The View from the Sidelines

Spent the weekend on the sidelines.  This allowed me to watch other coaches and indulge one of my other hobbies, sports photography. 

The girls and I went to watch a couple soccer games of some of their classmates/former teammates.  We happened to see two games where our teams were significantly better than their opponents.  Despite this, the games were not a showcase of soccer talent.  The A-level team played sloppily, but still won 5-1.  Relatively easy scoring chances were missed due to inaccurate shots or literally missing the ball during the attempt.  It was their first win (one loss and two ties), so they were happy with it, but I could see that the coaches were frustrated.

The C-level team (who seem to be in the wrong level, based on their comfortable wins in each game) had an ugly game.  The girls played well and the ball spent 95%+ of the time in their offensive end.  The half-time score was only 3-0, but it was clear that they were better.  One player on the other team seemed to be quickly frustrated by the game and started to "lead with the elbow" as she came into each play.  She essentially tackled and layed on one player to stop her from getting a shot, tugged on the shirts and had some general rough play.  In the 2nd half, she took a full kick at the ball, as our keeper had it in her hands.  That was enough for the young referee to pull her aside and explain the rules.  She didn't give her a yellow card, but it was clear that the message was received, as the player started to cry and needed to be replaced.  I hope the coach was able to use this as an opportunity to improve the player's respect for the rules, opponents, officials and teammates.

In that 2nd half, the our team purposely played with one less player, to try to even out the game.  I was okay with that, but it was also clear that the coach had told the girls not to shoot unless right in front of the goal.  I think that trying to manipulate the natural tendencies of the players at this age is a mistake.  I liked the "man-down" adjustment, but to get mad at a player for scoring on a breakaway is wrong.  When it happened, he pulled the player and she sat out for the rest of the game.

The game is for the kids, give them a challenge and let them play.