Kid's sports - The Sequel
 

I put this in Home Base because that is where the first thread was, but we can move it to sports if you all want. Or delete it altogether if you really want.

After people complained about the results from last season we decided to make sure that the teams were divided up more evenly for this session.:right: That translated to me (and the other 4 coaches who bothered showing up) spending 3+ hours at the club one night running every single player through some evals. we each rated every player and then sat down to go through the numbers. The coaches who showed up were the more reasonable ones who want to make sure that fun and learning is priority one. The blowhards were apparently busy. After lots of ideas were thrown out I suggested we each go to the whiteboard and list each of our returning players under our teams and assume we would keep them unless and until one team looks too overpowering and then we could fill all the new kids in around the existing kids in a way to balance things out.

I went to the board and started writing names. I had lil lookout and 3 girls and 1 boy coming back. my number 2 scorer, and 2 really stroong defenders didn't come back. 2 of my strongest players, B and C, I assumed I was losing because they are family friends and we recruited C's dad as a new coach (I'm helping him in addition to my own team). I assumed he would form his team around those two. He piped in from the back though that the parents had talked and they want B and C on my team because they wanted them to stick with me. Fine by me, so I already had 7 of my expected 10 players.

We had assigned each player a number between 1-5 as a rating, 5 being the most skilled. I rated my team as two 4's, four 3's, and a 2. The other coaches had rated my players as two 5's, four 4's, and two 3's. A little generous is you look at the kids, but I already knew where this was going. Long story short, I took on 2 more boys who had never seen a soccer ball before. All I had asked for is that I get someone who can player keeper, but they wanted me to trade away lil lookout and my 2nd most experienced player to get that. No thanks, I'll teach them to stop as many as they can and just outscore the other teams.

The other teams look pretty even on paper. We picked up some really really good players from another club that has had some issues lately. There are two players that I can't believe aren't playing travel team at a higher age bracket - they were awesome in evals. big, aggressive, and SKILLS. Very impressive. 1 of the other coaches was really complaining about his "weak squad" and how he wouldn't stand a chance even though we let him have the 2 most impressive kids that came in new, 6 of his existing players, and a couple more decent newbies. Average ratings wise, his team had the same strength mine does, but he still complained so they decided that the first game of the session would be my kids against his. If the score was too out of line we'd change the teams. I saw trouble brewing, but oh well. My opinion is that, although he is a friend, he is a poor coach. He doesn't give direction or explain why or when a skill is important, he just drills the skills and tells them to go play and then complains about being overmatched when his kids resort to jumbleball and lose. Oh well.

Next up: Game One

I practiced with my kids last wednesday. Only a handful showed up, but we practiced just like we would normally. My two new kids showed almost zero coordination so I worked with them on the "a defender stays in this area and kicks the ball as hard as they can outside" method. I'll teach them more as the weeks go on. I figured I would play the first game pretty defensively with just 1 forward, 2 midfielders, 3 defenders and lil lookout in goal.

Lil Lookout changed that plan for me friday night when he found out he can't fly. He leaned too far out of his bunkbed for a book and went overboard. He scratched his face up pretty good, but I thought his arm might be broken. The Xrays said no break, but a pretty good sprain in his left wrist. No goalkeeping with that hand. I wouldn't have even let him play if I thought I wouldn't kill him as a reaction to his complaining about being left on the bench.

I started with the same idea as before but with lil lookout as the defensive midfielder and another boy in goal. The other team kicked off straight to lil lookout who drove straight down the center and scored from well outside the box. 10 seconds: goal. Wow, that was a fluke. 20 seconds later my team had their second goal. We had five goals in 5 minutes. The other coach wasn't giving any directions, he didn't make any changes on the field, he just stood there quietly. I realized at that point that he wanted my kids to pick his team apart so he would have an excuse to switch players around. I love my kids together and don't want them split up for this session as it is the last they'll be together anyway. 4 of them move up to the next age group at the end of this session and I want them together one last time. I called the program director over and asked him to watch the game. I moved lil lookout, hurt arm and all, into the goal, and moved my other two real scorers into defense, pushed my two newbies up, and told them all to just have fun. I subbed all my strongest players through the goal box and as I'd send them back out I'd tell them the game was already won, now lets work on "__________". Lil Lookout, B, C, and C were only allowed to shoot with their left foot or get an assist.

From that point on the game was a lot of fun. My kids would just pass it around and try to get the new kids to score by passing to them right in front of the goal. One of my parents took it upon himself to go coach and direct the other team's keeper through the net. My kids scored three more times but I think they learned a lot more with the way the were passing to each other. Goals were off the table, so they were motivated to get the passes in and it was pretty impressive. They finished the game with the traditional cheer for the other team. The losing team was still having fun because everyone would cheer when they would come close our goal, so they weren't embarrassed. Kids are kids and they'll have fun if you let them.

After the game the kids all shook hands and then both teams took a ball and kept playing in the background while we had coach/parent meetings. I warned the parents that the rest of the games will look different because the other coaches are going to try to win. duh. Pretty frustrated at the crappiness from the other coach, but I think we managed to turn it into a good game in spite of him. All in all, a good week.

The program director realized the other coach wasn't coaching so he didn't switch the players around either. ;)

Cool, turn every situation into a learning exprerience. And, you were able to expose the shenaigans. You're great at this stuff.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: you are severely underestimating your skill as a coach. You actually understand the game and are eager to teach the kids strategy and skills. Maybe this is typical of the coaches for your soccer club, but I find it hard to believe. These kids are like 7 years old, right? Most coaches I've seen, especially for the younger ages, just run the drills and make sure everyone has time on the field. Admittedly, my experience was almost entirely with baseball, but still. The coaches were all parents who thought taking on a team would be fun; most of them had never actually played the sport themselves, except maybe as very young kids. None of them showed even a fraction of the interest in improving individual skills as you have.

Since the other coaches aren't interested in group practices, I think you should issue a challenge: next year, just give you li'l lookout, and the 9 lowest-ranked kids, and you will still kick everyone's asses.

Oh! He could coach a mismatched band of ragamuffin misfits to a shocking upset surprise of the golden boys with a super-secret sneak-play strategy!

Exactly--but he still has that one star player who makes the whole thing moderately plausible. :)

OOOH, and I am sort of a successful but disgruntled business guy. This could be good.

Now how do I pitch a movie idea?

Although that sounds like fun, I think I'll pass on volunteering for it. It will be pretty close to what happens anyway due to half my kids moving up to the next age bracket or taking the session off, anyway.

I pretty much did that a year and a half ago. Lil Lookout was forced out of the U6 league and into the U8 league before his 5th birthday because he was "scoring too much":eyebrow: I started coaching U8 at that point and the director at that time didn't invite me to the evaluations. I ended up with a 4 year old lil lookout, five 6 year olds and four 7 year olds who had never played soccer before. I recruited our 7 year old neighbor just so I could have another player who could at least kick the ball without falling over. That first session we lost or tied our first nine games. Our tenth game we beat the other team 12-0. The kids all signed up for the next session and we went 5-3-2. Then I took a session off from coaching and they split those kids up. All but one still plays. Three of them have been invited to club level tryouts.

It's fun to do, but I can't do that again. It encourages my overly competitive Lil Lookout to be a selfish ballhog. It is hard to convince him to pass to someone who doesn't know what to do with the ball.

Well look what Tiger Woods' dad did with his star pupil.

Lil lookout doesn't have the good fortune of having as good of a coach as Tiger had.

Bullshit, you da man!

What Bruce said!! !! !! - Lil lookout just needs to refine the - "...time and place..." part a bit, me thinks.

It was a big soccer week in lookoutville so this will come in two parts. This first part will be my usual bias free:rolleyes: review of the week's game. The second part will be a father's unadulterated bragging.

A couple of my players' parents who are really into the game but not quite as developed as LL have been asking how LL learned to do this and how to do that. I've always replied the same way - Lil Lookout loves the game even more than I do and spends every minute he can with a ball at his feet - all I do is introduce some proper technique. Well, after repeating that for the eleventy-eighth time I offered to work with a couple of them an additional day each week. Monday I grabbed Lil Lookout from school and met B, C, and C at the club. I worked on some individual skills with them and scrimmaged. So basically this group of four had to listen to me piss and moan about the need for clean passing and opening lanes for 3 hours instead of their usual one hour practice each week. It showed in the game today.

I fully expected to lose today's game but knew it would be a good fight. We were playing one of my friend's teams and he is stacked out with 3 club level players and a solid cast around them. I started with LL in the goal, B up front on his own and 3 midfielders. B scored twice last session. He scored 2 in the opening 5 minutes this week. When I switched Lil Lookout from keeper to his central midfield spot with C and C on his flanks and B upfront it became a flat out demolition. The keeper from the other team is the absolute best keeper i've ever seen under 10 years old - he's awesome. The way these boys were passing, the poor keeper didn't know what to do. LL scored twice with his left foot and once on a backheel before I moved him into defense for the rest of the game. The passing was amazing all the way around. Even my two new kids who really don't have the slightest clue ran hard, fought hard, and moved the ball around. The final score was 10-5. The game was a bit closer than the score would show and it was a lot of fun for everyone to watch - parents from the other team were happy after the game and made sure to come over and congratulate my kids on a game well played.

LL scored 4 of the points, but was responsible for some good assists too. It really wasn't a one man show - he just has a nose for the goal. A great game from every single kid.

And the credit goes to....











top management.

And here's the real proud papa. LL has been invited to tryout for a few club teams in the past and I always nixed the idea for different reasons, but mainly because I want him to have fun with the game and not add any stress to the kid. For a 6 year old the kid worries more than I can explain. Anyway, on Thursday I got a call from the club director. He reminded me that the outdoor competitive season was over and indoor club started this weekend. Because of some mixup with the age guidelines, his '01 (birth year) team only had enough to field a team with no subs. He asked if I'd let Lil Lookout play with them. I told him their practice night is a problem for us, so it probably wouldn't work. He insisted that I worked with LL enough and the kid was obsessive enough that he could play even without practicing with the team first. I thought that was complete BS, but told him LL would play with them this week at least so he'd have time to find someone to play with them full time. My main concern was that LL really wasn't developed enough to hang in that league and he'd get discouraged.

This morning Lil Lookout played his first competitive level game immediately after our rec league game. He was really nervous about not being good enough. I assured him that he was, but that he had to understand he wasn't going to dribble circles around these players and he'd probably play defense for a few games until he got used to the speed of play. With nervous energy filling us both I left him with the coach and went to the other side of the field. It is really hard and nerve racking to quit being the coach and just be dad. I have more time to be nervous about my kid instead of worrying about 9 of them. My nerves spiked when I watched the coach send them on the field and he didn't put LL in defense as expected. LL in his first competitive game ever got pushed into a Left Winger spot. All 3'9" and 41 lbs of him. Right footed and all - just chilling on the left wing.

The other team was definitely bigger and they came from a much more prestigious club than ours - with a reputation for high quality. They knew what they were about and set to work. They had our kids down by 2 within 5 minutes, but it didn't matter - our kids were passing well and moving confidently. I found out that LL wasn't a last minute addition to an established team - NONE of these players were used to playing together. That being said they looked good. LL is pretty fast and good with the ball at his feet but tends to think he can go through anyone - which he can in rec league - but here, the kid was making pin point passes and popping some amazing switches. He kept receiving the ball and moving down his left flank and putting great passes in, but their keeper was good and was blocking everything. LL got subbed out and I found out later that the coach had to tell him it was ok to shoot - he didn't have to pass every time. duh! So he puts LL back in and the kid has a new spring in his step - he starts making these awesome little cuts into the inside of his marker and blasting the ball in only to see it saved. He had an amazing left foot shot blocked and you could see in his reactions that he was getting discouraged at his inability to get anything past the keeper. Then the other team committed their 5th foul. In indoor 5 fouls results in a Penalty Kick - but it is different than outdoor. It is essentially a 1v1 with the keeper and the kicker. The kicker can just shoot or can dribble first. It isn't nearly as easy as it sounds. I couldn't believe it when the coach told Lil Lookout to take the PK. He just stood there and stared at the ball while the ref set the keeper in place. When the ref blew the whistle, nothing happened. LL stood there with his foot on the ball and didn't move. Then the keeper charged him and LL waited til the last second before breaking to his right and neatly rounding the keeper to tap the ball in. I couldn't believe it - the kid just scored in his first ever club game! This is one proud papa. He just turned around and strolled back to the center with this little smirk that said, "shoot, you haven't seen nothin' yet". And the little turkey was right. The coach switched him over to the right wing (which fits a right footer more naturally) and LL really stepped up his game. I couldn't believe how his close control has improved. He was threading the ball between two players and shooting for the corners in stride. He would win the aerial ball, not by trying to outjump his bigger opponent, but rather he stayed on the ground, watched to see which way they would head it and just beat them to their own ball once it hit the ground. He was on fire. In his first club game he scored a hat trick and had two assists! One of his goals he created entirely on his own from midfield as he snagged the ball and raced to the goal with defenders on either side of him sniping at the ball, he got to the edge of the box, neatly stopped the ball on a dime - cut right around the defenders who had overrun him and blasted the ball into the roof of the net. His third goal, was much more mundane :rolleyes: - when he found himself caught up against the end wall with no angle to shoot, he faked going backwards, took one step right and blasted it in through the keepers legs.

His team won the game 6-4 and it was a REALLY fun game to watch. Parents from both teams were good spirited in their cheering and the kids played awesome.

In all honesty, I knew/know that Lil Lookout is above average for his age in the game but I really didn't think that he'd step into competitive play so smoothly. After the game I found out that the team our kids just beat was a year older and a tier 1 team. That means that at their club they are the "A" team for '00 players. Very impressive win boys. Very good day my boy.

Papa wishes he had just 10% of his boys talent and skill with the ball.

Congrats - you deserve it and so does LL

Bravo Mr Woods and Lil Tiger. There's a Spice Girl down the road.

Can we buy futures? It is awesome when kids realize the can do something well. Way to help it happen man.

Another week, a couple more games.

Lil Lookout's first game on saturday was for the club team and he was psyched. It overlapped with the last major outdoor tournament for the year, so it was going to be tricky fielding a team. Half of the kids from Lil Lookout's club team also played for the tournament team so they would be gone. The coach asked me to fill in for him and we arranged for enough players from the B team to show up so we'd have a full team to field. Unfortunately, some people have no concern for others and only 3 players, including Lil Lookout, showed up. We forfeited but in order to avoid a monetary fine I had to keep those three there and play a scrimmage against the other team. Their coach kindly provided me with a some players. Of course the players he loaned were horrible. And then he fielded his A team against our motley crew and ran rough shod over the kids. The parents from his own team were arguing with each other because it was just stupid out there. Lil Lookout was fit to be tied because the loaned players wouldn't pass and repeatedly gave the ball away. This was the first game in memory that Lil Lookout didn't score and he was furious. Although I was sympathetic dad, I think it was a good thing for him. He needs to realize that he can't score and win all the time. It also gave him a little extra fire for our next game. :)

On to our full time team's game

I knew our game would be hard fought because they are solid throughout their roster with two exceptional forwards. Their coach is INTENSE all the time. More so since he has very obviously been hitting the 'roids lately. Seriously, the guy went from my build to being cut like late '80's Stallone in 4 months. Healthy eating my ass. Anyway, to top things off my top defender and one of the better forwards were gone.

With only one sub I wasn't sure if my kids could stay in the game through the end so I decided to play hard defense early on and try to keep the score low then take it to them in the end. With that in mind I put LL in goal, my three strongest remaining defenders in back, a defensive midfielder, a central mid, and only one forward. For the first 20 minutes the other team just kept attacking over and over. My kids would block them and force them to shoot from outside, LL would collect the ball and punt it downfield and my forward would try to collect it and beat the two defenders and keeper. He wasn't able to score, but neither did they.

With 5 minutes left in the half the other team's forwards and midfielders were pretty frustrated and getting tired. I brought LL out of the goal, put one of my weaker players who was tired into the goal and told him to have fun and try to stop what he could. I moved my two defenders up to the front, my now tired forward into defense, and pushed LL and two others into midfield and told them to have at it.

After playing in front of our box for twenty minutes the other team was slow to respond to changes and it showed. My kids started moving and passing and kept the forward pressure on. LL slammed a distance shot in over the keeper. Then the other team scored 2 on us. We went in down 2-1, but my kids were still pretty fresh.

The second half started with our kickoff. LL rolled the ball back to our waiting defender who smashed it downfield where it was collected by one of our players who shot. The goalie deflected the ball right to LL who popped it in with his left foot. The battle was hardfought in midfield but in my mind my kids would win that battle because I teach and stress a five second rule. If they can't go to goal in five seconds they have to find and make a pass. Everyone is expected to step up and play or leave the field. The other team stresses getting the ball to the two star shooters who in turn only pass to each other.

The other team scored from a penalty kick after their star shooter fell down for the fourth time in two minutes and the other coach was screaming he'd been shoved. No, he was tired - but whatever.

Now we're going into the last ten minutes down one point. My kids are passing and moving and shooting but their keeper is denying them over and over again. Finally one of their kids fouled LL just outside and to the right of the Penalty Box. LL for once didn't try to kick through the wall, instead he lobbed it out and C volleyed it in. Now we're tied and still pressing hard. LL receives a pass right at the top of the box only to get hacked down from behind. Where most kids try to move the ball closer to the goal for a free kick he moved it back and then shot over the wall and out of the keeper's reach. That took the wind from the other team's sails. It didn't help them when their coach decided sarcasm was the best method to motivate them for the rest of the game.

From that point on my kids owned them. L, one of the little wallflowers stepped up and scored her first point of this season from a nice rebound shot. LL scored again and one other player did as well. Final score 7-3. The other coach was bitter and his players followed suit. Some of them didn't even shake hands. Whatever, our team enjoyed the win and went for pizza.

On the way out I did hear the other coach griping that there was no point in playing the game when my team has so much more skill than his. 1) Wrong, you play the game because you just never know. Ask Eli Manning. 2) Dude! You're saying that infront of your players - 3 of whom are your own sons. Show some class.

He got even more pissed when his wife told him he had to go congratulate LL on his game after I stopped to chat with his boys for a minute.

SIDENOTE:

Huge source of pleasure is my ongoing battle with a bitchy old grandmother. One of my little girls is a sweet kid who is just having fun in life. In all honesty she's never going to be an athlete and soccer isn't her forte, but she's having fun. I usually have to make her go on the field because she is perfectly happy just sitting with me on the bench and telling me all about her school week while I coach the rest of the team. Her mother knows this and is cool with it. The girl likes to be a part of the team and she does what I tell her to, she just isn't that great. Evil grandmother makes it very clear that granddaughter's lack of skill and motivation is a huge source of embarrasment for her. She wants the kid to quit playing. "Don't bother doing something you're no good at." Stupid bitch. Recently it looked like grandma was winning cuz the kid was talking about not playing next season. Mom asked me to talk to her so I sat them all down last week and asked her:

Do you like soccer? Yep
Do you like playing with your friends on the team? Uh huh
Do you feel like everyone here likes you? Oh yeah
Do you want to do something different for those two hours each week? No
Does it make you feel good when you make a pass or shoot and we get a goal? Oh yeah, *self conscious giggle*
Are you ever bored and wish you were doing something else? No

I told them to come back and talk to me if any of those answers change. Mom and daughter were very pleased. Grandma just glared at me and said "we'll see".

Saturday that girl stepped up and played all but five minutes of the game. While she didn't score she made some really vital interceptions and most likely kept at least two points off the board for the other team. Mother and Daughter were very very happy. Grandma can eat shit.

And that little girl can tell her children/grandchildren, she played on the team with LL before he turned pro.... and lavished his Dad with a posh lifestyle.

That sure would be nice. Of course, I'd be just as happy winning the powerball jackpot and spending the next 40 years taking LL and his kids to all the major soccer tournaments in the world. One or the other.

Dude, we've got enough of that attitude on our national team. I want LL to score and win every time he pulls on the red, white, and blue.

It was fun catching up on you guys, thanks for the updates. Way to go coach, and proud papa!! :notworthy

Eh, we're still a long way from being World Cup contenders but the new generation coming through is exciting. Adu (if he matures), Edu, Kleijsten, Altidore, Bradley, Feilhaber, and right behind them is another crop of awesome. The U-17 competitions in Florida recently were pretty awesome. We had a 13 year old playing when the USA completely pwned Brazil.

It will take time and a changing of the guard in the US. As long as we have people who think Eric Wynalda and Landon Donovan are great, we're pretty screwed.

This is America, man. We don't think anybody is great if they don't win.
Except the Cowboys.

pwned

Good find Griff. IIRC another Brazil player caught a red after the final whistle for some poor sportsmanship crap. Renkin, who was not quite 14 at the time was stellar. Jerome looks promising if he can learn to bring the team into his creativite play a bit more. Martinez is a good creative player as well. Edwards is a another in a tradition of quality american goalkeepers. The 2014 World Cup will still be too soon, but it'll be closer.

Unfortunately the problem with US soccer isn't the talent pool for the game, it is the mindset of the US soccer structure and the coaches. They're still stuck with the English game of the '80's. Rigid structure, bump and run, too much attention to structure and not enough emphasis on technique. IMO.

By comparison here is what our poor cousin to the south produces. Creativity. This is Carlos Vela, from Mexico, owned by Arsenal, playing in Spain on loan. Playing against Real Madrid, one of the top european clubs. Oh yeah, he's still a teenager too. He's in Red, playing mostly on the left.

And Fran Merida, Spanish, owned by Arsenal, also a teenager.

Here's some of the Americans coming up.
Adu
Altidore
Bradley

Lil Lookout and two of the boys on the team go to school together and I've become friends with the parents. For the last month or so, I've picked the 3 boys up after school and taken them to the field (which sits empty) to just play and kick the ball around.

The club director was embarrassed when he stopped me yesterday and informed me that I can't bring them to the club field anymore because after the game on saturday someone complained that it's unfair that I practice my kids more than once per week. A coach who shall remain nameless and childish demanded equal field time. Freakin' loser coach. Sad thing is that if he had asked if he could bring his kids up and play with us it would have been fun.

So I will now be taking the boys to the park instead. :)

. . . I cannot comprehend the thought process behind this. . . . What is the world coming to?

On the one hand I can understand the complaint. Field time is a commodity because they are indoor fields. Each team gets one hour practice per week. If one coach started practicing 3/4 nights per week, his team would probably pick apart the opposition simply because they'll be more comfortable on the ball. (Nevermind the fact that half of his current team had never touched a ball before a year ago, so I DID take them to the park a couple nights each week to teach them the very very basics.)

On the other hand, that isn't what I've been doing at all. I've been picking 3 little boys up from school and letting them kick a soccer ball around for an hour. By his reasoning I'll have to make sure that those 3 don't play soccer at recess. Wouldn't want to be unfair to the kids that don't go to school together and all.

Whatever. Like I said in the last game report the coach has been a bit nutty from his juice. I expect him to really get his team pumped up for the next time we play them. We'll see how that works.;)

:::shaking head in disbelief:::

Unbelievable.

If you were somehow using your influence to keep other people off this highly-desirable indoor field while you were using it, I guess I can see where he might be coming from. But if you're just showing up to an empty field and using it? That guy is retarded. I think I'm pretty convinced that every other coach in your league is retarded, actually.

LOL. I can see why you'd think that after some of the stories, but it isn't really that bad. Some of these guys are making repeat performances in the stories, you just can't tell because I'm not using names.

My kids all play soccer -the stories ring true to me. I used to coach peewee (preschool) soccer. The crap from the parents and coaches then (kids aged 3-5) was enough to convince me to let someone else take over at kindergarten......

It's funny that there are more parents willing to pitch in at that level than at the absolute beginner level when you need know very little. Of course you do have to be prepared to be on the field, pick the kids up, run, put them down in front of the ball, wipe their noses, tell them to kick, admire the dandelions they've picked while you were wiping their nose .... :lol:

Oh fuck him Look out , get your team togather in your back yard secretly , teach them how to Kick ASS!!!!!!! ,
FUCK THIS WHINING ASS LOOSER !!!

This week's report shall be in two parts as I was thrust into the role of team coach five minutes before kickoff so I'll report on both games.

First will be our normal rec team with all my usual kids. I knew the team we were playing and they are by far the weakest team out there. Brand new first time coach, a few strong players, everybody at least decent, but no cohesion. I knew we would pick them apart and drop at least 20 points on them if I lined the kids up like normal, so I had already decided to line my kids up defensively and rotate my weakest kids through forward and goalkeeper. I got a phone call from the director about 30 minutes before the game begging me to do what I had already decided to do, because he wants this group of kids to gain some confidence. No Problem.

Before the game I ran into the other coach and found out he was a player short and no subs so I put Lil Lookout and another player in their colors and was about to send them out when I was told not to worry, their players had showed up. I didn't pay any attention at all and kep LL and my other top scorer on the side. I had a weak line up out there and had already told my kids that for every assist they'd get 5 chucky cheese tokens and for every left foot shot they'd get 10 tokens for our end of season party next month. Yes, I know bribery sucks but how else do you redirect motivations from a normal coaching point? I was still dealing with sideline issues when the whistle blew 20 seconds in and I thought to myself, "uh oh, we scored way to fast". Except it wasn't us. The other team had scored. I couldn't believe it. Cool. Then they did it again. I couldn't figure out who it was until the kid walked back to the center and I realized that they were using two of the players from the club team one age group up. Crap. Now mind you that the other team already has skilled players, just no real leadership - well now they have it.

I acted too slowly to sub though and had to wait until they had scored their third point before putting LL in as center mid with C and C on either side of him and B alone up front. I put my strongest defender in the back with one of my noobs and told her to lock it up. My kids fought it out and but couldn't get close to the net for an open shot. LL started getting frustrated and gave up two fouls back to back. Then the kids settled down and started passing. Unfortunately, the parents from our team got a little excited and started screaming at their kids to pass to LL every chance they could. But the two club players owned him. He'd get the ball and shake one only to get stuffed by the next one. So I subbed him out and gave him some rest. C managed to spook their keeper and allowed B to tap one in behind him so we went into the break down 3-1.

Seeing that my skilled players were getting closed down when they were near the box I changed things up and put my started rotating my unskilled but enthusiastic noobs into the forward slot and played a 3 person midfield pressed close in, LL right behind them and a strong defender back on her own with my strongest keeper in the goal. It worked pretty well as my noobs ran frantically around the goalbox distracting the defenders and the goalie, their club players were pinned deep because I had 3 solid midfielders harassing them from close in. That left LL time on the ball when he'd hover within about 10 feet the center line. My mids kept trying to blast the ball in only to see it bounce back out, but they kept at it. Finally things started to break loose after LL recovered the ball at the center dribbled up a couple yards and let loose. It looped just under the crossbar well out of reach for the keeper.

Now it's 3-2 and my kids have settled into a pattern of blasting it, recovering it, and shooting again. LL scored 2 more from the outside and B headed one in from close. We're up 4-3 now. Then the ball pops out and LL wasn't fast enough to recover and left our lone defender stranded so it is tied 4-4. At that point my kids pick up their 4th foul which results in a shoot out. Just our keeper against their best shooter, easy point for them. Except the keeper made a diving save and stopped it with his nose. No blood, no missing teeth, so he is ready to keep playing. At that point the game opens up. My keeper has the ball but instead of punting it he rolls it short to C in our own corner who dribbles a couple steps, waits for the other player to commit and passes it up the line, to B who does the exact same thing, so LL receives the ball about 10 feet from the goal, but on the line he has to cut in and thread it between the defender and the goalie. Instead he decides to be fancy and use that time to try a new trick. He takes 2 steps back, sucks the defender out and kicks the ball against the wall to the his right. The defender and the keeper turn to watch the ball, but LL has run out to his left where the ball bounces out and taps it in with his left foot. Lucky he made it or I'd have kicked his little but for that one.

It goes back and forth for awhile and the kids just kept grinding. The game ended 10-10 and the kids were exhausted. It was by far the most challenging game they've had as a group and it was fun to watch.

At this point I'm concerned because LL is exhausted from that grinder of a game and he only has 45 minutes until his next one. I take him, cram some bananas and a yogurt into him, some hydration, and a little downtime. We walk in about 10 minutes before kick off and as I'm getting him switched into the right jersey the club coach walks up and tells me he has to go and that "my" team is waiting for me over in the locker room. Oh crap, when do I get to just sit and watch?

Oh well, at least I see we have enough players to get started. Then I check the roster and realize that we are playing a team in the age group up. Good kids from a nearby club, I know some of them and the coach is a good guy. Then I find out that I'm having another player added to my team. I'm supposed to "try out" D1. We're playing an Under9, tier one team who we are already giving up an average of 13 months, 4 inches, and 15-20 lbs to and he sends me D1. Now D1 is a good kid with good touch, but he is tiny. He is tiny even for his age. Did I mention he just turned 5 this month? And he can only play forward? And he doesn't speak english? He literally came up to the belly button on the biggest kid for the other team.

Oh well, I put the line up in as the normal coach specified and the game began. A minute in and our goalkeeper leaks one through the five hole trying to be fancy. Seriously? Fancy NOW? We were down 4 nothing eight minutes into the game when I said screw it and through out the coach's game plan and decided to improvise. Normally he puts D2, who is big and has good footwork, in as centerforward, LL as Left Wing, and B as right wing. The problem is that D2 refuses to pass and our defense is weak. So I moved D2 into defense and told him for every goal the other team scores because he didn't pass he has to spend 5 minutes on defense. I left T on defense and moved my weak defender to the bench, B1 who is a great all around player into defensive midfield, LL as attacking Mid right in front of him and B2 and D1 as forwards. (I had to keep D on the near side whenever he was in because someone was translating all my directions:rolleyes: ) Neither one of the forwards were likely to score as they don't have a strong foot, but I knew they'd run and could control and pass, and both move to compensate for a changing structure. LL played up the center with B1 backing him up. 2 minutes later it paid off as D1 fought hard for the ball and knocked it away from the defender, LL ran onto the ball in the corner, beat one defender and hit the top corner. D1 subbed out, J subbed in and managed to head the ball over the defender, LL didn't wait to gain control, he just turned and volleyed the ball in from midair, again over the keeper. LL came out, D1 back in. That didn't work quite as well and the other team scored. LL back in as defensive mid and B1 out. Now it is a running battle between the midfielders with the defenders locking things up. We scored a couple more times before the half. We went into the half down by one. At that point B3 shows up late. We were better off without him as he really doesn't belong at the club level yet. Nice kid, just not ready for it physically or mentally. But he's there so he subs in. He can't defend for squat so upfront he goes. But he can't control or shoot either so we are now essentially playing a player short. We go down another point on a breakaway and I put the strongest team back in with J and T on defense, LL and B1 in midfield, D2 on the right, and B2 on the left. In that format the kids go on a run and we find ourselves up by a point with two minutes left. B3 goes in as a mid, B1 dropping to defense because J is just out of gas. The other team immediately ties and B3's dad asks me to pull him so he doesn't lose confidence. :neutral: So D1 goes in as forward and B2 drops to mid with LL. The other team is pressuring hard when T drags one of their players down. Free kick from close in - there's a point as the ball goes over our keeper. (grow a little will ya kid?;) )

We're down by a point with a minute left. I push B1 up to mid, so we're now only with one defender and loaded on the attacking front. B1, B2, and D1 combine some nice movements to find LL in open space where he pops it in over their keeper before getting leveled by their defender. He's crying but won't come off the field as we're tied with 40 seconds on the clock. The other team presses everyone forward on the restart and our kids are fighting hard to keep them out until we get called for handball about 20 feet out and to the left of our goal. All the kids rush in and make a wall and it looks good until the last second LL sees the other team's top scorer completely unmarked just drifting over to the backside of the goal and sprints over to cover him. B2 is totally startled and starts yelling at LL and completely doesn't notice as the ball goes right past him to bounce into the goal off the other team's player who was just standing and watching the clock. We're down one point with about 10 seconds left so I push everyone including the keeper up. The kids fought hard but the other team was well trained and they kicked the ball out of bounds twice to kill the remaining time.

A well fought game. The other team's parents and coach all commented on how well the kids did. They really did fight hard.

I saw our club coach on Sunday and he asked how the game went. I told him that we lost by one and explained that the kids would have done better, but B2 and D2 aren't used to taking directions from me and aren't used to my lineups, and D1 isn't used to english so we had some growing pains. He laughed and said that he expected our kids to lose by double digits as the team we played was the number one ranked team tier one team and had gone the whole outdoor season undefeated. Oh thanks, you couldn't tell me that before the game started?:rolleyes:

Lookout - your stories bring back some of the the best, and worst, memories for me while I was coaching my sons. With two sons both playing both rec and travel soccer indoor and out for years - close to a decade between the two. I too wished many a time to be able to just sit and watch my sons play and to be able to simply cheer them on as a father rather than a coach. It took me a long time to finally swallow hard and walk away from my competitive nature and love of coaching to do it for my boys. I finally realized a great thing - I had taught my sons all I could about soccer and in the end they taught ME what was most important - just being their Dad.

Do your thing, my friend - I can tell from what you write that you are an awesome coach, the kids respond well and are learning valuable life lessons above and beyond simple soccer skills. Thats what coaching is all about - you are doing a great job! Congrats!
Wish I could come by and watch a game or two. Indoor is so much faster and so much fun.

It has been a couple weeks since I posted as nothing unusual has happened. The kids have continued improving and are still undefeated. Lil Lookout has continued his scoring streak and that is about it.

I was out of town for the weekend and was going to miss the games so I asked one of the other coaches who I trust to approach the games with respect to fill in for me. Lil Lookout was still playing so my dad was there to tape the games for me. As a dad, after watching the video I can only smile and chuckle. (As a coach I have to cringe) Lil Lookout played two blinders. The kid was just on fire. The rest of the team really fought it out as well. Their passing and movement is really starting to become impressive.

Unfortunately, the guy I asked to fill in for me, got pulled away and had another coach fill in. The coach who filled in is a friend, but not a great coach. He is actually very frustrated because he refuses to see the connection between his lack of coaching flexibility and his team's low morale and constant failure. He coaches fundamentals but nothing on the mental side of the game. The results are dismal. He often complains how I stack my team after we beat his team. When I saw him on the video setting my kids up I knew what was going to happen. He was going to use this opportunity with my "stacked" (i prefer to call them trained) team to show his prowess and really pick apart the other team. The other team has 4 of the super cool club kids and the club director is the coach. Usually they walk all over everyone. We beat them, but only by a couple points usually because I rotate my strong and weaker players through regardless of the competition.

D (the fill in coach) lined the kids up in the strongest line up we have. He put the weakest player in the goal, put 2 strong defenders and then all 4 of the strongest attacking players up front. He sat Lil Lookout down 10 minutes and 5 points later. He only rested him for a minute or two. The ref quit changing the scoreboard when the kids were up 10-1. It was stupid and ugly. I never ever keep the strongest line up on the field like that for a whole game. He didn't even have to coach them and he knew it, all he did is give them a position and let them go. At some point their keeper who is fantastic even at the club level just sat down and cried. LL was caught on video apologizing to him and saying he wouldn't score anymore. :( By my count the final score was 23-3. You can't blame 6 and 7 year olds for running up the score, it is completely the coach's fault. Pathetic and wrong.

Apparently a parent from the other team complained that Lil Lookout was left upfront for the whole game and D just smirked and said, "It doesn't matter where you put him, he'll still score". Then the parent turned on Lil Lookout and made it clear he was a little jerk who didn't belong out there with her kid. LL is a pretty sensitive kid and that is the only thing he told me about when I called him from mexico to ask about his games. He didn't mention how he played or if he had fun, just that someone's mom said some nasty things to him. :mad2:

I will now have some serious damage control to do for the next few weeks. :(

You're probably the coolest guy in the world. Keep up the good work.

I started feeling myself get pissed when I read the part about the mom saying something about LL. WTF is wrong with people? He's a 6 year old, for Christ's sake! She needs to take her inadequacy issues somewhere else, says I. (As a mother of a 6 year old, I am allowed to be outraged by this.)

Heh. Are they jealous much?
:D

jealous? maybe, but probably just frustrated, embarrassed, and angry at the way things were handled. No one (except coaches with inferiority issues) want to see a team completely and totally played off the field like that. It isn't good for the winning or losing team. It leads young players who just got crushed to say "this game sucks" and walk away.

Even as an adult, I've played tournaments that are way above my skill level and it can be disheartening to say the least. Now insert a 6 or 7 year old's developing self image into the mix. Ouch.

The lady was 220% wrong for even speaking to LL, but I can appreciate her anger. D should have coached the game differently to make sure it didn't get out of hand.

***
As I was typing I got a phone call from the club director and he completely understands what happened out there. He had a couple parents complain and I'm relieved to hear that he defused the situation a bit. Apparently he overheard LL, C, C, and B on the field make an agreement amongst themselves that they weren't going to score anymore unless they used their left foot. So I'm glad to hear that even if the 20 something fill in coach doesn't get it, my 6 and 7 year old players understand the concept of sportsmanship. They understand that the game can be played with respect for the other team.

My daughter will have her first game this coming Sat. If it's anything like practice, it'll be a hoot. When the kids are waiting in line for their turn to do a drill, the ones whove done gymnastics are doing cartwheels and summersaults, others are dancing, occasionally someone will get bent out of shape and start to cry because someone used her ball...

BTW, ALL the balls are pink, save our daughters (it's red and white).

I think we are in a much different league than you . . . :lol:

And that sir, is why you are an outstanding couch, regardless of your record.

They all start the same. Enjoy it. When LL started playing U6 (just before his 4th birthday) most of the kids couldn't even look at the ball without crying or falling over. Just make sure you are always in a league that is consistent with her desire and focus. If your coach looks like they don't have a clue, move teams next season. Or better yet, go help. You don't have to know anything about the game to help wrangle the kids. As a coach, I will say that was the biggest difference between me and the others - I always enlisted 1 or 2 parents to help keep the kids in line so I could keep ALL the kids busy ALL the time. Bored kids don't like the game much.

When LL started he played defense ONLY because he just didn't get what was supposed to happen next. He could run fast and kick hard, and loved being out there, but the moving it towards the goal part... not so much. 3 years later and pound for pound the kid is far more skilled than I could ever be.

Oh, one other thing. This will sound stupid but I can't stress it enough. Shoes DO matter. Soccer shoes don't have to be expensive and they shouldn't be at this age level, but having proper shoes will help. The shaping of the toe box will help in learning how to dribble, pass, and shoot. wearing a pair of sketchers just makes learning new skills that much harder.

If your soccer league doesn't have a passback program(donation/trade) start one. When the kids outgrow their shoes and balls, turn them in so another kid who might not be able to afford it can use it.

No, I wasn't talking about just that isolated incident....Overall it seems like some of the parents and coaches need to take "Good Sportsmanship 101".

:D
When I get creamed I start taking notes. May be unfair circumstances, but I think it's useful sometimes. Of course I am an opportunist, who will find a way to win in the middle of failing. Oh no..I didn't lose, because you just showed me how to do it better. I win Thanks for the lesson have a nice day.

I wonder what you think about the philosophy- the only way to be a better player is to play against better players than you?

You are a great coach!! I just want people to be as fair to you and your son, as you are to them.

It's half true. The problem is that some parents/coaches/players ONLY play with people better than them so they're always under pressure operating at the edge of their abilities. I disagree with that and that is why LL still plays in the rec league at his own age group. He has to bust his butt and use every ounce of skill he has at his competitive team so he doesn't have much chance to experiment and try new techniques and moves there. When he plays rec league he has more time on the ball to think and plan so he can try new things without the point for point pressure found in the higher skill levels. That and I want him to have fun with kids that don't live/eat/breathe soccer like he does. competitive soccer can be a pretty inbred fishbowl.
Thanks. That's unlikely, but it's ok. One of the most important things he can learn is that life isn't fair so you have to learn how to beat people using their own rules.

Even better, print this thread for them. ;)

Hopefully this method doesn't work against you when he becomes a teenager.;)

I don't know anything about having kids so I'm just going to hang out in these threads and try to learn something from (live vicariously through) you guys.
:D

Actually I'm hoping it's a lesson he carries into his teen years. He can win even when forced to play by my rules, if he focuses on the challenge and not the unfairness (perceived or real) of life around him.

I'll let you know how that works in about 15 years.

Saturday the kids faced the remnants of my old team which is now coached by a hyper competitive angry man, who is blatantly juicing but refuses to buy clothes that will fit his new bloated physique. It makes for an entertaining sight.

The guy is bitter that HE hasn't achieved the same success with that team that my kids did when I was there. He doesn't seem to get it that it comes down to what you teach them. His son is a good solid player. His best friend's son is an awesome little left footer who needs some more objective coaching. The coach's only training is for everyone on the team to get the ball, pass it to his son or the left footer to shoot. That's it. Those are the only two who he pushes forward. Evaaar. Oh yeah, he doesn't want to have two games and two practices each week so he has also put his just turned five year old on the team. (did I mention that this is the same guy who complained about my unfair advantage with field time?)

Lil Lookout had already played his club game and his allergies were acting up so I started him in the goal with one strong and one weak defender in front of him. My two weakest players in midfield and two tall but slower kids up front. My goal was to get the other team out in front of us to make for a more entertaining game. Unfortunately, 30 seconds into the game the other coach's younger son ran straight into one of my taller girls and they both fell. No harm, no foul, they both got up but from that point on the coach screamed at the ref about the foul he missed. The ref turned to talk to him and missed calling a real foul. That set the coach off even more. It snowballed from there. The ref was making bad calls in both directions, more accurately he wasn't making any calls - but my kids keep playing unless they hear a whistle. His kids get all agitated when he yells. The ref started coming over to me and saying "I know I just missed something but what should I do next time":neutral: Uh for starters don't admit that to anyone but me, the other guy'll eat you alive. For the rest of the game anytime someone fell he'd look at me for guidance. Not fun. At one point after I moved Lil Lookout from goal to midfield he deflectd a ball out of bounds and the ref gave him the ball to play in. LL looked at me with the big WTF? face so I told him to turn possession over to their keeper. I had my kids turn possession over 3 times trying to appease the other coach but he just got worse so I decided to just let it go.

From that point on I didn't direct my kids at all, I just subbed them in and out and told them what position to play. I decided that if the coach can't stop screaming long enough to coach his kids enough to compete with an undirected team that was his problem, not mine. I didn't say a word to a player on the field from the 15th minute on. I played with one forward and 3 mids (diamond shape) and 2 defenders for half the game. The coach got mad that Lil Lookout scored a few and yelled at his keeper. OK, LL was hitting the top corners of the net - how is a 7 year old supposed to levitate and block those? He assigned two of his players to shut LL down in midfield so LL would get the ball and wait til they closed in on him and pass to his now open teammates who would score. Then the coach lost all brainpower and put all three of his best players on LL with the sole instruction being to make sure he didn't touch the ball. :eek: That left my other players free to dribble and pass at will. Even so, LL got mad after he was knocked down for the umpteenth time and dribbled through all three of them to score. The final score was 17-1. Every player on my team scored. Lil Lookout had 5, C -3, C, -2 and B-2 and they were limited to left foot shots, long distance shots, or assists for the second half. The club director stormed up to me and let me know that parents had complained about my team running up the score. I told him that he could direct them all to me and I'd be happy to explain what happened and even provide them with a video of what was happening on our side of the field. Not one of them approached me and he didn't say another word about it. Seriously when a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds without direction can beat your coached team, you've got bigger problems than the final score.

Of course, while the other coach was screaming and trying to file a complaint against the ref his kids and my kids were playing keepaway on the field, laughing and having a grand old time.

Idiot.

Good grief, that's the most tragically funny thing I've heard in a month of Sundays.
You, sir, have a Flair for Understatement.

He should take fashion tips from Sergio "The Myth" Oliva. Note the special shirt mods to allow for 20½" arms.

Also posted in What's making you happy today?

Lil Lookout had had tryouts for the club team outdoor season. 321 kids showed up. All 321 have to go back for the second half of tryouts in two weeks. It will be 2 hours of scrimmages to see the kids in game situations. Lil Lookout did pretty well from my POV in the stands, but you never know.

Oh wait, I do know. The club team trainer found me during a break and told me his only problem with Lil Lookout is whether to use him as a solitary striker and sometime winger for the A team, or to make him the captain of the B team for the next age group up and build the squad around his strengths.

The club owner found me later and apologized to me for an argument we had more than a year ago. He demanded then that he be allowed to train Lil Lookout in private sessions so that his potential isn't wasted by improper coaching that I would surely give him. He announced last night that LL has the best ball control of the entire group and the second best shot. "Lookout, you have done an outstanding job training him. Would you be interested in being one of the official club trainers?" No thanks for the training position, but thanks for the compliment.

I don't have to tell him that LL is just a natural do I? Proud Papa.