Dear Anson,
You said I had a unique appreciation for the drama that soccer holds. Well, I guess that’s one of the reasons I felt so bad when the season ended so abruptly for my 18s
There we were, cruising along through the State Cup. First weekend -- eight goals scored, two allowed. Six points, five bonus points, one game to go. All we had to do was tie and we would advance to the Final Four.
That was all my players wanted. This was their last year together. The core of the team had played together since they were 10, and every Fall was like a reunion. They laughed about "the old days," they played hard, and they played with heart. The funny thing about this team is that most of them play other sports, and soccer is the primary sport for only a select few. But when they get together, they can achieve things beyond what should be expected..
"The last time" was a theme throughout the year. "This is the last time we will play a home game ... this is the last time we will practice together." After we switched training fields from a baseball outfield to a real soccer field, they were sad. They had trained on the baseball outfield for years, and they would miss it.
So when the "last time" came for real, it was devastating. There was out-and-out, uncontrollable sobbing. I felt horrible.
You see, it was my job to get them to the Final Four, my job to put them in a position to win, my job to give them a happy ending. And I was proud of the job I did. I managed to find a way for my basketball player to play a position that allowed her to hold the ball, distribute, and score. I was able to clear space for my cross country runner to run and run and run, and for my incredible athlete (basketball and tennis) to create havoc with her unorthodox style. And I was able to put my soccer players in positions where they would get the ball the most.
But I couldn't get that one last win.
One girl cried for two solid hours, partly because we lost but mostly because it was over. She couldn't even lament the "last times" anymore. It all ended so suddenly and so cruely.
I didn't know what to say to them after the game. All I could do was tell them to hold their heads high. Obviously, I couldn't stop thinking about it. How can you not think about devastated girls you have coached for four years. They were 13 and 14 when I first met them. Now they are getting ready for college. They mean a lot to me, they always will.
We had a team party a week later. Getting together helped them, and it helped me. I gave them each a nice gift that will serve as a reminder of their time together. All week I thought long and hard, trying to come up with some deep philosophical wisdom to relay to them. At first I thought they would expect me to give them some meaningful speech to help ease the pain. But then I had a revelation. To them, I wasn't a philosopher. I was the guy who inspired them by making them laugh, the guy who cares about them as people, and the guy who always found something slightly off the wall to say that grabbed their attention and made them think.
So I told them that I was heart-broken when we lost and the tears were devastating to me. "But", I said with a sudden burst of energy and enthusiasm, "I have a quote for you. It's from Dr. Seuss." (No lie, look it up). The quote is ...
"Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.”
When I think of more, I'll write.
Thanks,
You know who.
Showing posts with label womens soccer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label womens soccer. Show all posts
Friday, November 23, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Again, Ryan Must Go
Dear Aaron,
Don't mean to pile on, or kick a guy when he's down. But U.S. coaches certainly should understand the dangers of yapping away in the media.
This adds to the disasterous performance of our National Team coach.
When I think of more, I'll write.
Thanks
You know who
Don't mean to pile on, or kick a guy when he's down. But U.S. coaches certainly should understand the dangers of yapping away in the media.
This adds to the disasterous performance of our National Team coach.
When I think of more, I'll write.
Thanks
You know who
Monday, September 24, 2007
Heart, Effort, Quality and High Standards
Dear Roger,
Last week I wrote that my U13s got stomped in a lackluster performance and then came back the next day (after a couple long "chats" with me) and put in the performance of the season.
I ended that post saying how was able to start talking to them about maintaining high standards. Well, we played a game this past Saturday and now I have to adjust my coaching a little bit.
We played a team with which we have a long history of close, hard-fought games. Four seasons of matches, I'm told, have all ended in loses or draws. Not this time. It wasn't even close. It was nowhere near the performance I was expecting from this bunch. In fact, it was very hard for me to believe.
Just six minutes in, it was 1-0. By halftime, it was 3-0. The second half was much of the same dominance, but no more goals.
We were just unbelievably good. I challenged them to get a goal in five minutes. It took six. I told them to shut down service out of the back, they did. I told them to play to feet and keep possession, they did. I told them to stay organized in the back to handle the other team's fast and strong striker. She was never a threat.
Now, I have to step back a bit. I told them at halftime that they just set a new standard and it was pretty high. The job now, I said, is to see if we can raise that standard higher. The standard didn't drop in the second half, but I'm not sure it was raised. I could really care less. Now, it's about consistency of effort and quality.
Let me tell you, this is downright fun.
When I think of more, I'll write
Thanks
You know who
Last week I wrote that my U13s got stomped in a lackluster performance and then came back the next day (after a couple long "chats" with me) and put in the performance of the season.
I ended that post saying how was able to start talking to them about maintaining high standards. Well, we played a game this past Saturday and now I have to adjust my coaching a little bit.
We played a team with which we have a long history of close, hard-fought games. Four seasons of matches, I'm told, have all ended in loses or draws. Not this time. It wasn't even close. It was nowhere near the performance I was expecting from this bunch. In fact, it was very hard for me to believe.
Just six minutes in, it was 1-0. By halftime, it was 3-0. The second half was much of the same dominance, but no more goals.
We were just unbelievably good. I challenged them to get a goal in five minutes. It took six. I told them to shut down service out of the back, they did. I told them to play to feet and keep possession, they did. I told them to stay organized in the back to handle the other team's fast and strong striker. She was never a threat.
Now, I have to step back a bit. I told them at halftime that they just set a new standard and it was pretty high. The job now, I said, is to see if we can raise that standard higher. The standard didn't drop in the second half, but I'm not sure it was raised. I could really care less. Now, it's about consistency of effort and quality.
Let me tell you, this is downright fun.
When I think of more, I'll write
Thanks
You know who
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Still Wondering About Next Generation
Dear Carla,
For a long time, I have been wondering about the next generation of U.S. women’s national team players. Well, here they are, and I’m still wondering.
Let’s say up front that I was and still am a big supporter of Mia Hamm, Carla Overbeck, Julie Foudy, Michelle Akers, Kristine Lilly, Joy Fawcett, Brandi Chastain and anyone else that played from 1996-1999. One of their greatest qualities was their leadership ability. Another was their sense of where they came from.
I’m sure you’ve read countless stories about the early days, the time when training camps were few and far between, travel was sketchy, accommodations were Spartan and morale was sky-high. There was a sense that everything they got, they earned. Nothing was handed to them. They had to fight for the simplest things – like uniforms or more than $10 a day per diem.
So I wonder sometimes about the new players. Do they truly get it? I don’t know, and I can only guess at the answer. I think Kate Markgraf, Christie Rampone, Cat Whitehill and Abby Wambach get it. Certainly Lilly gets it, so does Briana Scurry. The rest have just heard stories, and I’m not sure they truly know the history, responsibility and obligations associated with being on that team.
Something in the North Korea draw struck me as interesting. During the stoppage when Wambach was injured, Kristine Lilly pulled the team together and was very animated in her pep talk. Then the U.S. gave up two quick goals.
I am not -- and never will -- questioning Lilly's leadership abililty. I've seen for too long what a positive effect she has on a team whenever she opens her mouth. However, you have to wonder why the team did not respond to her, and in fact, did the opposite. I think their might be a softness in the group that didn't exist in the old days.
I hope they prove me wrong, and I’ll be quick to admit it when they do.
When I think of more, I’ll write.
Thanks
You know who.
For a long time, I have been wondering about the next generation of U.S. women’s national team players. Well, here they are, and I’m still wondering.
Let’s say up front that I was and still am a big supporter of Mia Hamm, Carla Overbeck, Julie Foudy, Michelle Akers, Kristine Lilly, Joy Fawcett, Brandi Chastain and anyone else that played from 1996-1999. One of their greatest qualities was their leadership ability. Another was their sense of where they came from.
I’m sure you’ve read countless stories about the early days, the time when training camps were few and far between, travel was sketchy, accommodations were Spartan and morale was sky-high. There was a sense that everything they got, they earned. Nothing was handed to them. They had to fight for the simplest things – like uniforms or more than $10 a day per diem.
So I wonder sometimes about the new players. Do they truly get it? I don’t know, and I can only guess at the answer. I think Kate Markgraf, Christie Rampone, Cat Whitehill and Abby Wambach get it. Certainly Lilly gets it, so does Briana Scurry. The rest have just heard stories, and I’m not sure they truly know the history, responsibility and obligations associated with being on that team.
Something in the North Korea draw struck me as interesting. During the stoppage when Wambach was injured, Kristine Lilly pulled the team together and was very animated in her pep talk. Then the U.S. gave up two quick goals.
I am not -- and never will -- questioning Lilly's leadership abililty. I've seen for too long what a positive effect she has on a team whenever she opens her mouth. However, you have to wonder why the team did not respond to her, and in fact, did the opposite. I think their might be a softness in the group that didn't exist in the old days.
I hope they prove me wrong, and I’ll be quick to admit it when they do.
When I think of more, I’ll write.
Thanks
You know who.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Why I Coach, Part III
Dear Alex,
I was reminded the other day of one of the reasons why I love coaching. My players make me laugh.
A few years ago, one of my players was running high school cross country. At practice one day, she came to an intersection, and there was a car on her left at a stop sign. The car stopped, my player started running across the street. The driver, however, looked to his left and turned right, slowly. He ran into my player.
That's not the funny part.
The girl was fine. The car barely hit her. But when she told the rest of the team, they couldn't stop laughing -- after seeing that she was okay, of course.
Okay, so about three weeks later in a game, a big girl on the other team steamrolled another one of my players. This girl is pretty flexible and rarely -- if ever -- goes down with an injury. So when she stayed down, I assumed she was in a fair amount of pain. When the ref waived me on the field, I jogged over to the player, still concerned about her.
When I got there, she was laughing. When I asked her what was so funny, she said, "Remember when Kristine got hit by that car? This was just like that."
We laughed all the way to the sideline.
When I think of more, I'll write
Thanks,
You know who
I was reminded the other day of one of the reasons why I love coaching. My players make me laugh.
A few years ago, one of my players was running high school cross country. At practice one day, she came to an intersection, and there was a car on her left at a stop sign. The car stopped, my player started running across the street. The driver, however, looked to his left and turned right, slowly. He ran into my player.
That's not the funny part.
The girl was fine. The car barely hit her. But when she told the rest of the team, they couldn't stop laughing -- after seeing that she was okay, of course.
Okay, so about three weeks later in a game, a big girl on the other team steamrolled another one of my players. This girl is pretty flexible and rarely -- if ever -- goes down with an injury. So when she stayed down, I assumed she was in a fair amount of pain. When the ref waived me on the field, I jogged over to the player, still concerned about her.
When I got there, she was laughing. When I asked her what was so funny, she said, "Remember when Kristine got hit by that car? This was just like that."
We laughed all the way to the sideline.
When I think of more, I'll write
Thanks,
You know who
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Why I Coach, Part II
Dear Caroline,
They certainly are a fun bunch. When I talk to parents of my U18 girls, they seem to think I am some kind of saint -- or at least have the patience of one. Who in their right mind, they ask, could tolerate eighteen 17-year-old girls? I've never claimed to be in my right mind, and since I enjoy the girls so much, I guess it's obvious that I'm at least a little odd. Besides, it's a lot better when they are 17 than when they were 14.
It's amazing to me how competitive they can be, while at the same time laugh at each other, joke with each other and still get results. We played our first tournament this past weekend and won our division, pretty easily actually.
We are not the most skilled team, but after four years with this group, I have found a system that allows them to be successful. That, to me, is an accomplishment. Not because we win more games than we lose, but because at 17 years old, these girls are still playing soccer. The alternatives to playing are not good for teenagers these days. They have too many options, too many ways to get in trouble.
The system plays to their strengths, protects their weaknesses and produces convincing wins. I have a new assistant coach this year who was skeptical of a system that utilizes one forward. After outscoring our three opponents by six goals, shutting out two teams and leaving with a pair of wins and a draw, she told me that my 4-5-1 formation may actually allow them to play better than they are capable. That's an interesting point.
Anyway, the best part is that the girls had a blast. This is their last year playing with each other and the core of the team has been together for seven years. That's a lot of history. All they want is to be successful and have a lot of a blast doing it. So that's my job.
It's a fun job, too. They make me laugh. I feel bad for them when they get down, but I am able to bring them back up -- partially because I know their personalities and the intracacies of their lives. That's a piece of coaching that I believe is very important and often overlooked.
For example, I know who wants to play college ball, so I demand more of them. I know who needs to bust out of their comfort zone, so I force them to do that. I know who is there for mostly social reasons so I permit as much of that as possible.
And, by the way, the parents are great. More on that later.
When I think of more, I'll write
Thanks
You know who.
They certainly are a fun bunch. When I talk to parents of my U18 girls, they seem to think I am some kind of saint -- or at least have the patience of one. Who in their right mind, they ask, could tolerate eighteen 17-year-old girls? I've never claimed to be in my right mind, and since I enjoy the girls so much, I guess it's obvious that I'm at least a little odd. Besides, it's a lot better when they are 17 than when they were 14.
It's amazing to me how competitive they can be, while at the same time laugh at each other, joke with each other and still get results. We played our first tournament this past weekend and won our division, pretty easily actually.
We are not the most skilled team, but after four years with this group, I have found a system that allows them to be successful. That, to me, is an accomplishment. Not because we win more games than we lose, but because at 17 years old, these girls are still playing soccer. The alternatives to playing are not good for teenagers these days. They have too many options, too many ways to get in trouble.
The system plays to their strengths, protects their weaknesses and produces convincing wins. I have a new assistant coach this year who was skeptical of a system that utilizes one forward. After outscoring our three opponents by six goals, shutting out two teams and leaving with a pair of wins and a draw, she told me that my 4-5-1 formation may actually allow them to play better than they are capable. That's an interesting point.
Anyway, the best part is that the girls had a blast. This is their last year playing with each other and the core of the team has been together for seven years. That's a lot of history. All they want is to be successful and have a lot of a blast doing it. So that's my job.
It's a fun job, too. They make me laugh. I feel bad for them when they get down, but I am able to bring them back up -- partially because I know their personalities and the intracacies of their lives. That's a piece of coaching that I believe is very important and often overlooked.
For example, I know who wants to play college ball, so I demand more of them. I know who needs to bust out of their comfort zone, so I force them to do that. I know who is there for mostly social reasons so I permit as much of that as possible.
And, by the way, the parents are great. More on that later.
When I think of more, I'll write
Thanks
You know who.
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