Santos:
I really appreciate your generosity in paying for my room and board this weekend. It was very kind indeed. Thank you.
Thanks to the parents for making the trip and for their positive encouragement and support.
Let's all thank Stephanie for arranging accommodations. The hotel was ideal. Kevin Laurila's extremely generous gift of the T-shirts was above and beyond. The inspiration, design, "get it done" attitude, and let's not forget the payment were all Kevin's.
Thanks Kevin and great job on the "T's"!
While we're at it...thanks Gracie for sharing your birthday with us (and the spectacular birthday cake)! And we should all thank Renae for all she does which is more than you (and I) know.
What lucky soccer players to have such parents.
Sutton
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Juggling Sheets
I'd like juggling sheets from all the girls. You can either send them to me as an email listing how many juggles you did or hand me the sheets at practice. So far I only have them from Maddie And Emma V-M. I intend to graph individual player progress as well as team progress. Thanks
Last Weekend Game Notes
Tottenham: Great weekend of soccer again for us. I think we played very well and hard against Tottenham. We worked harder then they did and were more dangerous in the attack. But they did a lot of good things on the field themselves and managed to steal three goals, despite what I thought was a very good game from our backline and keepers. Hats off to them.
Our midfield was great and really worked hard covering tons of ground, passing well, and fighting hard physically to win possession of the ball. Our forwards passed the ball very accurately and unselfishly thereby creating chances which we finished very efficiently. I'm happy with the team's progress.
AC Milan: The Milan game was quite different. We controlled the game in the second half completely and were able to knock in a goal by following up a dropped ball by the keeper. This is a GREAT way to score goals. We have given up many important goals this way ourselves (2 against the Explosion alone). To win a game by following a shot was a sure sign that we are maturing, becoming more alert and focused on the field. Remember, scoring goals by taking advantage of balls bouncing around in front of our opponent's net will get us very far (remember Sherwood?).
The best thing about the Milan game was that we had many players that were exhausted--physically, mentally, or both--from Saturday's game but were still able to give us enough juice to win it. A job well done by everyone AGAIN.
Things to work on... We still need more pressure up front by our forwards. Tottenham was very effective at applying forward pressure on our backs because they applied pressure without "diving-in" and over-committing. They ran to our defender with the ball and stood in front of that defender, moving from side-to-side to follow any lateral movement made by our player. Most often we just kicked the ball into them because they're positioning was so good and they were so patient. They often won possession back this way or forced us into a goal kick. They applied the kind of pressure on us that we wanted to apply against them and they did it with just a single player on the ball, when we wanted to do it with two or three. We need to learn from this and be more consistent in applying forward pressure, and not diving-in when we do.
A final note: I'm really proud of the Santos for maintaining their sense of fair play and sportsmanship so far through this year. Its not something we've talked much about, but it is very important. And the fact that our girls play fairly and honestly every game says something good about their character. Play strong, stronger than our opponents, but play fair. That's what the Santos have done.
Our midfield was great and really worked hard covering tons of ground, passing well, and fighting hard physically to win possession of the ball. Our forwards passed the ball very accurately and unselfishly thereby creating chances which we finished very efficiently. I'm happy with the team's progress.
AC Milan: The Milan game was quite different. We controlled the game in the second half completely and were able to knock in a goal by following up a dropped ball by the keeper. This is a GREAT way to score goals. We have given up many important goals this way ourselves (2 against the Explosion alone). To win a game by following a shot was a sure sign that we are maturing, becoming more alert and focused on the field. Remember, scoring goals by taking advantage of balls bouncing around in front of our opponent's net will get us very far (remember Sherwood?).
The best thing about the Milan game was that we had many players that were exhausted--physically, mentally, or both--from Saturday's game but were still able to give us enough juice to win it. A job well done by everyone AGAIN.
Things to work on... We still need more pressure up front by our forwards. Tottenham was very effective at applying forward pressure on our backs because they applied pressure without "diving-in" and over-committing. They ran to our defender with the ball and stood in front of that defender, moving from side-to-side to follow any lateral movement made by our player. Most often we just kicked the ball into them because they're positioning was so good and they were so patient. They often won possession back this way or forced us into a goal kick. They applied the kind of pressure on us that we wanted to apply against them and they did it with just a single player on the ball, when we wanted to do it with two or three. We need to learn from this and be more consistent in applying forward pressure, and not diving-in when we do.
A final note: I'm really proud of the Santos for maintaining their sense of fair play and sportsmanship so far through this year. Its not something we've talked much about, but it is very important. And the fact that our girls play fairly and honestly every game says something good about their character. Play strong, stronger than our opponents, but play fair. That's what the Santos have done.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Juggling Contest
Download this document and start recording your juggles. Details are here. Good Luck!
Notes on Clackamas and EMFC
It was a good weekend for the Santos. The game against a very strong Clackamas team showed what we are capable of as a team. The EMFC game wasn't bad either. They are quite strong and to control the game as I thought we did in the second half on their home field was encouraging.
Our new system of play suits our players well. It helped us create many opportunities in both games. We finished in front of the goal well in the first, not so well in the second. Nevertheless, as we continue to create chances to score we will convert more of those chances and when we do, we will look more like last Saturday's team than last Sunday's. We're certainly headed in the right direction.
We moved the ball very well on Saturday and played creatively and skillfully. But I really believe that we also overwhelmed Clackamas with effort and intensity. We won almost every contested ball. We took balls away from them. We always seemed to get to the ball first. They just could not keep up.
If we do the same against Eastside Tottenham, no doubt our toughest opponent in Silver, they won't be able to stop us, and we will prove that we can defeat teams at Oregon's highest level.
There are some things that we need to improve. This was apparent especially Sunday. Our defense is playing great right now and this is a very welcome improvement. Now our forwards need to be more consistent in taking up positions IN FRONT of the opponent's defense when the ball is in front of our goal and we are trying to clear it. Coach Keith has been very clear since May about the need for us to do this and sure enough, when we don't and we have trouble getting the ball out of our half of the field, our opponents score. Their defenders are able to easily knock the ball back into our defensive third because they are unchallenged by our forwards. Some of our attackers do this well others not at all. We need everyone to do it.
Our goalkeeping in both games was good but showed areas in need of improvement. We need to be more aggressive coming out to handle crosses, especially from corner kicks and we must be able to make saves on balls played high in the air just as well as we make them on the ground.
Our mids played especially well in both games but need to play together more. The two attacking center mids especially need to work more closely with one another and better balance their offensive and defensive responsibilities.
Our attacking players were great, especially against Clackamas; what's next for them is to make more runs away from the ball to draw defensive players with them and create space in front of the goal. We need to make runs to both the near and far post and we need those runs to criss-cross in order to be a little more tricky and confuse the defense.
Overall... great work through a great weekend of soccer for the Santos! Let's see even more improvement when we face Eastside!
Our new system of play suits our players well. It helped us create many opportunities in both games. We finished in front of the goal well in the first, not so well in the second. Nevertheless, as we continue to create chances to score we will convert more of those chances and when we do, we will look more like last Saturday's team than last Sunday's. We're certainly headed in the right direction.
We moved the ball very well on Saturday and played creatively and skillfully. But I really believe that we also overwhelmed Clackamas with effort and intensity. We won almost every contested ball. We took balls away from them. We always seemed to get to the ball first. They just could not keep up.
If we do the same against Eastside Tottenham, no doubt our toughest opponent in Silver, they won't be able to stop us, and we will prove that we can defeat teams at Oregon's highest level.
There are some things that we need to improve. This was apparent especially Sunday. Our defense is playing great right now and this is a very welcome improvement. Now our forwards need to be more consistent in taking up positions IN FRONT of the opponent's defense when the ball is in front of our goal and we are trying to clear it. Coach Keith has been very clear since May about the need for us to do this and sure enough, when we don't and we have trouble getting the ball out of our half of the field, our opponents score. Their defenders are able to easily knock the ball back into our defensive third because they are unchallenged by our forwards. Some of our attackers do this well others not at all. We need everyone to do it.
Our goalkeeping in both games was good but showed areas in need of improvement. We need to be more aggressive coming out to handle crosses, especially from corner kicks and we must be able to make saves on balls played high in the air just as well as we make them on the ground.
Our mids played especially well in both games but need to play together more. The two attacking center mids especially need to work more closely with one another and better balance their offensive and defensive responsibilities.
Our attacking players were great, especially against Clackamas; what's next for them is to make more runs away from the ball to draw defensive players with them and create space in front of the goal. We need to make runs to both the near and far post and we need those runs to criss-cross in order to be a little more tricky and confuse the defense.
Overall... great work through a great weekend of soccer for the Santos! Let's see even more improvement when we face Eastside!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Sherwood Game Notes
Santos:
Sunday's game was possibly our best effort yet as a team. What we didn't do well in the first half--playing tentatively in front of our opponent's goal--we improved dramatically in the second. In fact, aggressive, hustling play by our front line and midfield was the reason for our goal.
Other than that, I think we had a very good game in most every respect. We passed the ball well, used the width of the field well, played good team defense (as well as some of the best individual defense we've seen this year), distributed the ball out of the back extremely well, played aggressively and effectively in the goal. Our outside midfield play was superb and for the first time, we crossed the ball beautifully and our runs in front of the goal by offensive players allowed them to get inside their defenders (that is between their defender and the ball) and repeatedly put their feet or heads on those crossed balls. This was something new and very significant for us as a team. We also had some very effective one-touch play between forwards.
Obviously we didn't finish as well as we could have, but the truth is that we didn't get all that many clean looks to shoot on goal. We still must look to shoot much earlier and much more often then we did against Sherwood. We will work on one touch shooting and on shooting from distance in practice. Our players who strike the ball well must look to shoot more often and from a greater distance then we currently do.
All and all a very good effort. Kudos to the Santos for starting the season so favorably. Let's all pray for or remember the girls who are sick or injured so that they can join us again soon. We certainly miss them on the field and will be that much better when they can join us.
Sunday's game was possibly our best effort yet as a team. What we didn't do well in the first half--playing tentatively in front of our opponent's goal--we improved dramatically in the second. In fact, aggressive, hustling play by our front line and midfield was the reason for our goal.
Other than that, I think we had a very good game in most every respect. We passed the ball well, used the width of the field well, played good team defense (as well as some of the best individual defense we've seen this year), distributed the ball out of the back extremely well, played aggressively and effectively in the goal. Our outside midfield play was superb and for the first time, we crossed the ball beautifully and our runs in front of the goal by offensive players allowed them to get inside their defenders (that is between their defender and the ball) and repeatedly put their feet or heads on those crossed balls. This was something new and very significant for us as a team. We also had some very effective one-touch play between forwards.
Obviously we didn't finish as well as we could have, but the truth is that we didn't get all that many clean looks to shoot on goal. We still must look to shoot much earlier and much more often then we did against Sherwood. We will work on one touch shooting and on shooting from distance in practice. Our players who strike the ball well must look to shoot more often and from a greater distance then we currently do.
All and all a very good effort. Kudos to the Santos for starting the season so favorably. Let's all pray for or remember the girls who are sick or injured so that they can join us again soon. We certainly miss them on the field and will be that much better when they can join us.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
What's Ahead
Santos:
Welcome back to soccer. We start this Sunday with a game at Sherwood--a team that the Santos have never defeated. They beat us twice last season. Let's put an end to that streak this weekend and show them who we are now as a team.
As far as practices, I cannot arrive before 5:25 on Thursdays. On Tuesdays I will plan to be there from 5PM, if possible I'd like players to arrive by then or a little afterward. We will continue SAQ's at that time. We may also work on juggling and play some games (like the numbers game) as well. This is of course optional.
From October, we will practice Wednesday evenings instead of Thursday. At that time we will look at the schedule again to see whether we want to do SAQ's on Wednesday as well as Tuesday.
Goals
Russell has been working on a system for the girls to set personal goals and record their progress toward achieving them. He has pushed the idea of goal-setting, and I think he's right on target. Stay tuned for more on that.
Development
We are going to return to practices which emphasize individual player development over team tactics. I think the girls understand our basic scheme, and the best way for us to improve as a team is for them to become more competent individually. This will mean skills and small-side games. I have attached an image of our terms 5 and 6 from the development roadmap. This captures a lot of what we will be working on as a team, although it isn't perfectly accurate.
System of Play
Bernie has a vision for a system of play that is a little different than the one we have used. We will begin to adopt this system gradually during the season. It is a 4-3-3 system. That is 4 backs, 3 mids, and 3 forwards.
The hallmarks of the system are...
(1) The outside backs have strong attacking responsibilities (like the women's Portland Pilots teams, especially Jessica Tsao, an OES grad and former FC Portland standout).
(2) The central mid is a holding mid with many defensive responsibilities but must be able to distribute the ball well to get our offense started.
(3) The other two mids play kind of center-right and center-left positions in front of the holding mid. They have a lot of responsibility on both sides of the ball, and give a kind of dual central mid feel to the team. They are play-makers who leave space on the sides of the field open for the outside backs to move up and in to the offense.
(4) Attacking players provide constant and intense pressure on the ball. Having three attackers means that we should always have at least two players pressuring defenders when they have the ball at their feet. The central attacker will probably play ahead of the two outside attackers and will be responsible for a lot of pressure on the defense.
This is a good system but one which requires a little more tactical awareness then we are used to. Hence our gradual approach to adopting it.
I'm looking forward to an excellent season and I have high expectations for this group of very fine players.
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