Back at the hotel after our Friday night team dinner the girls, and many of the parent group, converged on the wide screen TV in the hotel lobby to watch the video of our Sting game.
I had the video camera wired directly into the TV and sat in front of the group rewinding and slow-moing through the game highlighting individual and team mistakes and successes. It was tremendously beneficial to the girls as they've never really seen themselves in action from this overhead perspective. I was able to point out many off the ball problems we have, thanks to the wide field view the elevated camera gave us. Some of the girls took the constructive criticism in front of the group well, some I know didn't. It was important for me to take in to account the different personalities and mental toughness of each of the girls if I "called them out" in this setting and pointed out mistakes. No one is perfect. We're all going to make mistakes and I don't care about the mistakes at this point. What I do care about is if you can, with my help, recognize the mistakes and work to minimize their frequency in the future.
It was a mental dance for me, watching the video to find highlight points for the girls (which came every 10 ro 15 seconds), remembering who I had called out, how they had reacted, and making sure that I would also publically highlight something that person did well.
All in all though the girls really enjoyed watching the game. Many wanted to watch it again when we were done but it was getting late.
I think the video and analysis was eye opening for many of the parents watching with us also as 1) they usually see the game from a field level perspective, and 2) are usually on the opposite side of the field from us and don't hear the coaching that goes on throughout the game, and due to lack of experience with the sport, may not fully understand what I'm asking the girls to do, how I'm asking them to play, what I'm looking for technically and tactically, etc - ideas that they were better able to pick up watching and listening to my comments to the girls watching.
Off to the fields around 9AM for a noon game. I'd like to say I was going out early to watch other U12 games but the tournament was set up so that all U12G played at the same time. The girls were to arrive at 11AM for a Noon game. No, I wasn't out two hours early to scout or game watch, I was out there completely paranoid that I wouldn't be able to set up the Hi-Pod.
Thankfully we were the first round of games that day at the complex. It would have sucked to have witnessed as what I envisioned to be the Leaning Tower of Hi-Pod come crashing down on the unsuspecting structural engineer (me). Then again, it might be helpful to have someone at the scene with working appendages to dial 911 if I'm crushed beneath $5,000 worth of video equipment and aluminum tubing.
Luckily with no games going on I was able to get front row parking and lugged the two cumbersome heavy-duty carrying cases out to the field. The 80 lbs. case was the heaviest, though the 8 ft long tubular case wasn't exactly easy to maneuver around solo.
It took me only about 30 minutes to set up. Not bad. I needed to wait for some help to telescope the camera up but all in all I was pretty psyched about the ease of use... once everything was brought out to the set up location.
The girls began arriving around 11AM eager to kick off the tournament.
Our warm-up began about 30 minutes prior to kick off. I led the girls through our 4 Phase Circle Routine (I'll details this later), some crossing and finishing, and we were ready to go.
I opted to start in a 4-2-1-3 formation that we had been working on for a whole 4 days. I was interested to see how the girls would adjust to the larger field and knew it would be challenging for us under the pressure we were sure to face.
The Sting kicked off and proceeded to string 9 passes in a row, most right in front of our bench, with our girls running around chasing. Sting switched the field with a good outlet pass and knocked another 4 or 5 passes. They played quick and moved both off the ball and to the ball when needed. I almost yelled out to the ref to throw another ball out on the field so White could play. I remember thinking it could be a really LONG weekend.
We finally broke their possession when Phi Phi intercepted a pass at the top of their box. The girls on the bench cheered like we just scored a goal.
A full 2 minutes later, as we were still unsettled and unorganized, we should have gone down 1-0 as the Sting broke down our left defense with some nice combination play, sent in a hard cross that we couldn't clear, and then missed a sitter from 6 yards out.
We slowly began to get accustomed to the speed and physical presence of the Sting team as the half went on. I shifted from a flat back 4 to a stopper/sweeper formation as the Sting had a very dangerous center forward who found uncontested space in the gap between our holding mids and our center backs. This change helped shore up our defense quite a bit and really stopped the Sting from threatening our goal for the rest of the game.
In possession though we still couldn't find our rhythm and we struggled to keep the ball under pressure. We'd work so hard in defense then give the ball away too easily on the attack. If our opponents don't have the ball, they can't hurt us.
We were also too North-South in our play with no thought about playing East-West or across the field in order to stretch our opponents shape and create dangerous gaps up the field.
My competitive juices were flowing and I found myself getting frustrated at our lack of composure and skill. I needed to remind myself that this team, regardless of past successes, was still a huge work in progress and we were here at this event to highlight what work needed to be done.
Thankful for the halftime whistle, I led the girls to the shade to try and get us better organized. I spoke about low-pressure defense against a team that could possess the ball. Instead of chasing around as individuals, could we fall back, let them have the ball in their defensive third - a third of the field from which they couldn't hurt us - then apply coordinated pressure once the Sting reached the top of the midfield circle (in their own half). Coordinated meant bent runs to force the ball one way or the other, making it predictable for our teammates behind the ball. Advanced stuff for 12 year olds but it was as good a time as any to introduce it as we would be given ample opportunity to put it to use today. This didn't mean that we'd play low pressure all the second half, but the girls would know what to do if I yelled out instructions to do so.
The Sting were very physical and I asked the girls to match it.
I also talked about our North-South play, a term I'd use with the girls to describe straight-line attacking up the field. We could alter this North-South play by 1) dribbling across the field, 2) linking (passing) across the field, and 2) making diagonal runs for the ball (for our forwards).
Lastly I spoke to the girls about being confident on the ball. Though out-possessed in the first half we were by no means a vastly inferior team to the Sting. I encouraged the girls to be confident on the ball, find smart space in order to have time when receiving passes, and looking to concentrate on completing passes quickly over simply playing long up the field.
The second half went much better for us. Our defenders (Babes, Mal, Meggy, Gizmo, and Cal) were strong and better organized and our attack was slightly more dynamic.
Wiki (Att Mid), a new addition to the group this year from Lakeville, helped set the physical tone early in the half with a great individual effort. The ensuing flurry around our opponents penalty box saw the ball fall to Chels (Point) who took a rushed shot that the Sting GK batted down.
We created another good chance midway through the half as B-Money (RF) pounced on an errant pass along the Sting backline, danced down the right side of the field, and sent in a wonderful cross into Chels (Point). If not for a fantastic block from the Sting sweeper, we likely would have gotten on the scoreboard.
With about 7 minutes left in the game we got the winner. Gizmo's (LD) tackle in midfield to disposses a Sting midfield started the movement. Cal (HM) pounced on the loose ball and played a good pass to Vivy (Att Mid). Vivy turned up field, took a touch away from pressure to her right, and sent a through ball to B-Money who had made an excellent diagonal run from her right forward position. B hurdled a tackle from her marking defender, touched the ball by the onrushing Sting GK who made a valiant play at the ball, and tapped the ball home a split second before being taken down by another recovering Sting defender. Great goal, good result to start off the weekend.
Good to be on the road again. Super busy end of the summer for me (in case you couldn't tell by the lack of posts for my 94s - still working on posting thoughts about the last part of our season) with the merger and MTA, as well as the normal chaos of tryouts season. Road trips like this are an ideal time for me to get some needed alone time during my drive - just me, my sunflower seeds, and my iPod or audiobooks. Time to unwind, rest and rejuvenate a bit, and reflect.
I'm definitely excited about the tournament. This Eclipse Challenge Cup is considered one of the top 3 girls tournaments in the nation based on competitiveness. Top Region II clubs like St Louis Scott Gallagher (MO), Carmel (IN), Ohio Elite (OH), Michigan Hawks (MI), and Eclipse Select (IL) will be in attendance, as will a number of teams from nationally recognized competitive clubs like PDA (NJ), Neusport (NV), and Dallas Sting (TX). Suffice it to say that we will likely find our most competitive tournament competition this year a mere 3 days after the team has been formed.
So why go? Why spend the time, energy, and money to travel to this event right off the bat? Two reasons mainly and neither has anything to do with the hardware.
First, this will be a terrific team bonding opportunity for the new team. Though I ended up selecting all the players from last year's team, there are new players in the mix who will benefit from the group interactions this weekend.
The second reason is all about player development. This team has already had it's fair share of results success at the regional level as U11s last year. Why? We have an above-average group of athletic and technical girls, some who are physically dominant on the small field, we have more than a handful of girls who can score goals, and, in all humbleness, and based on my playing and coaching experience, I know how to put girls in positions and use tactics to win games. Lots of people can do this just as well if not better, but not many are in place with teams at the younger age groups. Winning is important to me though I believe I have a firm grasp of balancing this with individual and player development.
Anyway, my goal this weekend is to expose this group to the very best competition we can find in order to highlight individual and team strengths and weaknesses. I (and my players and their parents) will also see girls at our age group from some of the nation's most competitive clubs, see where they are technically, physically, and tactically. I will also be able to network with the coaches and coaching directors at the event to share development thoughts and ideas. All this will give me plenty of needed ammo to use to develop training sessions this coming year so that these girls better reach their potential and this team improves. Should be an eye opening weekend for all involved.
I arrived into Libertyville at around 4PM and headed straight to the fields to check them out. We were here last year with our U13s in a torrential rainstorm, with the host club bringing in helicopters to set on the fields to try and dry them out. We ended up playing shortened games in Elgin (nearly an hour away). Not a very fun time. The weather this weekend promised to be sunny and hot. I'll take it.
The fields were in good shape. Large, flat, and relatively smooth. Two of the three fields for our group play were 120x70, the third 110x75. Not sure where we'll be for consolation/semifinal/final games, but all the fields looked to be either of the two large dimensions above. Great complex.
Back to the hotel for dinner and research. Research? I had the Thunder purchase a Hi-Pod for this year, a sophisticated tripod set up that could elevate a digital video recorder 31 feet into the air. I just received it on my doorstep yesterday and had absolutely no clue how to set it up or operate it.
My goal is to video tape all our games this fall in order to watch and analyze during our winter Video Analysis sessions. We'll mix in our own games with some Thunder games and EPL highlight dvds as it is important that the girls watch high level soccer. We will use these professional games to highlight specific development ideas that we are addressing in training. Based on my experience with the 94s, the girls will get into the video sessions, more so if we sprinkle in watching our own team play.
So why spend over $5K on a stupid tripod? Well, anyone that has watched any kind of soccer event from a stadium seat can see the benefit of the overhead perspective. You can see more of the field and see the play develop more easily. For the girls, they have NEVER seen themselves play from that perspective and it will be educational for them when we sit together and go over ideas in the game analysis.
My first experience with a tripod like this came in Vegas last March with my 94s. I paid $500 or so to have 3 of our games taped by a company that used a similar camera elevating product, and the results were magic. I've posted some video clips from the weekend below. See for yourself. (Andy Kaasa decided to come down with us for a vacation and was gracious enough to be hi-pod-dude all weekend).
Where was I? Oh yeah... I met with the girls at 8PM on Thursday night for a light jog and stretch. As teams always are the first night at an out of town event, they were giddy with excitement after the long car ride into the Chicago area.
I then had a chalk talk with them in the lobby, going over our team formation (as the11v11 game was new to most), and the rules and restrictions for the weekend.
I talked to a few of them about their Game Goals for the tournament as well with the promise to pass out all the Game Goals tomorrow morning at breakfast.
Back to the room to study up on the Hi-Pod. I'm either going to look like a complete fool with this thing tomorrow or it's going to be awesome. Let's hope for the latter.
As we prepare for a highly competitive event, it is important to me to do what I can to minimize our game results for the girls and emphasize the experience and the development that will come through the experience.
I've told the girls all week that we are not going to this event to win it. We are going to find competition to make us better. This doesn't mean that we are going to Chicago to lose. Far from it as I'll do what I can during the game to get the result I want - which is usually a "W" :) I don't see a problem with this as good coaches can balance the winning with the player development. However when the final whistle blows after each game, it is my job as a coach to minimize the results and focus on development issues.
Moreover, there are many aspects of a soccer match that are out of the girls' control - the ref, the field conditions, every bounce of the ball, the weather, our opponents actions, and ultimately the score. If I allow the girls to focus on any one of these things I set them up for potential failure due to uncontrollable circumstances. Rather, if I can help the girls focus on things over which the DO have control, they have the chance to be successful regardless of the outcome of any match. I do this in two ways.
First, I give all the girls 3 Game Goals each tournament. These are technical/tactical ideas that I challenge the girls to accomplish by the end of the weekend. Some goals are given to
multiple girls, but all are specific for each individual based on what
I feel they need for their own individual development.
Second, I award Controlling the SEAS skillzys after each game, rewarding 4 girls for focusing on their Sportsmanship, Effort and Energy, Attitude, and Smiles.
Both the Game Goals and the skillzys are useful development tools that also help increase the girls' passion for the game.
Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 11:53PM 
Back at the hotel after our Friday night team dinner the girls, and many of the parent group, converged on the wide screen TV in the hotel lobby to watch the video of our Sting game.
