"Have FUN at Practice and The Players Will Come" By Coach John Anagnost
Well, the season is over. We had our last game and practice for the year. As is my custom, I start the first practice with fun games and end the last practice of the year with fun games. The kids had a blast with several fun games mixed in that we hadn't done since the beginning of the year. It's always a great way of ending the practice year. The last game went well. We ended up winning 3-0, the first time all year that we had scored more than 1 goal in the game. Two more girls who hadn't scored all year scored today, ending the season with 7/12 girls scoring. 3 more girls who hadn't scored also had close chances today as well. The other team didn't have one shot on goal, and 90% of the game was spent in their end of the field.
All of the parents were amazed at how much we improved over the course of the season. Recall that we got destroyed 6-0 in the first game, but we only lost once in our last 7 games. We tied 3/4 of the playoff teams down the stretch. We didn't do it with stars, but we played together as a team. With no stars on the team, all of the girls got to contribute, leading to a very versatile team that didn't suffer when any single player left the field.
The team we played today relied on one star, and when she wasn't here today, the rest of the team struggled mightily. FUNdamental practice was the big reason for our success. 1v1 was a huge contributor, leading to a team markedly more aggressive than other teams in the league. After playing 1v1 week after week, even the most timid child gets used to playing against other children. This leads to greater skills, more confidence, more aggressiveness. As I've said before, it's really almost magical in its effect on my teams.
The uneven passing games were very effective as well. We passed better than any team in the league, despite the fact our skill level wasn't as high as other teams. The became very effective in looking for teammates (peeking) and releasing the ball under control. The kicking games were also instrumental in our success. This team was the weakest team I have ever encountered kicking the ball, with 6/12 girls unable to kick the ball 10 yards at the first practice.
We worked kicking games religiously each week, with at least 30 shots for each girl per practice (using 3 assistant coaches, a great help). By the end of the year, the whole squad was collectively much stronger in kicking the ball with both feet. This was punctuated by a tremendous goal in the last game by a girl who hadn't scored all year. At the beginning of the year, she had a very weak leg, could hardly kick it 10 yards, would "swing and miss" on occasion. She had trouble kicking a ball rolling at her. After probably 500 balls in practice over 3+ months, she improved tremendously. All of the goalies noted how hard her shot had become. Her goal today was a ball rolling towards her that she stepped up and just hammered home. Tremendous, tremendous goal that she probably would have missed entirely at the beginning of the season.
Finally, I would be remiss without the mentioning the small sided games. We worked a lot of 2 on 2, with lots of variations such as two touch, or 3 touch minimum. All of these games had a collective result of significantly improving both dribbling and passing skills. And we did all of this while having fun We AVERAGED 11/12 players at practice. Lots of my fellow coaches complained that they only had 7 or 8 at practice. When you have FUN at practice, kids will come. Many of the parents said that compared to previous years, they had no trouble getting the kids to come to practice because they WANTED to come to practice. Great overall year. The kids had fun and they improved their soccer skills. What more can a coach ask? Thanks Coach for all of your help. You really helped contribute to a fun season for 12 fine young girls
