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...