Tough Loss

Sunday's game was a tough loss. Both Coach Andy and I felt that we played really well, had lots of great opportunities to score, and really had control of the most of the game. Their two scores were both on direct kicks from close range, which are very hard to defend. This will be one of the things we'll be working on in practice for the next couple of weeks

It was tough luck, and a tough loss. But we'll have a chance to play them again near the end of the season, and we'll definitely be up for returning the favor.

One of the things we're all very excited about is our passing. We had some really good playmaking from Charlie, Michael, Trevor and John, and Lee is starting to get a feel for where we are as a soccer team. We'll be working on more complex passing in the coming weeks, and trying to get the boys to think about running off of the ball.

Overall, we're really pleased with the way the team is playing. It was a hard loss. But as I said to the boys, even Manchester United loses every now and then. And in losing, we learn what our weaknesses are and can start to address them.

First Game Summary

We had a strong first game, but it was also clear that we were a little rusty. For the most part, we had a strong defensive effort. We shut out the Spitfires in the first half, and really controlled the middle of the field most of the second half. We had a few moments where our defense did not clear the ball, or allowed the other team to get behind them. But for the most part, I think we did a good job of maintaining possession and controlling the middle third of the field.

Last week, we worked on corner kicks and direct kicks (both offensively and defensively). It really paid off in the game. We had great opportunities on the first two directs, and then scored on the third. We also defended a direct kick from just outside the box. The wall worked beautifully.

Most of our corner kicks were very competitive and gave us several good chances for goals. We also had great passing, especially on several transitions from the backfield to midfield.

A couple of things we need to work on. One is for our players to follow through on shots, and be more aggressive on challenging for the ball. Another is to keep playing to the whistle, or to be very obvious when the ball is out. We were very fortunate that the referee reviewed the where Christopher had stopped the ball. The other team continued playing even though the ball was out, and the scored. This could have easily been left as is.

We had excellent effort from all of our boys. But Coach Andy and I felt that John, Rafael and Trevor had particularly outstanding efforts. Congrats to John on a great goal, and great hustle on both sides of the field.

Stingrays FC soccer team

Stingrays Parents,

The season will start next weekend, and I'm very excited. The coaches meeting is tomorrow morning, and I will get our game schedule then. As soon as I have the schedule, I'll e-mail all of you and post it to our team website.

I did want to make one comment about the team, specifically related to our team practices. Our coaches spend a lot of time structuring the practice so that our boys get the training they need to compete, be in shape and have fun on the field. It is really important that the boys participate in all aspects of the practice, in part so they build up stamina, and in part so that they benefit from the whole practice.

Please talk to your boys about this. Because we are a very full team this season, I will be inclined to give less playing time to boys who choose not to fully participate in practice (aside from injury and illness). We hope to start having optional Monday practices, and this will hold true for them as well.

On behalf of Coach Andy and Coach Nhan, I want to thank you for entrusting us with your boys. We have a really great group this season, and I know we're going to have a lot of fun.

Coach Steve