In addition to the training this winter, we will mix in a number of friendly games.  We have a number of Friday nights set aside for our team in which to schedule games, have been approached by other MN teams who want to play us, and have a number of friendly weekends set up for multiple game play (Omaha in January, St Cloud in February, and down at Shattuck St Mary's in March).

These friendlies are obviously fun for the girls (they get to play the game), and serve to help break up the winter training routine.  They are good from a coaching standpoint as they will continue to help me pinpoint individual and team weaknesses in order to design training sessions that will best help address these areas of concern.   These games will also let me experiment with our team formation/system of play, in order to not only give girls game experience in different positions, but also to allow me to discover which formation suits our players best and where players best fit into this formation.

We will look to schedule as many games as we can against better competition.  This includes older girls teams (Bangu and non-Bangu teams) as well as U13 boys teams.  I think the top boys teams will be more athletic and technical than we will, but our girls will, in general, be bigger and stronger.  This is probably the last year that we can stay competitive with the top boys teams, and I hope to be able to schedule a handful of games against this type of opponent.