Practice 7 done. Next: A week off.

Note: In spite of what I wrote before, today was not our last practice of the season. See prior posts.

Moe says...

Today, we did a few "activities" to help the kids learn to spread out on the field in useful positions ("Spread Out," in which they throw the ball and cannot run with it); to get in scoring position to receive the ball ("Sprint and Shoot"); and to emphasize being more aggressive near the goal, so they'll go after the ball ("Come and Get It").

In the short scrimmage at the end of practice, some of the kids did seem to be doing a little bit of what I had shown them in the activities. So, that was very encouraging.

Some of the kids are still very distracted during practice. I think this is common for kids this age, especially boys.

At least our practices never get quite this bad.

At the first couple practices, it isn't as bad, because they don't know each other well and aren't so comfortable horsing around together or pestering each other. But, once they become more familiar with each other, it's a real challenge to keep them focused. And, it only takes one or two "unfocused" kids to create a domino effect and a huge amount of wasted time. We'll keep working on it.

CORRECTION: Two more practices after next week's Spring Break

It turns out we do still have two more practices after today. Those will be after next week's Spring Break (it's spring break for Escambia County schools next week). Then, after those 2 practices, we finally have our last game of the season.

The reason I confused myself was that we initially did not have that week between Spring Break and the last game. But, then the Y changed the date of our last game, moving it one week further away, so now we do have time for 2 more practices after the break and before the game.

Here's the remaining schedule: 

• March 24-30: spring break (based on Escambia County schools schedule and the Y)
• Tuesday, April 2: practice
• Thursday, April 4: practice
• Saturday, April 6: final game

Practice 6 done. One more practice. One more game.

EDITOR'S NOTE: After writing the blog below, I realized we actually have two additional practices in the week following Spring Break, and only then, after those, do we play our final game. So, some info below is incorrect.

During our sixth practice, we did some activities geared toward helping the players think about staying in position and getting the ball to their teammates.

I also tried to impress upon the kids that they need to focus on what I'm saying. This group gets a bit over-excited much of the time, which wastes time during practice and during those minutes between quarters in the games. But, I think this is typical for 7 and 8-year-old soccer players who are having fun.

It's hard to believe we only have ONE more practice and then, after spring break, our FINAL game of the season. I hope to see some of the same kids back next season, so we can build on what we've started this season. It has been fun.

Game 7: post-game report

The Soccer Wahoos played a solid game today, resulting in a shut-out, in spite of some odd formations that I tried today.

The opposing team only had 7 players, so I agreed to also play only 7 at a time, even though it meant scrapping my pre-planned player rotation. And, since our team had the game well under control the whole time, I also experimented with some different formations.

We usually have 3 defenders, 2 midfielders, and 2 forwards (plus a goalkeeper). But, in this game, at various times, I tried 2 defenders, 1 defender, 3 forwards, 1 forward, 3 midfielders, etc. All of it worked fine. If I had been able to use my originally planned 8-player line-ups, I think we would've had even more points.

Our team has now won 2 games in a row, and 3 of their last 4 games. Tomorrow (Tuesday) and Thursday, we will finally have two practices in one week, as we had planned to do every week. Then we have Spring Break, and then our final game of the season.

Game 6: post-game report

Another awesome game for our kids. It was a close game, with the teams pretty evenly matched, which is great. In the end, we had more goals, including an impressive penalty kick by Nathan that any goalie would have found difficult to reach. The team mostly did what I've been asking them to do, and the game was fun to watch. Two normally scheduled practices next week, then Spring Break, our final game after that.

Game 5: post-game report

Game 5 went very well for our team. I think the kids felt like it was their best game yet. Our team scored the most goals of any of our games, and held the opponents scoreless. Before this game, I told our defenders that I was turning the center defender into a "Stopper."  I had decided we needed a stopper to help keep the ball on the offensive side of the field.  I think that helped some.  But, I think our most recent practice was more helpful.

The next game is going to be an odd one for us. I expect to be without three of the boys, because they'll be at a Cub Scouts camp-out for the weekend. I better get to work on that line-up.

Practice 4 done. Next: 3 more games!

That's right. It was only our fourth practice this season, including the three we had before our first game. A lot of this was due to the uncooperative weather.

That shape looks familiar.

We zipped through a couple activities that I call "Connect the Dots" and "Come 'N' Get It."  The former is supposed to get the kids thinking more about passing and getting into open spaces, as they pass from one player (or dot) to another until they get to the goal -- as well as a little hint about keeping their arms out a bit to fend of opposing players. The latter activity has the kids working on being more aggressive and going after the ball when an opposing player has it. They kick the ball to the coach, then have to "come and get it" away from the coach and then take a shot at the goal.

I also bored the kids silly with more instruction about goal kicks and kick-offs.  For goal kicks, I've told them to modify our plan a bit and position themselves a little closer to the goal kick kicker (for us, this means at the edges of the penalty box), so we can more consistently get the ball out to players who can move it up-field, rather than kicking straight into the middle of the other team's offense. I also gave them pointers on how kickers set up for goal kicks, penalty kicks, etc. (step back, then to the side a bit).

Schedule reminder: We have games Thursday, Saturday, and Monday. Then we have a week with our two regular practice days (Tuesday and Thursday), followed by a much needed break, which is intended to be at the same time as the Escambia County School System's break. Then, we have our final game, on Saturday, April 6. (The original schedule incorrectly said April 4. I haven't fixed this date on the online schedules yet.)

The story of youth soccer

This Publix advertisement paints an accurate picture -- in just a little more than one minute -- of what it's like to be the parent or coach of young soccer players. The moment at the end is one you often see with these kids.

Soccer Wahoos goal kicks

If you're wondering what I'm trying to get the team to do when we have a goal kick, here's the plan...

Kick the ball out to the sides, for a safe play that allows us to advance up the field.

At this young age, most players cannot kick the ball over the other team all the way to mid-field. So, our own goal kicks are actually a dangerous situation in which the other team has a great chance to get the ball and kick it right back into our own goal (we scored a goal this way ourselves in our most recent game).  I want our team to kick the ball out, wide, to the sides, where a teammate can get the ball and advance up the field on attack.

If the player taking the goal kick cannot get the ball to the wide players, the wide players need to move in closer, but always remain out to the sides, not directly in front of the goal or hidden behind opposing players.

Ideally, the more forward players at top, center, would advance ahead of the wide player who gets the ball, so the advancing, forward players could receive a pass back to the center of the field, right in front of the opposing team's goal and take a shot. But, getting 7 and 8-year-olds to plan that far ahead and really grasp good passing techniques is quite a challenge.

Simple schedule view - Revised date for final game

I'm posting a simplified version of our soccer season schedule here. NOTE: The date of the last game was CHANGED after our first schedule was posted. This version below shows the NEW, correct date of Saturday, April 4, for that final game.

Game 4: post-game report

Four games in a row was a bit much.

The Soccer Wahoos have survived their four-game stretch without any opportunities for practice in-between.

This fourth game started off great. Then, the opposing team brought out a couple dozen cheerleaders to do a half-time show on the field. Yes, they really did. Cheerleaders for a youth soccer team. Only in America.  I should've known that was a bad sign.  The second half was pretty rough for our kids. But, now we finally get a chance to practice once more!

Unfortunately, it's literally only once more... one practice (Tuesday) and then...
   another game (Thursday)...
      and another (Saturday)...
         and another (Monday).

And then, we finally get two practices in a row (Tuesday and Thursday), then...
   a long Spring Break (March 22 - April 3), and then...
      our final game on Saturday, April 4.

That's right. Only THREE practices -- with two of them in a single week -- during the eight-game season (plus three practices we had before the season started).

Normally, if you told me my youth soccer team would have eight games, I'd assume we're having about 16 practices -- two each week, before each game, with games on Saturdays. So, we'll have 37.5% of the expected practice time. But, what matters most is we're determined to have 200% of the fun!

[Editor's Note: The Y didn't have much choice about the schedule this season. There were complications with city field schedules and special requests from coaches, etc.]

Game 3: post-game report

Again I hurled some quick pre-game pointers at the kids, repeating my directions for kick-offs, goal kicks, and throw-ins -- and adding a pointer about offense (keeping forwards in a more forward position).  The kids played very well, giving a lot of effort the whole time (with the possible exception of some defenders who got bored) and outscoring their opponents.

Parents and players had a great time. It was just the confidence-booster the kids needed.

The team stuck to my directions on kick-offs, goal kicks, and throw-ins much better than before. But, most of the credit for their great game -- in which they controlled the ball the vast majority of the time -- goes to the kids' innate skill and effort and enjoyment of the game.

There's plenty of room for improvement (e.g. spreading the field, staying open, ball control).  I'm looking forward to getting back to practicing. But, first we have one more game to get through.

Game 2: post-game report

We didn't have a chance to practice between the first and second games, but I gave the kids some pointers in the pre-game minutes and they mostly followed my directions concerning kick-offs, goal kicks, and throw-ins. But, it was a lot for 7- and 8-year-olds to grasp purely from our pre-game talk (even with my cool illustrations).  When they did what I had suggested, it mostly worked. 

It was another tough opponent, with at least three really talented kids who had been on my previous YMCA team, in the summer, before my one-season departure to another league.  When I saw my former players, I thought our team would get blown away by a score of 5 or 6 to nothing.  As it turned out, our team did twice as well as I expected.

I tried to rotate the players through multiple positions again.  Overall, I think the kids learned a bit just from the natural course of playing, and they mostly seemed to have fun. So, I say it was a success.

Game 1: post-game report

The Wahoos played well in their first game, especially for a group that has never played together before, with a coach using a new system that most of them never tried before. The team held very good opponents to only two goals, with solid defense, including contributions from everyone on the field.

I'll try to give the kids some pointers on goal kicks and throw-ins. These are two of the most important parts of the game at this age, but we didn't get that last practice, where I was planning to show the team exactly how to handle those situations.

Before yesterday's game, I briefly explained what I want them to do on goal kicks, and it seemed to help -- when they stuck with the plan.  So, right before Saturday's game, I'll go over that again, and will explain a little about throw-ins.

Most of the players seemed to have fun out there, especially our two players who are new to organized soccer. They all contributed and kept playing hard right through the final minute. I'm looking forward to another good, fun game Saturday.