Thursday October 22 practice is cancelled

Practice is cancelled for October 22 due to weather. See you at 7:15 on Orange 3 on Saturday. Wear the puma uniform with blue socks.

Midnight Madness Schedule

Here is the link to the schedule if you want to print it off. Otherwise, here are our game times and locations. This information is also available on our team voice mail in case you need it during the tournament.

Saturday 10/24/09

8 a.m., Orange 3, LFC Galaxy v Slidell Roadrunners
2 p.m., Yellow 3, Fusion v LFC Galaxy

Sunday 10/25/09

9:30 a.m., Orange 2, LFC Galaxy v MSC Legacy
3:30 p.m., Orange 2, Group A#1 v Group B#1

They are expecting 180 teams and about 7,000 people to be at the park so they have asked everyone to be patient when parking or trying to find parking. So allow extra time to get to the games. All players need to be at the assigned field ready to warm up 45 min. before the game. While we may not be out on the field 45 min. before the game it gets the players together and we can talk and discuss what we need to as a team.

Everyone should have their hotel arranged but if you have any questions, please contact Samoa directly.

Here is a link to the field map.

Thanks,

Rich

Midnight Madness early information

The Midnight Madness tournament is approaching rapidly. Let's go all out for the next week to prepare. We will work hard next week during practice and need everyone there for both practices. I know there are conflicts but if you can put soccer at the top of the list for next week, that would really help the team out.

Here is a link to the preliminary brackets for the tournament. It does not list game times as of 10/16 but you can see the bracket breakdown and who we will play.

Thanks,

Rich

Sweep the Swamp info

Wear the Adidas uniform on Saturday with yellow socks. Be on the field to warm up by 8:45 am, field 5. All game times are listed on the blog calendar along with opponents and field numbers. Just click on the time to open it up and get the other info for that game.

Here is a link to the Crossroads website if you need directions or anything else.

What to wear on Sunday - United Cup

Wear the ADIDAS uniform for Sunday. Field 10 @10 am. See ya there!

What to wear for United Cup

Players,

For the Saturday Games, wear your Puma uniform and but make sure that you have both uniforms.

Thanks,

Rich

Schedule change for United Cup

Our 8 am game has been moved to 4 pm. We will play the same team on field 12.

Thanks,

Rich

Topic of the Week - Communication & Having your back to the goal

Players,

I watched a U17 boys soccer game this week and the score was 6-1. The winning team did two things that gave them a distinct advantage. Now this shouldn't come to you as a complete surprise but take a guess at what the number 1 thing I heard (this is a clue) as I watched the game. COMMUNICATION!!!!!! They were telling each other things like, "Take it left", "man on - send it right", " Drop, Drop", "I am coming left" and on and on. I could hear them talking all over the field. The losing team talked at times but they didn't do it effectively or help each other enough.

If your house was on fire, wouldn't you yell for everyone to get out? Wouldn't you tell them to go out the window or crawl on the ground to the doorway? I firmly believe that on the soccer field, you MUST talk with as much conviction and force as you would if your house was on fire.

The second thing the winning team did was knew how to control the ball with their back to the goal. The defending team allowed them to turn and get a shot off. This happened over and over and you can see the results by the score.

This week I am posting a short article that I think highlights both of those points. Read it and incorporate it into your play. Combine that with the other things we are learning and you will see tremendous results on the field.


Playing with your back to goal
By Tony Carr

This session is aimed at improving attackers' understanding and skills with their backs to goal. It is a skill in itself being able to turn or move the ball into space without having the luxury of seeing where all the defenders and the goalkeeper are.

A lot of being able to play this role comes from communication with the players around them. Movement by the other players is essential so that the player with their back to goal has a lot of options and doesn't end up turning into trouble and losing the ball.

Keeping possession is important because the team will be in an attacking position. Lose it here and your team will be caught out of position vulnerable to the counter attack.

What you have to think about is:
Is the turn realistic?
Is the player getting communication from his team mates?
Has the player made the right decision - pass back to a team mate or turn and beat the defender?

Tony Carr is the Academy Director of West Ham United in the English Premier League

Think about those questions and also remember the importance of communicating all the time not just once in a while or when you feel like it.

Coach