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.