Poor Ref'ing to Our Advantage

Last night our U9 boys played a 6pm game against a fellow board member's team. The importance of who we played against is being critical of the ref while maintaining control of our own composure and sidelines was within our duties of being on the board. Let's just say the level of judgment the referee displayed in the match was less than adequate and our referee director will be receiving a note.

The advantage in this came when one call of handling the ball, which results in a direct free kick, was called. From my view I could not tell whether it was in our out of the opposition's penalty area but the hand came up signaling direct and my son placed the ball amid the confusion, stepped back and shot the ball up and over and into the back of the net. The goal counted.

Now, whether the referee confused the situation and awarded our team a direct free kick outside the penalty area or should have delayed and set up a PK is irrelevant to this portion of the post. What I was pleased with was how quickly and intelligently my son placed a quick kick to our advantage. The confusion likely contributed to his success but I found his thinking logical and timely.

Way to go J!

First Time Ref: Son to Assist

I'm pretty excited to start a new chapter in my soccer career this weekend. Since I certified with my son as Grade 9 referees back in Aug. I just haven't had the opportunity to put my cert. into action (schedule is just too busy). But this Sat. all of that will change. Not only do I get to referee, I get to center referee with my son as an assistant or AR. I'm a little nervous as making my debut where the parents and coaches are considerably more vocal in their dissent can be daunting. That being said, I believe I'm prepared to handle it. Should be fun. I'm also excited to have this experience with my son whom I absolutely adore and love. Wish us luck.

Well Oiled Machine...Er Team

Some times I wonder whether my oldest team is a bit too relaxed and last night both confirmed and mystified my expectations at the start of our Monday night match (yep, odd to have a Monday Night Football game). To avoid traffic I left the house quite early and arrived nearly 45 minutes prior to the start of the game. To contrast that highly paranoid behavior, my team on average arrived a mere 4 minutes prior to the start of the game, mostly meandering in toting their water: no hustle, completely relaxed. And how did they perform in the game?

Relaxed, calm and controlled. From the start of the game they flawlessly executed basic give-n-go passes that freaked out the other team. With speed and determination, yet in complete control, the team worked together, pushing passed the opponents to take shot after shot. After the final 2 players trickled in we were up to 3 subs and never felt overly taxed on the field. Their grooming as a team was omnipresent (even the other coach remarked at how well they complimented each other's play) while individual contributions often lead to phenomenal, jaw-dropping plays.

In a victory of 5-0 as visitors, especially after our opening loss as the home team, our spirits were lifted, our confidence strengthened and I believe we'll be ready for Saturday's match against a very talented GSSA team that has spanked us mercilessly in previous seasons. Hopefully the other team's confidence will be their downfall as my relaxed squad comes in and plays according to our rules, our style of play and out classes the other team.

Something that stood out in my mind as quality and worth mentioning was how some of our developing players contributed in unexpected ways. From great personal hustle, taking the ball strong between players and passing based on patterns learned in practice, these players left memorable moments on the playing field rather than holes in their positions as in previous season. This great change, nearly metamorphic, seems distill upon these young men on a regular basis and it is absolutely gorgeous to witness.

Congratulations to my well oiled team. You deserve last night's win and may they keep coming our way! Go Strikers!

Great Drill, Great Coach

I'm not talking about me when I mention "Great Coach" in the title of this post. I'm referring to my friend Chip. While some may not think of him as great, he certainly is plugged into the sport of soccer and loves working with the boys we coach.

Yesterday in the midst of my muddled state of mind, Chip picked up the usual slack and worked with our U9B team. The ending drill was very effective, so much so that I stole it and used it for my U13B with great success.

The drill starts with two "striker" placed lines facing the goal and one center line facing the opposite direction. The ball is started from the backfield into the center line where the center drops it back and peels out either left or right. The wide swing creates space to dribble where upon approach to the goal the two strikers receive a cross from the outside and attempt to one-touch the ball into the goal.

The effectiveness of the drill is in the quick pace, the timing of the strike on goal, the pass out to the sides and the accuracy of all passes. The drill can be varied through adding defensive players but for the sake of simplicity and timing was run without.

Give it a try and tell me what works well for you!

Easier Soccer Week

With the cancellation of last weekend's games due to hurricane Ike, this week seems like an easy going schedule. We only have 2 games scheduled for Saturday, one of which is away in Bedford, TX. The craziness is the number of pictures we'll be taking: 4 for 4 teams, 3 of which are prior to the first game of the day. My day will start with 3 hours field monitoring for the association, including opening up the park for the early birds. My morning will run from 7am at the park through about 4:30 at the conclusion of the last game whereby we'll dash off to our church's picnic social. Upon conclusion of the event we'll return to pick up our oldest son from his ref'ing gig back at the soccer complex. Much easier week :)

Did I mention 8 hrs of practice between now and the first game on Saturday?

Crazy Schedule Outlined

For those of you that may have wondered just how crazy my schedule as a recreational soccer coach really is, here goes:

Mondays -
--1st Monday of the month KSA Board Meeting

Tuesdays -
--4:30 - 5:30pm U9B practice
--5:30 - 7:00pm U13B practice

Wednesdays -
--4:30 - 5:30 or 6:00pm U11G practice

Thursdays -
--4:30 - 5:30pm U9B practice (and this week U6G practice at the same time)
--5:30 - 7:00pm U13B practice

Fridays -
--4:30 - 5:30pm U6G practice
--5:30 - 6:30 or 7:00pm U11G practice

Saturdays -
--any combination of 4 teams playing scattered from Lake Worth to Lewisville, TX
--2 hours of voluntary field monitoring as a part of my service on the Board of Directors
--possibly refereeing games when needed

Sundays -
--no games, no practices, merely rest (well, and a lot of meetings)

How do select coaches function? Sure they get paid but I've known guys that have 9 teams. When do they eat and sleep? I enjoy this game, and my schedule is bursting but I can't imagine much more than what I have. If you're a select coach reading this, drop me a comment. How do you do it?

Scheduling My Schedule

Do you ever get so busy that you have to schedule time to schedule? I'm not quite there but rather quickly approaching it. Between work projects, family life, church duties, coaching responsibilities and board duties I'm thoroughly shot on free time. Part of the reason I asked for my iPhone was to help me organize a little better and have information at my finger tips. Well, the info is there but the organization is falling short because I actually need to schedule time to schedule.

Speaking of scheduling, this next week I'll be getting teams' schedules in working order just in time to start their season in less than 2 weeks. Coaches are anxious to find out when they play and I'm sure there will be plenty of backlash once they come out as everyone has the best reason to reschedule though no one is willing to offer those up prior to the scheduling, even when requested. So I find it ironic that yet again, I'll need to to schedule time to schedule, just in a different sense.

Life when it's busy is exciting, overwhelming and thoroughly exhausting. Two things I have to be conscientious of doing when I'm in this mode are: 1) exercise to mitigate exhaustion and stress and 2) focus meaningful time with my dear wife. So dear wife, if I fail to schedule either, please do me a favor and knock me over the head with either a kiss or my running shoes; either way I'll get the point ;)

Soccer Inequality Season

For those of you that know me, soccer is somewhat a passion but it's also an adventure in time management and equality for the recreational players. Yes, I'm competitive-minded and while I want my teams (4) to succeed, I do not educate/train my players at the expense of the recreational credo: have fun. I've grilled it into my player's minds that "my #1 rule is everybody has fun."

Yet for some reason, this season I've started off with somewhat of a concern as I begin to analyze the new players on my teams. I see such a wide disparity among players, from my U6 girls team to my U13 boys, that I haven't seen in many other seasons. Maybe my perspective is clouded by last season's road to glory with my boys' teams and their incredible journey and victories. But this season I see so much that needs to be improved with handicaps that block that progression.

Through all of this I keep reminding myself that the heart of the recreational purpose is to have fun and develop the player, and collectively the team, not to rack up victories. While winning is always fun, it should never come at the expense of the individual regardless of skill set.

So to any player's parent that may keep up with this blog, rest assured your child will play, will receive a fair shake this season, and most of all will be given all opportunities to have fun. Will I work them hard? You betcha! Will we strive to perform to the best of our abilities? Certainly. But I will not let my teams, nor myself, lose sight of our goal: "Everybody has fun!"

What's Wrong with this Picture

What's wrong with this picture? Who is at fault?

Soccer Season Stresser

We've only had 1 full day of practices and things are already starting to break down in the Hanson home. Unbeknown to me, my dear wife has been stressing about the upcoming soccer season, the full days of games and weeks of practices for the last 3 weeks. Stress is not always are good thing in our lives as it can turn nasty in the blink of an eye. But it can also be a positive impetus to perform at a higher level of quality and produce greater than normal results. Time will tell how this will turn out.

What is required of this husband and father to make soccer related stress a positive producer? I need to step up more at home and make a greater effort in creating a more orderly atmosphere. Occasional dinner preparation probably wouldn't hurt either. Clear communication is essential and keeping our world in order prior to the Sabbath day is key, according to my wife.

With the 2nd day of practices kicking in today, we'll see how I perform for the betterment of the family.

R, hang in there and keep me up to date on stress levels.

Any suggestions on how to deal with the crazy schedule? Please hit the comment link below and let me know.