An Opportunity To Learn

Gentlemen: Charlottesville Catholic played a strong game today. 

We had moments of toughness (and we scored two pretty goals), but we did not weave those moments together into the complete game that Coach Connors challenged us to play.

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I encourage you to find both lessons and motivation in today's loss. 

In terms of the lessons, a major takeaway for me is that we are often holding the ball for a second too long -- we are taking an extra dribble during which we lose the advantage. In order to maintain the advantage, let's work on: 

1. Keeping our heads up (before and after receiving the ball)

2. Anticipating what we're going to do upon receiving the pass 

3. Taking one fewer dribble, rather than one more dribble

There are moments in a game, of course, when you may have plenty of time to dribble and find the perfect pass. But there were far more frequent moments today when we lost possession because we hesitated.

In addition, we'll work on winning the 50/50 balls. Today, CCS won the vast majority of them, and that made a huge difference in the outcome.

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Good work to both Carter and Charlie for their work in the goal today. Both boys made several nice saves, without which the score would have been more lopsided.

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Game balls:

#11 for CCS: I don't know this boy's name, but he played an exceptional game. Notably, he did not change his focus or effort after his first couple of goals. To the contrary, during the second half he lifted up his teammates' level of play with his continued command of the field. He played a complete game.

A Video From Yesterday

Thank you, Ms. Kelly, for sharing this video of the goal described in yesterday's recap.

I encourage you to watch the video a couple of times (I play the footage once from normal distance and a second time on zoom). Notice some of the details:

1. Watch Sebastian's excellent goal-kick up the right sideline.

2. Watch the way that Mattie takes a couple of dribbles but does not wait too long to launch his pass downfield. Players sometimes take one or two extra dribbles, and those touches enable the defense to establish itself. On this play, Mattie senses the advantage and makes his pass while the defense is on its heels. (By the way: it's hard to follow the exact path of the ball, but the placement is superb)

3. Watch Charlie start his run before Mattie makes the pass. Charlie moves to space and beats the defender. To cap the play, his finish is strong but controlled.

4. Listen to the parents as they watch the play develop. They are realizing what Mattie and Charlie are doing, and they are enjoying it. As the pass flies through the air, I hear someone say "Yeeees," followed  immediately by "Nice", then Ms. Kelly's "Go Charlie" and her cheer. This is fun stuff!!

Containment and Coordination

Soccer defenders are a special breed.

The position requires a unique blend of strength, speed, agility, and an ability to anticipate the ball's trajectory before it's even been kicked. 

It also requires a lot of guts -- and a willingness to get right back up and re-double one's effort after the opposing team scores. I was a midfielder myself, and I've always had huge admiration for the courage of the players on the back line.

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We've got some skilled defenders on the team this year, and our goal will be to help them improve with each game. Coach Connors talked today about two specific areas of defensive focus: containing an attacker (particularly in a one-on-one situation) and coordinating with the other defenders to move as a unit. 

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More generally, we want this team to improve and grow each week: for each boy to grow on an individual level, and for the group to grow as a unit. To that end, I was happy to hear Mattie's analysis at the end of a disappointing loss: "I think we played better in that second half than we did in the entire Tandem game." 

I agree, and we aim to take further steps forward with each practice and each game.

Game balls:

Sebastian: You stepped up to play keeper in the second half of a nail-biter. You played great (I particularly liked the placement of a couple of your punts), and you made a significant contribution to the team's effort. We are very happy to have you as a new member of the St. Anne's-Belfield community.

Lance: A big takeaway from the Tandem game was that you all need to communicate more with each other. Lance, your communication during today's game was notable, and it helped the group to coordinate on both sides of the ball.

Mattie to Charlie: There are few things in soccer that are prettier than a crisp pass landing with pinpoint precision, followed by a powerful finish to the corner of the net. From the right sideline, I had a great perspective to watch Mattie's spectacular pass and Charlie's perfect finish. Capped by the dramatic roar of the crowd, this play was the highlight of the afternoon.

Opening Day

Great work today on the pitch. Some highlights:

-- Carter and Judah stepped up to play goalkeeper (despite not having a huge amount of prior experience), and they made a couple of nifty saves.

-- We worked on what it looks like to be a supportive and positive teammate while on the bench. Coach Connors talked about the way that we want to cheer for our teammates while also being respectful of our opponents.

-- We also talked about the importance of humility. In Charlottesville, we are fortunate to have Coach Bennett as a fantastic role model for demonstrating that it's possible to be an exceptional athlete while still maintaining a humble approach to the game.

-- Awesome year-opening goals from Kai (2), Keegan (2), Matteo, Gavin, Kevin and Charlie!

And here are some things to work on:

-- As we have been talking about during practice: when you stop, steal or receive the ball in the middle of the field, you will almost always want to consider sending it towards the side (unless we are already very close to the opponent's goal), so that we can stretch and space the field.

-- Please talk to each other out there!! Lots! (examples: "I got it, I got it." "You've got time." "Man on." "Pass to the side.") The more we start to communicate, the more we become a team, rather than a collection of eleven individual players.

Game balls:

Kevin: Your goal was terrific, but I was even more impressed by the way that you maintained a sharp focus and strong effort until the final whistle.

Charlie to Gavin: A gorgeous corner kick and a perfectly placed header, for the score.

Holmes: I love the way that you move to open space, constantly opening up possibilities for your teammates and keeping the defense on its heels.