Quick Boys

Post-Thanksgiving Classic Thoughts

A balmy weekend saw some really good performances from the team, and a solid 2-2 record.  Probably the most gratifying of the games was a solid 2-0 win over our old nemeses "Santos" (with great admiration from all for Evan's willingness to spell Henry "Popsicle" Cooke for a few minutes, during which small window of time his teammates evidently thought it would be hilarious to concede a PK for Evan to handle.  While the Santos shooter missed, I must point out that Evan went the right way, and positioned himself to save even if the ball had been on target.

Another point worth reflecting on was how easily the team transitioned from the past few weeks of training inside with a futsal ball to playing 11-a-side on grass.  That's really not easy- we go to great lengths at the college level to ensure that we train on the surface most like the matchday one.  The Quick Boys looked like they'd been on grass all month.  I was legitimately worried ahead of the 1776 game about this; it was probably the only thing that really worried me about the weekend.



Some Individual Highlights

In that same match, Cole Sanchez turned in an unbelievably energetic and productive performance.  Clearly the challenge of a tough opponent in tough conditions (we opted to face the wind in the first half, to enjoy wind-aided play when the legs tired in the second period) brought the best from Cole, and he seemed to be johnny-on-the-spot over and over again.  And, unlike when I first met Cole, this was not all industry and effort without control; this was a guy working his tail off, but also making some very smart choices about where to play the ball, what type of pass and the like.  I've said it before, and Sunday's play supports the notion, that Cole has one of the best soccer minds on the team.

Can't say enough good about the two center backs.  Shane and CJC are rocks.  Shane showed awesome reading of the game, stepping up field over and over to intercept passes, effectively killing off possessions for the opponent.  CJC brought the iron to the back four, and put in a lot of hard challenges, won headers and generally provided the foundation of a tough defensive performance over the weekend- the whole team, so happily for me, defended with vigor and commitment.  How can't you, when you see how hard CJC, Shane and Henry work to keep goals out?!  They save our bacon so many times, it's crazy to not try to protect them.

Despite the wind, and my hat, I heard - HEARD - Alex communicating with his teammates this weekend.  I tease, but only a little.  Alex is so talented, but we often leave him out of the play because he is a quiet guy.  But without a doubt, I thought there was the beginning of a change over the weekend, and I'm really proud of Alex for putting up with my hassling him...and for his effort to alter his behavior in a way that is clearly uncomfortable for him.  It's one thing to work on your first touch, or to try to become a better passer with your left foot...those are not things that are reflective of your self-identity.  Being a big mouth comes easier to some than others (yeah, CJR, I'm looking at you) and it's asking a lot of a pleasant, calm, quiet boy to be demanding, bossy, and imposing.

In an effort to share around some of the workload, offer our strongest defensive shape (especially where we opted to defend against the wind first - three of the four matches, with the first GCVSA match being the exception) I asked Wyatt to play up top.  Also, where Santos had given us some trouble off the ball and after the play in the DELCO matchup earlier this fall, I wanted a guy who could win PKs and free kicks up top, and someone I feel we could count on to support his teammates if anything untoward was started.  As Evan had taken more than his fair share of abuse in the last Santos match, I dropped him lower in the team to the attacking center mid, easing him away from the back four but keeping him at the front of our team.  Wyatt's work rate was remarkable, his competitive drive is clearly at another level.  I've said a few times to folks that with this guy, it's a waiting game.  We just have to bide our time until he matures physically, because once he has adult strength, acceleration and speed, with his technical ability and clever mind, he'll be an absolute handful to deal with.  And did I mention that he's learning fast to appreciate, if not love, defending?

Credit to Santos, there was very little of the foolishness that characterized our first meeting; and lots of credit to the Quick Boys for going out and going hard at Santos despite some jitters and playing like the only thing that mattered was our performance.  The 2-0 result bears out the value of this mind-set.

Some Tactical Junk

Other than shifting guys around, there were two points worth sharing in this space.  First, Henry's positioning in the championship match, and secondly, how I asked the wingers to play.

We talk a lot about holding a "high line," meaning, the back four try to use the offside law to preserve space in behind the backs for Henry to cover.  In counter attack situations, this goes out the window, and I do counsel CJC and Shane to keep the ball in front of them at every chance so it's not always as tidy or consistent as it might be.  But that's U13 soccer in general.  The idea is, particularly when we sit in low pressure - forwards at midfield, conceding the opponent's half to them...if they want to play pass in their half, we're fine with that.  Other than these guys, I haven't seen anyone score from their own half:

What was interesting was in the second half when we pressed hard against GCVSA in the final, and Henry was playing way out of his area, there really wasn't a time when I felt worried that Henry would get caught out.  The problem with kids who don't watch live, pro soccer, is that they miss seeing how high guys like David De Gea, Iker Cassillas, Michel Vorm and Victor Valdes play when their team is in possession, and in the opponent's half.  As our opponents become more comfortable attacking by passing the ball, rather than lumping it forward, we'll focus hard on keeping the back line a little higher more consistently and Henry playing behind them more like he played against GCVSA all the time.  A kid like Henry, who's so good with his feet, has cheeky ideas when playing in the field is an invaluable tool for a team.  But to get the most out of that skill, he'll need to become comfortable playing the way he did in that final in all games.  (We will pay a price for this...I have another blog post in the works on this topic later this week)

The other bit was in asking the wingers to change the area they tried to become the most involved offensively from the touchline to the center.  In playing a 4-3-3 we have a great foundation to be flexible tactically in this vein.  In effect, moving the wingers more central makes the formation more of a 4-2-3-1, but that's all semantics I'm not particularly concerned with right now.  However, what it does do for us against U13 teams is two-fold.

First, it clogs up the middle.  Since so many attacks are just long balls, having more players in the middle allows us to close down the ball carrier, and prevent him from hitting  a long pass.  It takes more time and space to play an accurate long ball than to dribble or play a short pass.  Take away that time and space, and now our back line (and GK!) can play higher up, we can win the ball higher up, and prevent ourselves from playing endline-to-endline soccer.  More efficient. Additionally, while our passing is still nowhere near the quality it needs to be (check out the stats from training the other night here,) we do ok with passing in small spaces, and with lots of players in those small spaces we have more options and can attack more fluidly.

Secondly, it allows more room for our outside backs to get forward and support the attack.  ET has great success with this on the right; Connor struggles more on the left due to his being a right-sided player.  But he still ventured up there a few times over the weekend, and was convincing enough at it that we'll keep at it!  If our outside backs can go forward, it takes the heat off the holding mids to always be sprinting forward; they're more efficient, "home" to help the team possess or switch the ball from one side to another, and to protect the two center backs.  The other team also has tough choices; leave the middle outnumbered, or pull attackers back to track our outside backs?  Neither are particularly palatable.

Going Forward

Indoor offers a great chance to move guys around.  A good fall worth of performances hopefully makes a good argument for us to move back up to Division II in Delco next year (plus a good spring to come) but it did not allow us to try players at spots where they aren't at their best.  While that's fine if you're trying to win games, it's not at all in the players' best interest.  Wyatt said, coming off after the Santos game, "playing center forward is tough!"  CJR who started the year as an out-and-out center forward goalmouth poacher has discovered a little love for wide midfield and, gasp, defending.  He even asked to play left back in the final for a bit.

All of which is to say that the boys have an enjoyment of the game that allows them to find value in playing at different locations.  But it also shows an intuitive grasp of the idea that there is a lot to be learned about the game by playing different positions, by learning thoroughly the other jobs on the pitch.  Specialization is great for the team...generalism (to coin a phrase) is best for the player.  It's the balance of the class versus the pupil.

We've been worried about the class this fall...this winter it's about the individual.  Theory being that a rising tide lifts all boats.  We'll use the indoor games to put players in situations they aren't comfortable, to look at the job they like to do from a different perspective.  If a center forward knows how hard it is to see a center forward from the center back's position, he'll hopefully do a better job once back at center forward to help the center backs find him!  And we'll find a few boys who develop a new affinity for a position they have previously discounted.  Lastly, with any luck, we'll find that we have guys who can do many jobs well by the end of the winter, so competition for starting jobs at all positions becomes heated, and by pushing each other, we raise the team's performance at final exam time (State Cup) to a higher level than ever before.