a day of solid performances for the age group.  Rach, Viv (Neve coner kick), Ash, and Viv all finding the back of the net. 

Off to Tokens for pizza, laser tag, mini-golf, and more.  Excited to see what tomorrow brings for these two teams.