Game Re-cap for 9/28 Game

Let me begin by saying congratulations on our first win of the season! After a shaky start the boys really fought back and pulled off a great win over a worthy competitor. Let me break it down.

Defense: One line that distinguishes a strong squad from another is their defensive line. If you can't hold your attackers at bay you don't stand much of a chance at winning the game. With some adjustments both in practice and during the game we found the right combination of defenders that literally held the attackers and prevented a single 2nd half shot at goal. Noah may have been bored but we were glad for it. Great work defense!

Midfield: Transitions from defense to front are critical, especially on such a large playing field. If you can't move it forward in the middle you're going to play defense the entire game. We found the right combination of midfielders that transitioned selflessly to our strikers and wings. Our defense had confidence in their ability to bring them some relief and our strikers benefited from their great passes.

Attack: If you can't put it in the back of the net, you can't win a game. We were fortunate that a few well placed shots found their mark (when we didn't shoot directly at the keeper, Jaden :) .  The 2nd half really showed just how powerful our attack can break away with well passed balls into the lanes.

Coaching: I wanted to publicly thank Caleb and Bob for helping to break down the 1st half weaknesses and unanimously make changes for the 2nd half. Also for having my back while an unruly opposition coach blathered on while denying his culpable lack of sporting behavior. Hopefully you've noticed that any "shouting" you may hear from our side of the field is coaching, not belittling or demeaning. I hope to say the same for other coaches.

Lastly, thanks to the parents for supporting your players. It means a lot to have you out there every game. Bedford was a bit of a travel and I sincerely am grateful to dedicated parents willing to, well, be a great parent and help their player compete, have fun and succeed.

No game this Saturday so enjoy your weekend off! See you on Monday.

Game Canceled for 9/25

All BAYFA games are canceled for the day. Sorry for the late notice as BAYFA literally closed the fields at 9:20 (IMHO pretty irresponsible for a 10:00 AM start). Enjoy the day off, get those rooms clean, spend some good family time, play a game, catch up on homework, do whatever, just have fun!

Practice, Game Tomorrow & Game Rescheduled

First, let me congratulate you on not having played on Saturday. The heat index pushed one of my team's game over 104 and we had a referee drop in the 2nd half. The game lasted 105 minutes. Brutal. May I re-emphasize the need for proper hydration.

Please make sure your player attends today's practice as it's the last chance to shake off the rust of the summer in preparation for tomorrow's match.

Tomorrow we play the KSA Cobras on KSA-E. Game time is 6pm so please have your player there by 5:40PM. Please bring your own liquids as the coach rarely has extra and most of the time doesn't have any for himself. Don't let your player leave the house without checking his bag for a full bottle(s) of adequate hydrating liquid.

Finally, the game that was rained out has now been scheduled for 9/28. Our schedule has been updated.

See you tonight!

Hydration Impacts Performance

A coaching buddy of mine tipped me to a good article on the impacts of proper hydration and how it affects player performance. Please take a moment to have a gander at the article and consider how your player may benefit from proper hydration.

http://www.soccer-fans-info.com/hydration.html

Soccer Drills

Thanks for coming out to practice on Mon. Some of the players, including my veterans, were a bit confused on some of the skills we covered. Here's an example of "scissors" and many variations. Please have your player practice these at home before the next practice.

Also, I'll be posting additional skills via youtube videos on the "Skills" tab above.