Hi team,
Well what a day! I referred to our guys before the game as a group of all-stars and l was right! I know we are not officially scoring, but let’s face it – to see our kids get off to a good start in the first quarter, fall behind in the second and third quarters but then fight back in the last quarter to get over the line in front was simply an awesome start to the season. It is not uncommon at junior level for the boys to just give up when they are behind, but not ours – I am still smiling with the thought that our boys never gave up and fought back to win in their first game at U8 level. Every one of our boys should be extremely proud of themselves.
I don’t think our boys were really suited to the small half ground we played on, as it became very crowded and a lot of our guys who like to get the ball and run just couldn’t find any space. However, during the second half our entire team got together behind the ball to keep forcing it forward.
Our captains for the day were Joe Whelan and Massimo Champness. The award winners were Zac Saunders, Liam Farr, Tom Strickland and Josh Bou Diab, but to be honest there were about 10 other boys l could have given an award to.
Having parents nominated as specific zone coaches worked as by the third and fourth quarters it became harder and harder for the opposition to score goals against us, highlighted by a couple of late goals saved right on the goal line by Stricko. Thanks to Ben Newey, Ben Jebb and Myles Whelan for doing these tasks. The boys will get better and better at their roles in their zones as the year progresses. However, in one game l can already see improvement.
The highlights for the coaches were these:
– the willingness of the boys to listen and eagerness to be taught.
– the respect and sportsmanship showed by our entire group, boys and parents.
– the willingness of our parent group to help with tasks.
Back to training this week as usual where the theme is a mix of both fun and skills learning. Kurt and myself have been to a coaching course and have come up with a few ideas at training which we think will really benefit our group. While focusing on fun, at training we will be initially pointing out:
1. what was great about the previous game, and
2. areas which we think as a group we can improve in our next game.
Then we will do some drills, and if the boys try and listen throughout training we may end with a game drill based purely on fun if time allows (so parents – don’t be concerned if you see them playing dodge ball when you come to pick them up – it means that for the past 50 minutes they have tried hard, listened/learned and have earned this).
I am very much looking forward to seeing what we can bring out of our group this season. See you Thursday at training.
Koje & Kurt
Coaches
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