TRYOUTS!!

Tryout results will be coming out tomorrow for most of the teams.  The following is an e-mail for both players and parents I wrote last year about the tryout process.  I've been asked by a few if I could send it out again.  So here it is:


Hello players and parents,

I have been asked a lot of questions at practice by the girls about tryouts and I wanted to answer them so everyone is on the same page.  Whether a player makes a team is determined by both their performance during the year and by the tryout.  Everything is taken into consideration.  The best performing 5 or 6 black team players throughout the year are put into the "A" category for the beginning of tryouts.  The 5 or 6 remaining players are put into an "A-B" category along with the best performing 5 or 6 "B" team players from the prior year.  The rest of the "B" team players are considered "B-C" along along with any new players coming to tryouts.

As the tryout progresses, players either move up or down in categories based on their play.  Toward the end of the final tryout, players that are A-B or B-C have carefully been moved to either one group or the other.  Any players on the fence are put on one field to determine how they look against each other... giving the evaluators the best chance to compare players apples to apples.      

If there are any players that can not be sorted between, the tie-breakers go to players that have been in the program, attendance at practice the prior year, and of course attitude.

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Now for some of my thoughts and requests: I have been through a lot of tryout processes, as a player and as a coach, and I have learned from every one of them.  Tryouts are stressful for all involved, and in stressful situations we are all given the opportunity to build character.  There was no favoritism or politics involved in these tryouts... I know because I was there and a part of the process.  If your daughter did not make the team she wanted, it was not due to bias... it is because she needs to improve in one or many areas.  If the emphasis is taken off that fact, that improvement needs to be made, the opportunity to build character is lost.  Allow your daughter to take ownership of her situation and change it if she chooses.  I am always here to talk if they need advice, information, or guidance.  Also I would strongly encourage you to allow your daughter to come talk to me if they have questions or want to express their feelings or thoughts.  If you do it for them, we have again missed the opportunity for them to take ownership and grow from the situation.

For the parents:
The teams will change... there will be different players and parents in your immediate circle.  Please go out of your way to make the new parents feel like part of the team.  If there are any parents that naturally enjoy getting people together, please put that hat on... make some calls and get people together to have some fun and get to know one another better.   On the flip side to this, any parents that have left your team, moving up or down... this was not their choice.  I would encourage us all to take more of a club friendly attitude than a team friendly one.  We are all trying to encourage and develop these kids to be happy and strong young adults... it helps when all the parents, no matter what team, stick together.   

For the players:
If you are not on the team you want to be, you have an amazing opportunity ahead of you.  You have been given a setback.  Now what you do with this is up to you!  
  
You've probably heard it before... but Michael Jordan was cut from his sophomore basketball team.  He developed a winning mentality from his setback simply by making the decision to work harder.  He decided not to give up, and after years of hard work... as most of you know, he became the best basketball player of all time. 
 
I myself am no Michael Jordan, but when I was 11 years old I too was cut from the U12 team in my town.  At that time there was no club team for my age group, so this team was my only option.  I definitely know what it feels like to be disappointed at a tryout!  I really was very upset by it... but I really learned a lot from this disappointment.  I ended up earning a starting spot in high school over most of the same players that beat me out for that team.  I also went on to play in college, unlike the majority of the players in my town.  All of this was simply because I made a decision and put more work in over the years.

You have been given this same chance to develop a winning mentality... and all you have to do is make the choice to not give up.  

For those of you that have made the team you want... congratulations!  However, as you saw at tryouts, there are a lot of people that want your spot and a lot of them are willing to work very hard to get it.  Are you willing to work harder to keep it?  

SEE YOU ALL ON THE FIELDS!!

Coach Eric

The Final Weeks of the Year

We officially have one week of practice remaining!  For me, the season has absolutely flown by... and that is a somber thought.  I've really enjoyed the past two years working with these age groups and your kids.

I am however very much looking forward to our tournament this next weekend.  No matter the result, it will be the culmination of our hard work and one last yardstick to measure our growth.

The two weeks prior to the tournament will be focusing on finishing, speed of play, our quality of defending, and winning the ball in the air. 

At the tournament I will have 12 games in 2 days and will definitely be running from field to field.  If you see me leave a game a few minutes early or arrive a few minutes late, that is the reason.  At this point, I'm confident in each team's ability to get themselves warmed up and in the right state of mind with or without me.  Please enjoy the tournament and the atmosphere of healthy competition.  Remind the girls that beyond themselves they represent us all... and as in any other thing they do, we'll be there to support and cheer them on.

Let's make the best of our last few weeks...
Eric     

What's Happening this Spring?

It has been a long winter of indoor training and spring is quickly approaching. I want to thank all of the parents for getting the girls to the tournament and for your support this past weekend.  I was extremely proud of the level of play all three of the teams displayed.  We were confident with the ball at our feet and consistently succeeded in beating defenders 1 on 1 and in groups of 2 and 3.  The number of overlaps, wall passes, through balls, shots to the back post, crosses away from the keeper (with players looking to get on the end of them) was impressive... especially against the level of competition.  And all of these fantastic things were happening while players moved around and played nearly every position on the field.  It's a nice bonus that all three teams were undefeated and won the majority of their games by very large margins.  

The progress of the teams is due in large part to the fact that 95% of the players have attended 95% of the practices this winter.  Thank you for your dedication in getting the girls to practices... I know all of you have quite a lot on your plate.  When I get consistent time with the players, it makes my job quite easy.  

Focuses for Spring Training:
Up to this point we have focused quite a bit on movement in attack in groups of 2 and three, while consistently addressing individual ability with the ball (moves, passing ability, taking the ball out of the air, shooting, etc...). Moving forward we will continue to touch upon these topics, but will focus more and more upon the speed at which we can execute these activities.  We will also train more often within the formation we will be playing in the game (known as functional training).  An example of this is defending and attacking in the "W" formation. 

During the tournament we played in the "W" formation (2 defenders, 3 midfielders, or also described as four players in a horseshoe with one player central) and had one target or forward in front to play in to.  In the spring we will play the same "W" formation, but with three targets to play.  The targets will not have set positions, but will be encouraged to move and make runs to unbalance the defense.  I'll be pushing the girls to get more and more comfortable overlapping and switching positions in the run of play.  The games should be very fun to watch!

I'm definitely looking forward to the spring season, but it feels a little bittersweet knowing that this will be my last season with these wonderful players.  Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.  See you all out on the fields! 

Goal Setting

It was a wonderful experience meeting with all of the teams outside of practice this past month.  The main purpose of meeting was to discuss goal setting, but it was also just nice for the girls to spend some quality time together outside of practice.

RECAP OF THE EVENING

First, I had each of the girls write down an individual soccer specific goal in their log books.  They all traced their left hand onto a blank page and wrote in the palm:  Goal   "I want to...

All the players wrote what they wanted to achieve, and we talked about the difference between an outcome goal and a performance goal. 

OUTCOME GOAL

An Outcome goal is a goal we don't have complete control over.  Example: "I want to be the fastest person on the team" 

This is a great goal, but no one can control the speed of their teammates.  If the fastest person in the world is on their team, this might be an unattainable goal no matter how hard they work. 

PERFORMANCE GOAL
We can turn this goal of getting faster into a performance goal by setting parameters we can control.  Example: "I want to decrease my mile time by 30 seconds"      

Video Series #3 - Increase the difficulty

If you are ready for it... these ball mastery activities are even more challenging.  Have fun with them!!

What's Happening in October and November?

Incredibly... we are already half way through the fall season. I'm very happy with the improvements the girls have made thus far. Most importantly, our players are seeing and creating 2 on 1 situations with more frequency and success. This is due to more positive movement off the ball: players without the ball consistently looking to move out from behind defenders and into gaps. Players with the ball are becoming more aware of these options. The next step, and what we've been working on for the past few weeks, is the speed at which we find and connect to these options.

Next week we will be working on striking with our laces. The girls will learn or again see the correct form when shooting, clearing, and passing over distance. They will get repetitions in practice, but will be given activities they can and should do outside of practice if they want to build the muscle memory to improve their striking ability.

We will then go into finishing activities and the decisions and options the girls need to look for in the box to give themselves more opportunities to score.
- shooting back post and following for rebounds
- the angles to cross the ball instead of shoot
- getting the ball outside the 6 yard box when crossing to eliminate the keeper
- the timing and angle of approach when finishing a cross
- the patterns that work to penetrate behind the defense without becoming off-sides

Lastly, we'll transition into the winter season going back to individual ball mastery, skills, and movement and decision making in 3 versus 3 situations.

On a different note:
In the near future you might notice that one or two girls look a bit more uncoordinated than they did last year or even last month. They may whiff on clearances or shots, and passes may be way off. We need to all remember that soccer takes an unbelievable amount of body control, and little growth spurts can put a player off their game. With time, this will pass of course. So in the mean time it is important that we are encouraging and understanding.

See you all on the fields...

Video Series #2 - Make the Ball Your Friend

If you want the soccer ball to be nice to you on the field, you have to be nice to it.  Get to know the ball by spending time with it.  Just 5 minutes a day trying the activities shown in this video and you could make a friend for life.