What is both unusual, and rather exciting (I think) is that Newtown defies Georgia Soccer philosophies and has U10 playing 11v11 – as opposed to the standard 6v6 “more touches” format.

We have fifteen players. Several find themselves playing soccer for the first time. And, many are not yet sure what to make of their enthusiastic coach (but our legacy cheer: “WE ARE SHOCKERS” gets them moving in the right direction every time). And, to be certain, our early practices offer great promise.

Emma Jo and BFF Mary Elizabeth are quite please with their alarmingly pink kits, a Shockers first, to be sure.

Our first match is Saturday September 17th, with a team picture certainly to follow.

Coach Brian

Even though she is only fourteen Haley Anne has has a great history of U16 play. She is often called-up to support her older “sisters”. In fact, Shockers have always been called-up and exceeded expectations. Christy Tovar is another great example.

In any event, Haley Anne was playing against the U16 UFA Rockets Sunday. Their intrepid and storied coach, Allison Miner, always bring a first-class team to the pitch. Yesterday, as a Defender, Haley Anne had three assists on goals. She was ON FIRE. Show OWNED the middle. She seemed HUGE.

There was a melee in the middle (the Rockets are very skilled at ball-play in tight quarters; almost like a knife-fight). The ball came off a Rocket players head and took an odd bounce towards our box. Haley Anne did the most unlikely and athletic pirouette I can imagine, her body strangely contorted. She caught the ball square with her odd boot and sent it hurtling up-pitch. It landed in the OTHER box. Our right-side Stryker Esmerelda one-touched it and blasted it behind the hapless Keeper for our 9th goal. There was a gasp from the crowd because the play was so unexpected and fantastic. But, I knew instantly Haley Anne was hurt. She was hands on hips, unable to move, and fighting back tears.

We quickly pulled her off the pitch. It was clearly bad enough that her little sissy Emma Jo (U10 Shockers Nation, see two posts ↓) rushed right over and sat herself right next to Haley Anne in mute support.

Joanne is taking her to a clinic this morning. Fingers crossed. She’s tough and determined.

She’s had such a tough year. First the spider bite at the Kennesaw Cup in the Fall. But, she fought through all that pain and sideline and helped lead her U14 Shockers to both a Kohls Cup and a UFA Cup. Then she lost half of the Spring season because of the issues with cysts. She was just coming back into form – and, perhaps her best yet.

Please don’t feel sorry for us. I’ll submit the Cork’s have had a “Chinese interesting” year. But, we are fully aware of how blessed we are. That certainly includes being surrounded by families like you. Cork’s have a knack for being where the action is. Never count us out.

A lot of people read this and my other blogs. I’m hoping you will lift Haley Anne up and will any injury away. The heaviness of her heart (and mine) aside, she has the first round of State Cup tournament play next weekend. She does not desrve to be denied that.

Coach Brian

There were a lot of Shockers – both in name, as well as spirit on the pitch that day. All of them hearty and ferocious.

That, is Shocker Ball!

Thank you Haley Anne.

Coach Brian (Daddy)

We played very aggressive football pushing our Defenders up high. I’m confident we played ninety percent of both matches on our opponents side of the pitch. By the way, that is both historically and traditionally referred to as: “Shocker ball”, and a term you will hear more and more often from me.

When you have an opposing coach grousing an entire match about the refs you know your team is under his skin. By the way… The ref was fine, and our Shockers were awesome in terms of effort and sportsmanship (it means a lot to me when a ref tells me my players are excellent sports).

We had several good attempts around the goal – especially the second match on Sunday. We’ll be learning how to “finish” this coming week in practice. I’m confident Jason and Joanne agree with me we did a solid job of swarming opponents with the ball. But, we’ll also need to work on transition skills (taking the ball away from opponents). I was particularly pleased with the way we kept pressure on the opposing team during the entire match. As the season progresses we will sort-out where our players are strongest, and I’m certain you will see the begin to take shape in terms of passing and tactics.

To put things into perspective, that Cyclones squad has been together for a number of years under the same coach. They Cyclone players average a full year older than our Shockers. A terrific way to measure ourselves in terms of both player development and coaching will be our progress against that more mature squad as the season progresses.

NOTE: At U10 I’m an advocate of letting every player try their boots at all of the positions. Some of them will show natural affinity for ball control, fast-breaks, passing, defense, etc. (My own U14 Haley Anne is a natural Defender, and she has always thrived there). But, half the fun at this age is learning all aspects of the “beautiful game”. Let’s be clear… I like to win (legacy Shockers parents understand what that means). But, it’s more important for them to build confidence, then skills, and have fun. As it turns out, winning tends to follow that view of the game. The one exception is Keeper (goalie). We’ll need to eventually find (maybe recruit) one or two players that have the nerve, presence of mind, and strength to “man the cage”. The little ones often can’t even defend themselves under fire.

I believe we have the core of a team that could play together for several years. Building on tradition and feeling part of something that is wholesome and grounded in integrity and teamwork does wonderful things for young girls.

As the season progresses I will highlight particular play and effort (I know parents keep these summaries). But, for today, I think it’s fair to say that WE ARE SHOCKERS. And, we proved that we WANTED THE BALL. You’ll recognize those as elements of our team cheer.

Coach Brian

This gave me an option to work very closely with the team and I decided to try and work on some fairly advanced “give-and-go” drills.

“Think simple about giving the ball to a teammate and then running up pitch and calling for them to pass it back. Give-and-Go, Give-and-Go.”

To both my astonishment and delight, and that of one of the more experienced mothers, we pulled it off. The girls knew thay’d done well, and we all felt great about practice.

So, seeing my keeper roll the ball to an outlet player that deftly passed the ball to my little Emma Jo who then set up the “go-pass” was inspiring and deeply satisfying – both as a coach and a Dad.

I can’t wait for the match this Saturday.

Coach Brian

Details with some pictures are pending. And, we have our schedule for the regular season.

Was that passive aggressive mumbling we heard from the far sidelines? I’m delighted that’s not my problem any longer.

We are upon you.

Coach Brian

and,

2100 Spring U16 JBS Shockers Nation Roster

coach brian