U10 Weekly

More GOALS!

The U10s traveled again this week, this time a short one to Manlius where they tallied four goals (Andrew Benincasa, Todd Conklin twice, and Curt Hale) in a close 7-4 loss.  Parker Scholl had two assists (I missed the other two...) too.  Travis and I were discussing it on the way home, and where we were up 3-1 in the first half, there was a massive shift in momentum in the second period.  Some of that was due to the ref...self evident, really.  And we must always presume the blame lays with us (if we can't control it, what's the point of playing games?)...However, a sneaking suspicion lingers in the back of the minds of the coaches, and I suspect that several boys on the opposition roster saw very limited playing time in the second half.  Which is fine...I honestly don't sweat losing by three, but I bring it up as yet another example of adults inability to see the forest for the trees, and "arranging" the game to get a result.



Let's be totally honest, if we were out to win that game, Brady Morris is not (yet) our go-to crunch time GK.  But he had a blast...and despite giving up a goal or two late in the game, he came straight over to me at the final whistle and was rambling on about the play where he left his line, didn't get the ball cleanly, and had to chase it down heading back toward our goal- a close call that he did well with, in the end.  Clearly, he enjoyed the pressure of it, and was far more focused on the fun and success of his minutes in goal than the fact that he threw the ball directly to the opponent a couple times!  It's like my wife and I joke about our son; when he's 18 he won't be still throwing his dinner on the floor.  But Brady will develop a love of soccer, and a sense of accomplishment and ability from afternoons like this week, where his coaches encourage his good plays, reinforce his technical development, and generally make his soccer experience a very positive one.

On that same note, it was gratifying, and I think a sign of the wisdom of the USSF approach to youth coaching, that Todd Conklin told me at Friday's training session that "Sometimes I like practices more than the games!"  If the boys are having that much fun at training (and the coaches are able to keep the balance of fun and instruction) the rate of improvement we've been admiring in this group ought to continue to be noticeable.  It also indicates the priorities of kids at this age; they enjoy the games, for sure, but they also see the training sessions as equally enjoyable, give or take.  This is why coaches must allow a degree of normal 9 year old chaos while delivering exacting technical demonstrations and information.  These kids are sponges, and the new skills are as exciting to them as the competitions.  Without a doubt, though I haven't yet asked them, the U14s would say games are far more exciting and enjoyable than training sessions...and our training sessions are the same sorts of things as the U10s do.  It's not like at that age they go back to line drills and unrealistic exercises.  Most of our training sessions at U14 are very game-like.

Point being, the U10s are truly uniquely equipped to master technical and individual tactical skills, and at a rapid pace.  The pressure on U10 coaches to get these things right is immense; it's a small window of opportunity, and if we don't get a kid moving in the right direction now, he'll spend the rest of his career playing catch-up.

Next week is a huge one, as we have a league game, and then head to Vermont to test the New England waters.  Lots of fun...and I have to say I'm very curious to see how the boys bear up over the weekend.  Some good tests await, no doubt!