U10 Shockers show great form in opener

U10 Shockers Nation:

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

the give-and-go

Last night at my U10 Shockers soccer practice I had a small turn-out. Tuesdays are “extra” practice for the little ones.

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