WDMSC Premier Games - Sat, Apr 5

Up at 6AM, showered, dressed in 8 layers in anticipation of the cold morning, tripped over Andy on the pull out on my way out the door, down to the lobby to print out all the MTA teams' schedules, across the street to McDonald's for a #4 with a vanilla latte (it was actually not very cold out at all!), and then off to the fields for our first game vs VSA Elite (IA).

I arrived at the Hidden Valley fields at 7AM. VSA was already at the field beginning their warm up. We had beaten them 2 or 3 times over the past 2 years and I knew they knew we were a strong team. They'd be focused, knowing they'd need to perform near their top level to get a result. My job was to make sure that we matched their intensity and focus, in order to let our skill make a difference in the game.

The MTA girls began arriving at the field around 7:15AM. The field was OK. Not up to the typical standards I've come to expect from this complex, but it wasn't horrible. There were however some bumps and some patchy areas that needed notice.

We started in our 4-4-2, a formation that has been working well for us.

Normy (CD) likes to attack from the back, so we morph into a 3-5-2 sometimes from this formation. B-Money likes to hang up front and attack a lot from the outside mid position as well when she's on the field, so at other times we look like we're in a 3-4-3. This all asks the girls to recognize changing team shape and make needed adjustments, and also keeps opposing teams off balance a bit, so it's all good.

I was set on having everyone start two of the four games this weekend as well as getting players playing time in many different positions. However,

We came out and played fairly well in the first half. Chels (LF) found the back of the net about 7 minutes in on a breakaway to give us the early lead. The rest of the half wasn't anything to write home about. We seemed to relax a little bit after the first goal and were not really outplayed during the last 20 minutes of the first half, but definitely out worked. The girls put some nice passing sequences together at times and we created chances at goal, but we lost the midfield battle against a feisty VSA group and they had one or two good opportunities at our goal that I'd rather not see a team have. They had a tying goal called back for offside, and we were lucky on that one as their attack broke apart our usually tight defense.

Halftime came and the girls needed a pep talk. I used the same old example I always used with them. I indicated with my hands two different levels, right hand held higher than the left. Our skill is here (wiggling the right, higher of my two hands), their skills is here (wiggling the left, lower level hand). If they out work us (raise my left hand to be equal with my right) it's an even game. If we match their work rate (raise my right hand the same distance I just raised my left hand so again there is the gap between the two teams or hands) our skill will carry us through. It's a very good visual.

We also talked about being more direct. We had sprung a forward through for a goal in the first half and VSA hadn't changed their high line of defense. We needed to stop trying to play pretty with short passing ALL the time and needed to be more up tempo and direct - to be unpredictable and to be effective.

The girls, somewhat surprisingly :) both listened to and acted on the advice. I don't always get both... they are 11 after all.

4 minutes in, a through ball from Em (CM) to B-Money (RM) won us a corner kick after the VSA defender worked to block B's endline cross. B-Money drove the resulting corner kick service into the far post area and Babes (LF) headed the ball home. Good goal, good opportunity to illustrate to the girls the importance of working on set pieces in the weeks leading up to an event.

Two minutes later, B-Money was again instrumental in making something happen as she won the ball near midfield in our half with a hard shoulder to shoulder tackle. B played a good ball forward to Em (RF) who turned her defender with a one touch Arc Turn and was off to goal 1v1. She finished with a powerful shot to give us the important 3rd goal.

It was too much for the VSA team to battle back from. The MTA girls continued to do well stringing passes together and attack. More importantly, we didn't give VSA a sniff at our goal.

Five minutes from time we scored our 4th, as T (RD) played the ball through for someone. I'm sure my girls will let me know who scored because I forgot to write the name down. And I write things down because I don't have a chance of remembering much with everything going on at the tournament...

I did write T down though as the passer, happy for our U11 guest player to be involved in goal.

It was B-Money, who finished on another breakaway.

Much to my then disappointment, we gave a goal up in seconds before the final whistle sounded. VSA won a throw in about 30 yards from goal on the left side of the field. We all tuned out and reacted too late to the long throw to the top of our box and the VSA striker, their first half GK, with her back to our goal, turned and volleyed the ball past Payt in net. A second after we kicked off, the ref whistled for the end of the game.

Disappointed for sure to lose the clean sheet, but it proved to be a good teaching moment for the girls after the game as I talked about defensive pride, keeping tuned in until the final whistle blew, and also stressed the fact that a goal can be scored at ANY time in a game. Meaning, that if we're down late in a game, we fight, claw, and scrape until the game is done.

Good first game all in all, good result, FC Barrington up next at 4:30PM.

* * * * *

After our game, I stayed at the field as our U13G Blues were playing Mequon United in their first game. The 13s are a very good team. A handful of the girls started with me back in 04/05 as a U9 Bangu Tsunami group in Woodbury. We also had a strong South group at this age and added players to the mix as time went on, culminating in a very talented team make up this year for tryouts at U13. Looking at this group in comparison to the U13G Region II Championship team I had two years ago (now U15G MTA Elite 94 Blue), this current group is stronger.

If we get out of our State Cup group, we'd face these guys in the semifinal game. We've played them tough before, but a game score could easily be 5-0 for them if they're hitting on all cylinders.

At halftime I headed to the South fields across the road to start the U12G White team's warm up. Andy would be over to take the team after his game with the U13s.

Just after halftime of that game, I got in my car and cruised over to the Cownie complex on the other side of town to watch FC Barrington play VSA Elite at 12:15PM. After about a half of watching, I was confident that if we came to play in the afternoon, we'd get a result.

I was also able to watch the Group C match up between our friends the Toro Chaos (NE) and the Midwest Reign Knockouts (IL). Good game. Toro dominated from what I saw but would turn out to drop the game 2-0. We played the Knockouts last year in the final of this event, beating them, then lost to them in the Eclipse Challenge Cup last fall.

Then, back over to Hidden Valley to watch the KC Select Rage (MO) vs Heartland Jaguars (IA). I was very interested in seeing the KC team play. I had heard a lot about them. They came into the event seeded #2 behind us, and I had traded some emails with their coach/club president this past month. He had been turned onto this site by one of his team parents who was likely doing research about the competition in the Premier Games. He had let me know that they were looking forward to possibly playing us this weekend and that it was his club in the U12 Girls 1v1 Skills video that I posted on this site. That's cool.

They were good. Creative and dangerous in the attack with some big, athletic girls. Quick in the back. It would be a very good game between our girls.

I had contacted the Tournament Director yesterday and mentioned an interest in looking for friendly games on Saturday night in the event that the tournament might be cancelled on Sunday. He mentioned that the KC Select team was looking for the same and we would have tried to coordinate a 7PM friendly tonight on a local turf field if Sunday was not on. However, the Tournament decided Saturday morning that Sunday morning's games would go on as scheduled, so our friendly against KC Select was not going to happen.

Back over to Cownie to watch a 3PM TC Fire (MN) vs Woodbury (MN) game as Maddog had left our team this winter to play with the TC group. On my way I tried to rally some of the girls to get to the fields early and Dog's game was right before ours on an adjacent field. It would be fun to see the girls support her.

I got in touch with many of the team and they all hurried to get out to the complex early. We delayed our warm up a bit as the girls sat in the bleachers to cheer Dog on. I felt kind of bad though when TC Fire scored to even up the game at 1 goal a piece. Our girls, with the only though of supporting Dog, cheered wildly. I knew many of the parents of girls on the Woodbury team, even chatted with a few during the game. There is obviously a wee bit of history between that club and me, history that is many times overblown with rumor thanks to many who were never even involved back in the day. I didn't want the girls' cheering to seem offensive to some... oh, Mark is having his girls cheer against Woodbury because he is classless. I guess they'll think what they'll think, but...

Took the group over to our field at 4PM to begin our warm up.

* * * * *

Kept us in our 4-4-2 for the second game.

Game started out well for us. We were clearly a more skilled team though the Barrington girls played us hard.

16 minutes in Phi Phi (CM) collected the ball about 40 yards out in the middle of the field, looked up, and played a terrific Slotted Through Pass to Vivi (RF) who was streaking towards goal on a diagonal run. Vivi finished her breakaway to give us the lead.

Four minutes later, Babes (RF) pressured a Barrington defender at the right corner of the penalty box (18 yards out), won the ball, and fired a rocket from just outside the box that was too fast, powerful, and unexpected for the Barrington GK to make a good attempt at a save.

Two very good goals for this age group.

Not much to say at halftime as the girls were in control of the match. 2-0 lead, let's work hard to get the game's next goal. If they got the next goal to close the lead gap to 1 goal, they'd pick up some momentum and we could be under pressure. If we got the next goal, we'd help relieve some of the game pressure.

We did work hard, continued to dominate, but didn't get our next goal until the 21 minute mark. B-Money (RM) received a pass with her back to the goal around 40 yards out. She flicked the ball with the outside of her right foot to Vivi (RF) and Vivi sped up field, running at the Barrington defense. B continued to follow the play, and overlapped Vivi near the corner of the Barrington penalty box. B cut inside onto her left foot, dribbled past one defender, past another and hit a very, very good left foot shot low past the Barrington GK. Another really good goal.

We scored one more. Ladies, a little help? I didn't write anything down for some reason.

After the game, reminded the girls of what we talked about after the morning game, about the defensive pride and solid play in the back. I told the girls that our defenders are our unsung heroes. They don't get the glory that the forwards do when they score goals. They also are under the most pressure in any game we play. A forward can have an awful game - have bad touches, make mistakes, etc - then score the winning goal on their last touch of the game to be the hero. Defenders can play a flawless game - strong in the air and in tackles, clear dangerous balls in our box, play fantastic services out of the back, help stop attack after attack, etc - then make one mistake and be the goat. You tell me. Which position do you think 11 year old girls prefer to play on the field? I can't be the only U12G coach with 14 wannabe forwards on my roster.

With that said, it is extremely important that I continue to try and rotate girls in different positions, and I keep reiterating the fact that attackers score goals, defenders win championships. I told the girls as much after the game. When we won the Region Championship in 2007, we did it through solid defensive play. Don't know if this sunk in with the girls, but if it's repeated enough it will eventually :)

I'd stay at the field a while longer to watch the 13 Blues vs JUSC, again on the same field we just played on and kicking off right after us, then back to the hotel for a team dinner and player meetings to discuss our goal setting assignments. Long day, but extremely enjoyable.