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.)