Springboks Week 2

There's A Silver Lining Here Somewhere

A couple rough results over the weekend to be sure.  But, as it would be entirely inappropriate (not to mention counterproductive) to play the blame game, we'll look at a few things that offer some positives.

Firstly, we played the only three teams who have yet to lose.  So while losing games is lousy, and certainly when conceding so many goals, the quality of the opposition appears confirmed:

The team sheet saw one significant change from West Mont to Parkland; Sacha moved from outside back to center back based on the energy she plays with, and her ability to intercept opposition passes.  That simple.  In training, the phrase I use most when discussing defending is that we "hunt the ball."  Meaning, while we might concede possession in the opponent's half, or make other strategic choices, at some point we'll draw the line in the sand and at that point we attack the ball.  Offense is simply attacking the goal with the ball, by contrast...eventually our attitude will become that we are constantly attacking the other team one way or the other.  What plagues us right now is that defense is viewed as a passive, reactive exercise.

However, with Sacha leading the way, and a very good performance from her on Saturday, other 'Boks began to show more intent in their play.

Sunday saw a complete alteration of the teamsheet...after thinking long and hard about it Saturday evening, I opted for energy and defensive acuity first and foremost.  Therefore, Olivia kept her center back spot, where she excels at cutting out passes.

• The weekend's purple heart goes to our beloved GK...Helia has endured three matches that any GK would be eager to forget.  She made many saves, however, and her distribution is proving to be a huge benefit.  Any returning Springbok will recall the utter inability of the team last year to punt a ball...not to midfield as Helia does, but just make contact!  One shudders to think what the last couple scores would have been were Helia not able to clear the ball as effectively as she does.  :)  I encourage all Springboks to be appreciative of this young woman who displays mental fortitude, team-first attitude and a steel spine for handling the responsibility of a GK, where I assure you every play feels like it's completed under a microscope.  Hats off to Helia...
• Isabelle dropped back from central mid to center back (her primary role all last year in 8v8) where the game is in front of her.  For many players, the center of the park is a tough place to play because the action is 360 degree...it takes some time to get comfortable there.  Like a great many before her, Belle looked more comfortable with the play on one side of her, and she played very solidly on Sunday. 
• At the two holding midfielder spots I put Sacha and Jordan for the aforementioned reasons regarding Sacha, and because Jordan is similarly tireless.  The speed these two possess is highly disruptive and Sunday saw most of the opposition's attacks having joy on the flanks rather than in the middle.
• In front of them at the attacking center mid (ACM) I moved Caroline up...she's done a great job of being brave and winning balls in the air- headers, using her chest and thigh to bring the ball down to the deck - and because she plays simple two-touch stuff.  That she's not as speedy as Jordan and Sacha matters less with two holders and two center backs behind her when she's the ACM.
• On Saturday, I moved Lexi back to outside back see what that would do to thwart the Parkland attacks...She did very well, and was involved in both plays leading up to Julia Rudy's two breakaways at the end of the first half.  Sunday, she started there (it's not her natural position and I don't consider it a permanent move, but against stronger teams this layout has it's pluses- though I detest the notion of being accused of parking the bus) and the even nature of the first half as well as a close 1-0 scoreline would appear to justify the move under the conditions.
• Lucy kept her usual outside back spot by virtue of her speed and highly effective 1v1 defending.  She also showed a bit more initiative on Saturday from week one in terms of being ball-oriented.
• The winger corps (including Annalise, Bella, Bruck, Juliette, Haley & Julia) rose to the challenge and worked very hard, particularly given the style of play we utilized on Sunday (more on this below).  That Julia and Annalise do a good job playing in the back 4 as well as up high is a nice plus- versatility is a huge virtue.
• Elie and Lauren rounded out the central positions in the midfield and up top...so we have some depth in those positions as well going forward.  

The Game Plan

Our style of play was the other huge change...after two games of struggling to escape our own half via passing and moving, and knowing we had a strong opponent on Sunday, my only goal was to find some action in the other team's half.  The instructions to the girls were very, very simple prior to kickoff; the ball is not allowed to remain in our half.  All clearances from Helia were to go as far down field as she could muster, no one was to play a pass in our half that wasn't certain to be completed.  Uglier instructions were never given.  

But, we had chances, played a substantial portion of the match in their half, and generally looked a more even match.  Meanwhile, I'm rolling my eyes at myself for being that which I detest.  The saving grace, if I can even be forgiven for this bastardization of the game, is that the team WILL improve, our opposition will not always be stronger than ourselves, and we'll get back to playing the game at a more thoughtful level.

The achille's heel here is that when the ball is dumped, the front 4 have to press the ball; the other team can win it, but so long as we are immediately upon them, they will struggle to play out.  Therefore, we can expect to win the ball back higher up the field.  Sounds logical, but the obvious weakness is that it's a tremendous amount of running; if we didn't have so many players who can play those positions, Sunday's game could have been far worse.  The "winger corps" as well as Lauren and Elie did a great job of running their legs off in pursuit of balls cleared from our half.  It's great to know that we have this trick up our sleeve...hopefully we can get to a place where it isn't our primary approach to the game, but rather something to use in matches with superior teams, or in cases where we're down a goal and want to even things up quickly, or perhaps up a goal and want to put the game out of reach.  

Silver linings?  

After the weekend, I now know that the team has tactical flexibility...we can dump and chase, a la Sunday, we can defend in low pressure (drop to midfield and let the other team come to us...defend a smaller space, effectively, rather than spread ourselves 18 to 18) and we can possess the ball at times.  As the team becomes more technical, we can add even to this list, but for now, it's a great start.

The team has seen the very real value of the high energy effort of Sacha in particular, though several others have given great examples of this as well, and of the need for more aggressive play in relation to the ball - as I kept telling Bella on Sunday, wherever the ball is, go and find it.  Positions are starting points, they assign responsibility, but they aren't prisons...players have to win the ball back by any means necessary and be close enough to have an effect offensively, regardless of position.  

In this sense, Sacha's leadership absolutely inspired many of her teammates to be more proactive and play with higher energy.

And I know that the team is possessed of players who will raise their level when a good example is offered to them.

Conclusions

OK...we got trounced pretty well...but I made two points to the girls after Sunday's match:

One, results in a soccer match don't change who they are.  Still smart kids, good kids, buddies and fine soccer players.  

Two, unlike so many areas in life, when these kids are on the field, the only folks who can make things go the way the team would like are the kids themselves.  God help us, sports might be the only place left where adults can't guide the outcome...though we all know plenty of grown persons who try.  (For a funnier take on this topic, this film is worth checking out!)  There's no hiding from a poor performance, or from the reality of being inferior...it stinks, but but where else can a kid develop her character like that?  

I do hope, of course, that it's lesson learned and we can be done with character building like this for the season...

I learned a lot about the team over these past few games, and have found some ways to inspire higher level of performance and effort...have seen some more of the facets to each of the kids games, and am looking forward to more even matches in the remainder of the schedule where the lessons learned lately may offer us the key to success.