The Challenges of Youth Soccer

We had quite a challenge this past weekend, playing with only one substitute instead of our normal 6. This is always hard because it takes a lot of stamina and energy to play a whole 50 minutes of U-10 soccer. So our challenge was how to manage our energy, while keeping our defense strong.

We focused our efforts on possessing the ball. In practice we have been working on this very skill, and it sure paid off. The team really managed ball possession, dominating the middle-third, and creating plenty of opportunities to score. And our boys, although exhausted, played really hard throughout the game.

Everyone played great, but Michael really had a breakthrough game. It wasn't just that he scored a lot of goals, he was also dishing off to Rafael and Richie, feeding a beautiful lead pass to Rafael who one touched it in the goal.

Next Saturday, we'll have a similar challenge, as I know that at least 3 of our team will not be there. But as Charlie has told me, it's no fun if it isn't a challenge (actually, he said "it's no fun if you know you're going to win" but it's the same message).