Latest News

We've had to add another player to our injured reserve. Joining Dario with his broken arm will be Jake for two weeks with a broken thumb.

I have requested that some players from the younger team stay after their game tomorrow to help us out with substitutes. They play right before us at Barbour Pond.

Alos, I noticed one person voted not to play on Oct 23rd. Can that parent see me after tomorrow's game so that I can make the decision on whether or not to play that day? Given our dearth of players, we can't afford to be short any players. Though, by Oct 23rd, Jake will be ready to play again, maybe even Dario.

Second Game

Once again, we played a strong first half. Our defense was like a brick wall. Then we scored first and everyone picked up their play a notch. Unfortunately, we weren't able to substitute anyone in the defense and they got tired.

Some key mistakes we made were rushing to the ball on defense and leaving our man open. We cannot afford to double and triple team opponents if it means leaving our man open.  On corner kicks, we covered our man until the ball was in the air but then we all converged on it, once again, leaving our man open. In each of these cases, one of the open men got the ball right in front of goal and scored.

On the positive side, Joel made some excellent saves and Danny also saved a couple of tough shots during his five minutes in goal. Jake made a great shot and our forwards made several other perfect passes to people in great position which could have resulted in goals if it were not for unlucky finishes.

We need more substitutes and better defenders so we can substitute people there when they get tired. We need our boys to have more stamina. Make sure your boys run their mile. Jack and Liam are doing their runs every day. Right now they're walking half of it but they will improve. I am working on getting some additional players on the team.

Practice today from 4 - 6 at Turf city

Team,

 

Because of the rain we have moved the practice today from 4 - 6 at Turf city. Please try to attend since we will be preparing for our game tomorrow. If you can't arrive until 4:30, that's OK but we paid from 4:00.

 

Bring $10 to help pay for the facility.

 

Scrimmage on Monday

The U-13 team that also practices on Mondays wants to hold a scrimmage with our team during next Monday's practice. So we will practice on Friday as usual, then play our game on Saturday but Monday practice will be a little different. We will practice with Leo from 4:30 - 5:30, then scrimmage against the other team until 6:30.

Also, I need someone to take an official team picture on Saturday. That photo will appear in the Dinner Dance book.

Wear Blue shirts on Saturday but, as usual, bring your white shirts as well.

Dinner Dance

Attached is a copy of the e-mail Josephine sent out regarding the WCS Dinner Dance, the main fundraiser the team needs to do every year.

19th Annual Fundraising WSC Dinner Dance

Saturday, November 12, 2011 7:00pm- Carriage House/Barnyard in Totowa

$55.00 each ticket.

Each year, the Wayne Soccer Club holds a fall Fundraising Dinner Dance, with a Tricky Tray, to support the financial needs of the club. In 2010, this dinner raised over $22,000 and accounted for nearly 15% of what it costs to provide our kids with a rich, professional soccer program. The funds raised enable us to keep the Wayne Soccer Club as one of the most competitively-priced soccer programs as compared to other clubs throughout northern New Jersey. In addition, teams that are very successful in raising funds are also able to earn funds for use by their own team for training and other team costs beyond what is funded by the club.

In addition to the financial benefits that this dinner brings to our club and its teams, the evening provides a wonderful opportunity to build and maintain a sense of community among the Club's parents.  We have over 300 boys and girls registered in the WSC programs this year. Please support this important opportunity to make the 2011-2012 season the best yet for the Wayne Soccer Club and our kids!

Each team is expected to:

• sell a minimum of 10 dinner tickets in order to respresent one table for the dinner dance. (Let's try for two)
• sell at least $500 of advertising in the dinner's ad journal (separate email to follow)
• contribute one team basket for the dinner (email to follow)

Each player is to sell 2 raffle books ($20 each book/ $40 total).


Check the roster to keep track of who is attending and has bought the raffle tickets. Bruce will keep this up to date. So far, Bruce and Kathy are going to the dinner but that's just because I got the tickets first. Hope to see most of the parents there.

Please email Josephine Sirni at bobjos@optonline.net see her during the beginning of practices for details and to pick up your raffle tickets. or

Possible game Saturday

I spoke with some parents about a U-13 team who needed an extra player or two tomorrow but by the time I got hold of him, he was all set. So, never mind. He practices at Mondays so we may run the occasional scrimmage against his team on Mondays.

No Game Saturday!

Thanks to Roland for checking the website because the other coach cancelled the game this Saturday and didn't bother telling me about it. We'll have to wait for him to reschedule.

Goalkeeper training

2011-2012 Goal Keeper Training

As part of our goal to focus on the developmental of our players every year the Wayne Soccer Club provides additional training for all of our goal keepers.  I encourage every team to particiapate in this program.  As many of you know, the keeper position is one of the most important ones in the game and the most difficult to fulfill.  Invite any of your players to participate in this training who currently may or may not be playing this position. 

The training is performed by Modern Goalkeeper Training Systems.  For the past two years they have provided excellent training for our boys and girls.

The following is the schedule for this fall season starting Monday, September 12th, 2011:

Large Sided:

Mondays, 6:00PM to 7:00PM

All sessions will be at Schuyler Colfax Middle School.  This program will be for ten weeks.  In case of cancellation due to inclement weather, please visit our WSC website at  http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=ahubhggab&et=1107578608549&s=15&e=001bFerdk0dASG--MsyrLYgTvZMoFZxo-vwsgGdkaezrA3DONSPDeKJ0BDEmyz6dLDc9uNStsvUSuoxuJVHzS4Z9Oco32GPtWKI3Sa_UnTsHdM= for updates.

Red Bulls Game

No overwhelming response to my poll on which Red Bulls game might be fun to take the boys to. Three people voted for three different days and one for a fourth day. Maybe it's not a good idea to try and bring a large proportion of the team to one game. So I'm going to buy tickets for my family to attend the game on the 24th of September. Let me know if anyone else would like to come with us and I'll book as many seats together as you request.

Write to me at bruce@fieggen.com

First Game

Great game everybody! The boys played well and the game was tied up until ten minutes to go. But the heat, the lack of substitutes and poor conditioning cost us the game at the end. The final score was not an indicator of how well we did. I am very proud of our boys.

What did we learn? I learned that I need some help out there. It is very difficult to coach, substitute, take care of injuries and keep track of the game all by myself. We really need Julio to help. I had thought he'd be there but was told last minute that he had another game to attend.

I also felt that I need to think harder about who to substitute and where. With only two players on the bench, I had to be creative and keep players rested as much as possible. But sometimes this resulted in a weak side of the field or people playing in positions that didn't use them to the best of their abilities. Hopefully Julio or Marios can help me with this.

The boys need more conditioning training. We can do a little of that during practice but what they need is a daily program, supervised by the parents where the boys just run. Give them a mile route around your neighborhood and time them running it. Make them run it six days a week. Time them. Chart out their times. Watch for improvement. Some of them may walk half of it at first. That's OK as long as they improve over time. I don't expect anyone to improve overnight. My hope is that by this time next year, they can all run through an entire game.

They did quite well on the two items I asked them to focus on this week. With only a few exceptions, the forwards played on their side and the full-backs covered their sides. This week we focus on two more items.

1. Forwards will shoot for the far post, not the near post. Missing the near post results in a goal kick, missing the far post often results in an assist. That will b e the focus for forwards, in addition to staying on their side.
2. Defenders will focus on following up on their goal kicks. Often, especially when the game is getting tiring, they kick off and stay there. The ball is taken at the 30 yard line by the other team who dribbles up. Now the man you were supposed to be defending is wide open and either taking the shot from the penalty box or open for the pass. You have to kick the ball and immediately follow it. If you don't lose the ball to the other team, you can start pushing up to draw your opponents offsides. Do this in addition to guarding the widest forward on your side of the field.

Let's get to practice on time Monday and work on these two items.

First Game

After a bit of last minute scrambling, I have everyone's player passes and am ready for the first game. Are you?
Let's all be there at 3:15 for warm-ups and line-ups. The address is available above by clicking on the calendar. All of you have told me you'll be there so we'll have substitutes to get us through the game.

Prior to the start of the game, there will be a referee-led minute of silence to offer respect for those who lost loved ones during 9/11. Please prepare your child for this by talking a bout what happened back when they were one or two. I enclose below an excerpt from an e-mail describing what to expect during this moment.

Bring a ball to the game in case we beat Julio there so they can warm up.

My phone number is (973) 768-3831 in case there are any last minute problems.

I will be calling the opposing coach later tonight to verify all the arrangements and will post tomorrow in case anything changes.

Get the boys to bed early so they're well-rested tomorrow. Let's all have a great game. Remember we are focusing on staying on your side of the field, left or right, if you are a forward and marking the left-most forward if you are left full-back and right-most if you are right full-back. Feel free to remind your sons of that assignment.

Here's the excerpt about 9/11. It is addressed to the referees:

The procedure is simple.  As you (the referee) check the teams in, remind the coaches they are to do everything they can to make their kids understand they need to be as attentive as they can make them.  As soon as you are done and prepared to kick-off you will do the following:

With you in the lead, the teams will walk out TOGETHER BUT IN SINGLE FILE from their sides of the field to the center circle area and face the parents.  The teams can line up in a straight line or around the center circle, each sharing their half of the field.  It will probably be easier to get them in a straight line.  You can move them closer to the parents half of the field if you like.

With the coaches on the outsides and you as the officials in the center of the players, you will announce to the parents that the NCSA would like to have a moment of silence.  BE BRIEF, but speak loudly for all to hear.  When you are done with your announcement, you will blow your whistle, bow your head and look down at your watch and let it run 30 seconds.  Make sure you look DOWN and make no other eye contact until you are done.  If you do not want to bow your head or ask everyone to, you can just ask them to close their eyes while we remember those that perished.  At 30 seconds, you'll look up, say thank you, blow your whistle a second time, and we'll be set to play.  Advise the teams that when the second whistle is blown ending the Moment of Silence only the starting line up players stay on the field.  All other players return to the bench.

Practice today

I walked around Schuyler at 8AM this morning. It's a little muddy but barely playable. If it doesn't rain anymore before practice, the field should be quite playable by 4:30 PM.
If it rains some more, it won't be playable.
I added a link to Wayne weather on the blog but the best bet will be for you to look out the windows today to predict if we are practicing in Wayne or Totowa.
Unfortunately, I need to make the call by noon.
Stay tuned until then. I'll put it on the headlines.

Backup practice location

I really want to get a good practice in on Friday prior to our first game so Julio has found an indoor arena that can take us if it is raining too hard tomorrow. It costs $70 an hour so I want to make sure we need it before we commit.

The place is called:
Satellite Sports:
31 Vreeland Ave
Totowa, NJ 07512

Check the blog, I'll make the call by noon on Friday. The practice time may change to 5:30 - 7:00.

Preparation for our first game.

Looks like there is more flooding on our way which means a couple of things:

1. Schuyler may be flooded so we won't be able to practice there. I'll make the call on alternate practice site or cancelled practice by noon Friday. Check the site headlines for the answer.
2. The game at Arsenal may be affected. I'll contact the other coach tomorrow to check out the situation, look into alternate routes to the game etc. and I'll post the answers Friday night.  

I attended the coaches meeting last night and learned a lot about what I need to prepare in advance of our first game.

1. Player passes. I need pictures of your sons to add to the player passes. I know this is short notice but I can always crop a picture from the Shutterfly site if it comes to that. But if you have a better picture, e-mail it to me at bruce@fieggen.com and I'll use that instead. I'll be making up and laminating the passes Friday afternoon.
2. We need to be at the game 45 minutes in advance, especially since we may not have a practice this week to set our lineup. Click on the game in the calendar for a map and address and directions to the game. Be there at 3:15 with a ball so your son can warm up.
3. I need to print out a roster. Please let me know tonight if your son cannot attend.
4. Also, look at the rest of the schedule and let me know which games you cannot make so I can start making arrangements to get backups.

Speaking of the Shutterfly site, I added a link to it from the blog so you can easily get there from here. Thank you Marissa for sending us the link and all the great pictures.

First Scrimmage

The boys had their first scrimmage today. It was certainly a learning experience for all of us. I learned that we had better have the boys show up 45 minutes before the games in order to be properly organized and lined up. I also learned to bring balls with me in case I beat the trainer there.

The boys focused on three things today which I want them to carry over to the first game:

1. The left forward says in the left quadrant of the field, the right forward on the right. This opens up the field for the far post play and keeps that person's defender away from the ball.
2. The right fullback covers the right-most offensive player, the left fullback covers the left-most. This frees up the sweeper and stopper to cover the middle.
3. There are three places you can be to stop an opposing player from scoring: Standing right in front of the player's foot as he tries to shoot, being in between him and the goal to intercept the shot or the goalie as the last defense. We need to do better sensing when the player is about to shoot and getting our foot in the way.

We played around with the line-up during this scrimmage to decide which children play best in which position and with whom.
We learned that:

• Danny will make a great back-up goalie for Joel but, given how few subs we have, we need to find the right field position for him to play and focus on that.
• Justin should stay in sweeper and move Joey back out to one of the full-back positions
• a 4-4-2 line-up might work better for this team
• Sebastian can handle himself quite well in defense
• Joel knows how to move well without the ball in forward to open himself up for shots on goal
• the children are in poor shape after a summer away from the sport. They need to get some conditioning in. We pay well for trainers and I don't want to waste that money sending them running laps. I can do that. So I encourage all parents to get their children running, jumping and stretching on their own time.

Rumors at the parent's meeting that Justin and Adrian were leaving the team were incorrect. I talked for a while after the game with Charles and he assured me that the players were available to play at all games this season. His concern is that they are practicing three days a week for another team and playing another game on Sundays. I told him that if he brings the children early to games so that they can warm up with the team and tries to make as many Friday practices as possible, (this is where we will set the line-up for the next day's game) both boys can play on Saturdays.

Remember that you all pay for trainers as part of the money you paid at the beginning of the season. Those who choose not to make practices are missing out on taking advantage of this time. Training has two benefits:

1. Your child improves his soccer skills
2. Your child gets used to playing with his team-mates.

Taking practice with another team covers item 1 but item 2 can only be made up by coming early to game days and learning quickly in the games. Having as few players as we do, we have to make allowances for Justin and Damien's needs.

With Franco and Roberto back for regular games, we will have 2 subs available. We are still working on getting more players to flesh out the team so that we still have subs on those days when not every child can be there.

Remember to vote on whether or not to hold practice on Monday