Girls,
Get use to a season that will demand your best effort and play!  Most teams in this division are U14 teams in higher level leagues and divisions.  Saturday's game was against a u14 Buckeye Div 2 team.

Good new--we had our opportunities.  We missed many opportunities to score.  We showed some brilliant moments at time in our possession play, which led to us attacking.  We didn't finish like we should have on many of the attacks.  IMPORTANT:  These opportunities on offense came because we were:

1. Moving to get open instead of standing and watching
2. Winning 50/50 balls
3. Not trying to take on defenders in our middle and defensive third of the field--instead we were looking for other options such as playing back to supporting fullback or goalie, and switching fields (playing AWAY from pressure)
4. Checking to the ball to get open.

Bad News (areas to improve)-- the 4 things listed above,  have to be for the entire game.  In the first 20 minutes, we did totally opposite of the above.  Here were some observations:

1. when we got the ball, we had no options, because we (the entire team on the field) wasn't quickly moving to SPACE, which would MAKE IT EASY FOR THE GIRL WITH THE BALL TO PLAY it to you.
2. Lost so many 50/50 balls.
3.  Playing into pressure, instead of looking to play away from pressure (drop to defender, goalie, switch fields, etc.).  Many times our outside mids or fullbacks were looking to turn the ball right into traffic instead of making the easy drop (drop to other fullback, or to goalie). Always make the simple pass!  In our attacking third, we can take players 1v1 more often--in our middle and def third, we gotta make the simple pass whenever possible.
4. Panicked on their high pressure--when they pressure up, we have to make quicker decisions, know where to touch/play the ball before we receive it, and those without the ball need to move to space faster--we instead stood next to our defenders.  The SECOND you see we are going to possess the ball, every girl on the field must FLY to Space to be an option--THE SECOND!!!
5.  And we didn't pressure them at all in the first 20 minutes.  When they are dropping passes to maintain possession, we ALL Move up.  This doesn't mean we all "chase balls".  This means that ONE person, closest to ball,  quickly pressures the ball, and EVERYONE else quickly find a player and DENY's any pass to them.


Girls, here is the good news.  Again, you showed brilliance at times.  And we have that first half on Film to watch and break down!!!

See you all tonight at WieFit.  We will spend 1/2 watching film, and other half testing routine and practicing "turns".   Will be a good night!

Brian