From the Bench - Coach's Report 11/9/09

Congratulations to all the players at Sundays Game against Loudon. This was another solid effort by this group of players. Here are some of the things that I saw from the bench:

(1) Annandale '98 Red girls played a composed game throughout the full 60 minutes (in an unnecesarily physical game). I think this showed a growth in self-confidence and level of maturity that was not present at the start of the Fall season.

(2) One of the skills that migrated from practice to this game was movement off the ball. There were some wonderful passing sequences that involved 3-4 players and required anticipating where to be for the next pass. (Not enough to score girls, but Rome was not built in a day either).

The first-touch was pretty good, and the use of the bottom-of-the-foot to control the ball on a bumpy surface and buy time by looking up (when one can feel the ball underfoot) was used more frequently than in past games.

(3) There was also a lot more anticipation of where the flow of the game was headed when the other team had possession. This is not a skill that we have practiced and shows how the girls have developed the confidence to adapt and learn on their own. In a recent game, they organized a wall to defend a free kick outside the penalty box. This was all on their own too.

(4) As always, tackling was solid. First-to-the-ball was consistently better in this game. The girls marked-up on their own initiative too.

In the 2nd half, the players tried poking the ball away from a player from the side, instead of facing up and trying to stop the (steamroller-type) player and the ball. Several girls tried it with good effect in the 2nd half. The girls also got to experiment with defending against elbows and pushing. (Unfortunately, this is a skill they will have to learn as they keep playing).

As always parents, thanks for your support over all the ups-and-downs of the season. The positive experience the girls have had is directly a result of your encouragement, support and trust.

Questions, comments and suggestions, plz e-mail or call or visit before/after.

Lance

Maradonna Learned to Play from Kephern and His Boom Box

Watch the ball control

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZXelXpHYWs&feature=player_embedded

Xtreme 98 Red Finalists in VIP Tournament

Xtreme 98 Red stormed into the Fourth Annual Great Falls VIP Tournament with high expectations. And the girls delivered.

The squad overcame adversity, weather, and a rough schedule - including a pre-sunrise call for the first game of the tournament to make the Championship Game on Sunday and earn the team's first trophy.

Xtreme first took the field on Saturday against hosts Great Falls Elite for a 7:30 am game. After giving up an early goal, Xtreme settled down and took control of the game - passing and working the field nicely.

Striker Reina notched a hat trick with great support from all her teammates who were able to set her up and keep the pressure on. Erin L earned her new nickname - "The Taxman." (You can do what you want on the field, but she's going to make you pay.)

Great Falls came on strong in the closing minutes fighting hard to pull out a tie, but Amalia made several sprawling saves to help Red hold on for the win.

After a break and rain that was heavy at times, Red took on Fredericksburg (FASA) in their first game of the day. After playing powerhouse finesse teams like BRYC and SYA all year, Xtreme faced the FASA Dragons that play a different style soccer.

One win and one loss was enough for Xtreme to lock up second place in Flight A and make Sunday's playoffs where they would face the first place team from Flight B.

Xtreme took the field against the newly formed VYS Firehawks who were undefeated on Saturday.

From the beginning, Xtreme controlled the game with beautiful passing and great on-field communication. Xtreme initially had trouble finding the back of the net, sending several shots wide in the opening minutes and making the Firehawk keeper earn her stripes - which the young lady did nicely.

Kendall and Caitlin controlled the backfield, keeping Xtreme on offense for the majority of the game and skillfully directed field changes with the help of guest Carson, who returned to Xtreme 98 to assist during the tournament in goal and add some of her "no fear" offense.

Audrey showed great speed and footwork and demonstrated how she earned the nickname, "Space Ghost" (because she can go Coast-to-Coast on you if she wants). Erin G once again showed she can transfer her basketball skills to the soccer field as she "boxed out"players and made it clear she owned her piece of the field.

Laura finally opened the scoring with a blast, releasing great tension on the field and the sidelines.

VYS answered on a breakaway to tie the score at one apiece. But it wouldn't last.

Madison and Emma both demonstrated their improving ball handling skills and played up top, helping to keep the pressure on the VYS keeper.

Reina added another goal for her fourth of the tournament and then Aiden put the game away, adding another goal with some beautiful ball handling in traffic.

The 3-1 win sent Xtreme 98 Red to the Championship game where they would face the FASA team again. FASA ran up the score in their playoff game, winning 17-0. But the Red squad was undaunted.

Coach Lance and the girls made several adjustments for the championship game to better handle FASA's style, holding them scoreless for the first 15 minutes.

In the end, FASA prevailed, though the Red Squad played strong through the game and were able to break through the FASA defense with Madison and Reina surprising the FASA keeper with shots.

The girls put up a good fight and demonstrated determination, and put the skills they are learning into action.

Congratulations to Xtreme 98 Red for earning their Finalist Trophy!

Game Against Herndon Pegasus Rained Out

The driving rain through which the girls bravely played on Saturday did not let up until well after midnight, and more than 70 area fields were closed for Sunday games. Among those closures was Congressional School, and with it went Sunday's game against Herndon Pegasus.

The game has been rescheduled for Saturday, October 17 at 3pm. The game has also been moved to Holmes MS Front.

We hope players and families enjoy the remainder of the weekend and we'll see everyone at practice this week - Tuesday and Thursday - and another double header weekend coming up.

8 Goals in One Game: England vs Germany

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkVQCER05Z4

FROM THE BENCH 9/13 - CYA: Freedom Purple

What a great start to the season. Perfect weather for soccer and an all-round good performance from the Red team.



Each of the girls played to their abilities. They showed confidence on the ball and we saw some new skills that have migrated from practice into the game. Congratulations to Audrey on her strong, every-step-a-touch, open-field run that ended with a successful shot on goal.



Team play also reflected where the team is at. The first-half was dominated by individual effort. There was a total of only 12 passes. The second half was much more of a team effort with a combination of individual effort and passing for a total of 42 passes. There were several long sequences of passes that started deep in the Red half and moved the ball well into the Purple half where the string of passes eventually petered-out. Decision-making was also much better in the 2nd half.



After playing Harry's U-11 boys team, several of the girls commented on how well the boys team played. They also verbalized that "holding the ball and looking for easy passes" is not only a fun way to play, but also very effective.


We will continue to develop the individual foot skills as the foundation. We will also continue to work on the decision-making, positioning, calling for the ball, ... And of course we will play more games (7 league + 4 tournament) and gain more confidence in a balanced individual effort/passing game.



From the chatter on the bench and the tired smiles at the end of the game we will record this as a successful outing.

TRAINING & PRACTICE PLANS FOR THE FALL SEASON

After juggling personnel availability, team constraints, and field availability, we have converged on the following Training and Practice plan for the season:



Tuesdays - Training with Coach Kephern Fuller at Chapel Square/Sprague 5:15pm - 6:45pm. Emphasis on individual skills, 1 v 1, and 2 v 2.



Thursdays - Practice at Holmes 5:15pm - 6:45pm. Emphasis on passing, team collaboration and game situations.



Coach K. is a former GMU player. After leaving college he had the opportunity to play professional soccer and coach in Holland. He is currently a head trainer at Golden Boot. He brings deep knowledge of the game and a great personality. Together, these attributes will fit nicely with this team.

JOINT PRACTICE WITH COACH GERMAIN THURSDAY SEPT 17

With no game next weekend, we will practice with Coach Germain on Thursday Sept 17 at 6:20pm at Mason District. This will give Ann a chance to get to know the girls in a practice setting.


As always, questions, suggestions, concerns, please call, e-mail, or track me down at practice or games.



Thx for all your support.



L.

Fall Schedule Changed...Already

In a move that will hopefully NOT be an indicator of the coming season, WAGS has already rescheduled one of our games.

Our second match against Chantilly Freedom 98 Purple, on November 1, has been moved from noon to 2:30pm. The field has also been changed from EDS to Franklin Middle School, field 2.

The change was actually made because of a referee conflict - not a future rain forecast. All calendars here have been edited to reflect the change, as well as the original schedule post below. Please make sure you adjust your calendars if you already entered the season into your planner.

Let's keep our fingers crossed this is the only reschedule we have this season.