What U.S. Youth coaches really coach… scrappy, relentless…
I recently read the below article in our local newspaper about an under 14 youth team. I’d like to commend the team mentioned on winning a tournament, but I want to highlight the article and what it says about the soccer being played. The article uses the following adjectives to describe the play of teams on the field: speed, solid, relentless, aggressive, scrappy, tough tackles, tenacious.
Great attributes to have, but really? No mention of skill, technical ability, counter-attacks, build up from the back, great off the ball movement, intelligent play, or anything else that might think they played soccer games. You could probably replace the word soccer and the team names and scoreline and think you were reading an article about American Football, with pads and helmets.
I’m not saying that these players have no skill; I didn’t watch the games. I would only like to stress that until the people watching and influencing the game from the sidelines (the ones writing the articles) start to appreciate the more intricate side of the game, we will only get players that are aggressive, athletic and relentless. The rest of the world will continue to win the games, but we’ll sure be able to win the fight in the alley.
The XXX team won its first tournament title of the season, going undefeated in five games to win the 2011 Soccer Showcase over weekend.
XXX started off by facing a determined OOO team and prevailed 1-0 behind a solid defense and a relentless attack.
Next up for XXX was a very fast Blue team, a matchup which neither team could dominate as reflected by their 0-0 draw.
Those results set up a final group game against FC Black, with the winner advancing to the playoffs. XXX struck first and looked to take their lead into halftime when FC Black struck with the equalizer. XXX pushed forward in the second half, netting a goal to secure a 2-1 win and their spot in the semi-finals.
The playoff opponent was SC Academy, an aggressive and speedy team, with a lot of toughness. XXX again relied on its standout defense to keep a clean sheet and a 2-0 win.
Unfortunately, that victory came with a loss, as the XXX goal-keeper broke her finger in the game and was ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
Already shorthanded, the XXX girls regrouped to face Premier, the number-two team in State X, in the finals. The game was scrappy from the start, with tough tackles all around as both teams were wary of conceding the first goal.
XXX struck first on a free kick from 25 yards out. XXX surrendered that lead midway through the second half, when Premier capitalized from the mark after one of its players was fouled in the XXX penalty area.
Faced with the daunting prospect of overtime and given its shorthanded situation on the bench, XXX pressed forward and was rewarded with another free kick just outside the Premier penalty area, which again found the back of the net.
Despite furious pressure from their opponent, the XXX girls defended tenaciously, until the final whistle blew.
XXX was crowned Champions in and that win propelled XXX to a Top-50 national ranking, the highest mark ever achieved by a team in the club.
The names have been changed, because my goal isn’t to embarrass anyone or slight the teams involved, but to point out that soccer isn’t just a game of kicking the other team while trying to kick the ball.
