COACH CORNER
Team,
We have now played two scrimmages in preparation for the Spring 2004 season
and have yet to have a good showing as a team. It appears that we have a
problem of overall lack of attention to detail and not getting in the right
mindset prior to and during a game. You played against a U14 Div III team
that demonstrated they were more organized, more determined to play, and to
be honest in some cases more mature, compared to our U15 players that
instead of being the aggressor and setting the example of how the level of
skill and intensity increases as you get older we did the exact opposite.
You all have to realize and be able to determine when it is time to fully
focus on the task at hand. Yes we can all have fun but coming out to
practices and games with a lacksa dasical attitude is only going to bring
disappointment and misery to all. You all need to take a deep breath and
say "I'm here to do my best and focus 120% on the task at hand".
The next issue that I'm going to address is individual skills, abilities,
and practice books. There is not one person that I am aware of that was
able to successfully juggle, dribble, pass, head, shoot, etc. at their very
first soccer game or practice. EVERYONE has had to practice in some form
or fashion whether it was going to organized practices and camps or it was
getting a ball and playing with their friends. Nothing has changed, some
of you seem to feel that the level of proficiency you are currently at is
adequate and you don't need to improve, well let me reassure you - you are
100% WRONG! Every single person on this team, as well as every other team
out there has to/needs to continue to improve, if not you will fall by the
wayside. There are individuals on this team that have yet to turn in just
one completed practice book session. This demonstrates to me that they
either don't care to improve or they are so good that they don't need to do
any of the REQUIRED tasks, again let me reassure you - WRONG answer.
Lastly I want to address commitment to the team. When you were asked to
join this team it was explained in detail what was expected. It is a well
known fact that I am very lenient when it comes to individuals missing
practices for legitimate reasons i.e. homework, school games - the only
thing I ask is don't abuse it. My concern is that our regular season games
(the ones that count) seem to have taken an automatic second seat to other
activities. I want to let you know where the team stands with regards to
this weekends games so you as a team (players & parents) have an
understanding as to what the status of each player is for this coming
weekend's games. The thing I want to stress is, as with any team sport
everyone relies on everyone else and when one person does not live up to
expectations then the team suffers.
Saturday's game: 11 healthy players, 2 injured players, missing 3 players
Sunday's game: 12 healthy players, 2 injured players, missing 2 players
In a nut shell what I'm saying is players need to get focused, players need
to practice, and everyone (players & parents) need to ensure they are
doing
their utmost to assign the appropriate priorities to ensure everyone lives
up to their commitments.
Coach Paul
