Soccer Memories - Bob, the father's perspective.

I decided to break Bob's contribution in two as he provides insight from the perspective of a father and that of a referee.  First up are memories of his daughters playing.  Enjoy!

Like Tim, my time as a soccer dad ended recently with the last spring season that my youngest daughter played.  After 17 years, I no longer have someone to take to practice, a game, or a weekend tournament!  I can’t say that I AM entirely broken hearted by that fact, ha ha, but I have had my share of good memories over that time to last me the rest of my life. 

Nicole, now 23, was the trailblazer for Olivia, my youngest who is now 18.  Nicole started playing U6 at Shawnee, and hung up her boots after 1 year at D3 Virginia Wesleyan.  Olivia started out the same, finishing her soccer career at Findlay HS and GTFC Impact this past spring before heading off to USNA.  In between all that time, wow, so much has happened!

Unlike Tim’s memories, mine are not quite as specific.  I remember certain plays still to this day, but my memories are more of places we traveled, and getting the chance to spend time with my girls.  I can remember Nicole making the best tackle I ever saw her make at PSI in Toledo, her GTFC team won the tournament that year.  I remember when Nicole was 11 or 12 at the Elida Fall Classic, making a game winning goal against Elida.  Scott Laman kept telling me to put Nicole up front, he was a much better soccer coach than me!      

I can remember Nicole playing in her first tournament in Elida in the fall of 2000.  I think she still has the shirt!  That was our first weekend soccer experience, and the only time her Grandpa got to see her play, at least in person.  The next fall, we sewed flags on the girl’s uniforms after 9/11.  I know Nicole and Olivia still have those shirts somewhere!  After 9/11, I remember fighter jets flying over us at practices, and yes, we stopped to watch.

After a few years, Nicole started playing at West Central United where she met girls from other schools for the first time.  Many of those girls are still her friends today, which is great.  The West Central years were learning years for sure.  Not a lot of winning, but the girls were learning.

When Nicole was 14, a group of Lima area girls headed north and tried out at GTFC.  That’s when my eyes were opened!  Nicole managed to make the team, and played for some great coaches at GTFC.  We traveled all over the Midwest, Toronto (twice), Orlando, and Phoenix for tournaments.  It was our first trip to Toronto where I introduced Nicole to sushi, a food that she now enjoys immensely. 

Olivia was introduced to GTFC at about age 10 when she attended an indoor practice with Nicole and I on a wintry Sunday afternoon.  Nicole’s coach at the time saw Olivia and asked her to join in a scrimmage.  Olivia, being the competitor she was and is to this day, joined in and played her hardest.  She was invited to join the U-10’s that spring at GTFC.  I remember after Olivia wanting to play keeper her first year at GTFC, but she was stuck on defense, and not happy.  Her Shawnee friends asked her for come play in Elida that year, she said only if she could play keeper, lol.  She did, and she had a great weekend, loved it all!  She did eventually get to play keeper full time at Findlay and in club, a result of her ward work and eagerness to learn.  She did pretty well, making NWO District first team her Junior and senior years!  I’ll miss seeing Olivia come off her line, sacrifice her body, diving to snuff out a shot from a hopeful attacker.  

Some of Olivia best plays were coming off her line, and snuffing out a strike right at the attacker’s foot.  These were always exciting plays, and the crowd loved watching her do it as much as I did!  Then the foot save against Northview in her last game.  That was a great play and an even better reaction from Olivia.  Anyone who knows Olivia likely knows her as having a great poker face, and rarely would she show any emotion on the pitch.  But after that save, she let it out. 

I will always remember the miles traveled as a soccer dad.  Too many to count, but worth every minute and mile.  For you parents with kids still playing, just realize that one day it will all end, and then you will wonder where the time went!  I hope that my girls have fond memories of the travels as well, and someday when they are parents, they do the same with their kids, as my mom and dad did with me.    

You really can't scout our team.

"You can't really scout our team

 

because everyone's getting shots."

 

~ Rajon Rondo ~

Boston Celtics Point Guard

 

 

This is the philosophy behind our system of play, our offense or attack.  I firmly believe in spreading the scoring around as much as possible. Last spring 17 of 18 players scored goals as did 5 guest players.  Make no mistake, it's great to have a prolific goal scorer... and we have one or two of those on our team. It;s just if we become reliant on those players scoring all our goals for us we become predictable and they become more easily defended.  The way we play, opponents just never know who is going to score... or from what position the scoring will come.  This unpredictability is the key to our attacking success. This has been confirmed by opposing coaches.

 

"We scouted you and thought we were prepared. You had the same players in the same positions, but the attack was completely different. Different people taking shots. Different people scoring.  It made our scouting report worthless."

 

The sentiments expressed above were shared with me by more than one coach.  Music to my ears!  Sometimes I think the game of soccer becomes stale. Some teams so narrowly define roles for the positions / players that their play becomes predictable to an extent the game is stodgy. Is it any wonder why we lament the lack of creativity in the American game? 

 

Maybe it's my basketball roots, but on our team everyone plays both sides of the ball.  That is, everyone defends and everyone attacks - including shooting and scoring!

Soccer Memories - Lexi

The contributions to Soccer Memories have come presented in a variety of styles.  Today, Lexi shares her favorite soccer memories with us in a "remember when" form.  Enjoy!



Remember when Courtney Taylor kicked the ball at my butt twice in a row trying to lead me.

Remeber when Libby ran all the way back to the goal and slide tackled the ball to keep the girl from shooting on Courtney when she was in goal for fun.

Remember when mine and Hunter Carnahans tweets got up on the big board at the crew game.

Remember when Candace completley fell for no reason while running an just a few days later tripped on her own feet trying to trap a punt and fell HARD!

What is Possession Style Soccer?

The idea of one team controlling the ball better and more than their opponents is likely what came to mind when you read the title for this article. At the most basic level this is a fair assessment of possession style soccer. It is difficult to score if you do not have possession of the ball, correct?  By controlling the ball, a team controls the game.

I am not entirely comfortable with the notion that a successful possession style of soccer is tied to winning the time of possession battle. I in no way wish to diminish the importance or value of possessing the ball. I am simply saying there must exist a purpose for possessing the ball - to score the ball or to prevent the opponent from scoring the ball.

As soccer is a game about problem solving we can look at possession in those terms as well.  When in possession a team has a singular problem to solve - how to score the ball.  When not in possession a team has a two-fold problem to solve - how to gain possession and then how to score the ball. In my mind I would much prefer solving one problem well than having to devote resources to solving two problems.

Possession can also be viewed in terms of energy expended in playing the game.  Possessing the ball, especially when done with intelligent thought and intent, conserves energy for the team in possession while making the opponent expend large amounts of physical, mental and possibly emotional energy in pursuit of possession of the ball. When ball movement is predicated on player movement a team in possession can force the defending team to chase the ball.  That would be one description of effective possession of the soccer ball.

Obviously the most effective use of possession is to score the soccer ball.  Forcing a team to expend energy chasing the ball while you progress toward scoring the ball might be alternatively described as a by-product of a possession style of soccer. The same could be said of possessing the ball to prevent the opponent from being able to score.

Because we live in a world of opposites, if there exists effective uses of possession it stands to reason there must exist ineffective uses of possession. Teams and maybe more appropriately players who  are constantly creating 50 / 50 balls could certainly be accused of ineffective use of possession. A direct style of play predicated solely on kicking the ball forward for someone to run onto might be ineffective use of possession. That is not a knock on direct play, only a knock on thoughtlessly whacking the ball forward. I like direct play as a versatile part of our teams attack.

To look at direct play as part of possession play requires looking at one simple question, How many passes does it take to score a goal?

If your forward steals the ball from a defender along the top of the opponents penalty area, shoots and scores the answer could be as low as "zero" passes required to score. So, a directly played ball out of the middle third of the field to a teammate who shoots and scores is effective use of possession, is it not? In fact, there have been several studies conducted that suggest a preponderance of goals scored come from 3 or less passes made. The pressing defense system of play so talked about and utilized today has been built around this very idea.  Regained possession immediately in the attacking third to catch the opponents shape in a transitional moment allowing for your team to strike quickly on goal. Makes perfect sense.

In coaching possession soccer with my team this spring I will return to my basketball roots and concentrate on Space and Pace.  If we look at the previous example of a ball won in the midfield leading to one pass from which a goal is scored there was obviously space, negative space to be exact, available in behind the opponents defense to be utilized. One pass was sufficient.

When the opposition presses upon losing possession the attacking team may be required to execute a Safe Pass to secure possession before moving personnel and the ball forward on the attack. Pressing has a two-fold purpose for most teams, 1) Regain possession and / or 2) Allow teammates to get organized behind the ball.  If the attackers are able to successfully execute a safe pass out of the press, then they will likely have to begin a "delayed" attack in the sense the opportunity to quick counter may have been lost.  When this occurs the conventional ideas of possessing the ball come into play.  The attack (forward movement of the ball) will be based around probing the defense, recycling the ball backwards and switching the point of attack in search of a seam to move forward through.

In this sense, possession first becomes about moving the ball to move the opposition.  In moving the opposition - what we call manipulating the defense - the attacking team seeks to create the space they wish to exploit.  Remember in the direct play scenario, the (negative) space to play into already existed. When a defense is set behind the ball, space will likely need to be created by moving the opponents, by manipulating the defense to change from its preferred shape.   Probe, recycle backwards, switch the point of attack all with a watchful eye on developing seams to attack forward through. 

It is critically important to remember the sequence for manipulating a defense is to:

1)  Probe - forward movement of the ball to a target player to get defenders behind him to step forward.

2) Recycle  - drop passes for the purpose of getting defenders to step forward again

3) Switch  - to force a defense to move laterally/

Once a defense is moving backwards and forwards as well as side to side it's preferred shape is in peril and seams to attack the goal through will develop and become exposed for exploitation. There is no set number of passes for when this well occur.  There is no set number of passes that defines "possessing the ball".  A successful possession might require as few as one pass or as many passes as it takes.

Good Luck Ottawa-Glandorf Lady Titans!

The Ottawa-Glandorf Lady Titans will be playing for the Division III State Championship at 7:00 pm on Friday in Columbus Crew Stadium.  We wish them nothing but the best of luck!  I encourage all in Western Buckeye League land to make the trip and have their backs with your support!

When your dreams start to seem so impossible and road blocks are all you see,

look beyond all the problems you face and focus on the possibilities.

Don’t limit your thoughts to the present or to solutions you have learned from the past.

Remember to keep looking forward. You may find the answer at last.

 

It is you whom determines your future, how your journey through tomorrow will be.

To fill all your days with adventure, dare to see what no one else dares to see.

So never let obstacles stop you or keep you from doing your part.

Have Faith that your dreams are all possible, if you truly believe in your heart.

 

Good Luck Lady Titans!

 

 

Soccer Memories - Treg

When I was first asked to share soccer memories I had no Idea where to start. I mean this list would never stop for me. I have been apart of the game through almost every spectrum that I can think of. The sport is more then a game it is a Love.  It's not a casual thing like watching the USMNT or other professional team but wanting to pick up a ball just to be on your foot. On a few nice days as I have crossed campus this year I have had a ball at my foot literally just playing a little game defeating defenders as they walk to their next class or seeing if I can hit friends as they pass by to literally running into people or playing a game with a pig (yes we have pigs on campus)

From a player perspective it is not necessary any one certain goal that I remember as awesome (even though scoring the game winning goal against rival Warriors as time was expiring was pretty great or scoring against Elida High School on my birthday both years of High School Soccer I played). More
it is a collection of ones that had dramatic impacts upon the game like the Warrior one my dad talked about in sharing his memories or events and friendships that I can never lose.

I remember playing against a team who literally stacked a 1-1-9 formation against us and we got our heads handed to us. Next time down at their place they were mocking us and being cocky during the warm ups and what not and we went out and with in a first few minutes I was running through them like they were Swiss cheese. I remember the first one in that game which was just like us sticking our tongues out saying well two can play this game. No we didn't actually. I never played on a team like that and never plan to coach a team like that either but just one of those "take that" moments.

I got a long pass played by our wing defender Kevin Esser and I took off. Kevin probably played the longest ball I have ever seen from him. Kevin and I related pretty well because we both have speech impediments and just know about all the name calling and what not. We played on the same club teams and while he didn't have the strongest leg or the best foot skills he LOVED the game as much as I did.

As played continued I received it making a flat run to the left side and bent it in since I was literally alone having blown right past the defender marking me. I took the ball from the top of the 18 at about the width of the six to the corner of the six and played the ball to the back post just like the famous Graham Ramsay would yell back in the day to the members of the high school team that I just idolized as a little kid while being a ball boy and helping my dad in practice. As the ball trickled over towards the back post someone came into my peripheral vision. Guess who it was... Kevin himself. one of the slowest kids on the team made the 95 yard run to have my back net option right with me.  It was the start of a beautiful friendship that lasts still today.

Another great memory was playing for Lima Central Catholic. There is an ancient rivalry between them and my school Shawnee. well it was just a blast to play my 8th grade year and a fall rec tournament after my freshmen year with them. At Shawnee they would go to practice with no heart, goofing off and being happy with where they were at - winning lots of games by being
quicker then the opponent.  The gentlemen over at LCC had the Love of the game they talked about it daily. They warmed up with the idea of no bad passes and trying to get better. It was an honor playing with those guys as they were goofy off the  field like any teenage boys, but on the field it was all about the game and sportsmanship and nothing else.

The best moment playing with these guys came from Nolan Burkholder. We both
played club soccer and our skill level was higher than our teammates who did not. I remember doing so many wall passes a round a guy from St. Marys that he finally stopped. Just up and quit on us. Literally one time he just threw up his hands and said go because if it wasn't a wall pass it was an overlap, dribbling on to the next line or playing the ball to a target forward. Nolan and I played combination passes to get around the defenders.

Or the year after when Nolan and I were going at it in high school or later that fall playing on their middle school team where I played the sweeper position and saved a goal when the ball was on the goal line.

Through all these ramblings the thoughts just go on and on.

Moving from the field to refereeing to coaching to a spectator and all the
other spectrums are endless as well.

Probably the most memorable one as a referee came when refereeing Lance as he served as
a guest player. He dribbled right in front of me on a very short and narrow field and took a shot as a defending mid from about 40 yards out and just started laughing. I take off down the field towards the ball and the little stinker had put the ball in the net. That goal, if my memory serves me correctly, might of been the only goal in the game.

From the perspective of a spectator my favorite memory is probably sitting right behind the Jon Busch, Chad Marshall and Jeff Chuningham as they played for the crew. Kevin and I were
ball boys for his birthday behind the goal on the home side. It was a blast to be that up and personal and actually got to hold a conversation with Busch for about 5 minutes.

Or meeting Frankie Hedjuk and talking to him on numerous occasions.  Or the day I  nutmeged Frankie on Ohio State University Oval. (GO BLUE!) I mean just all the fun from playing the standard team game has been a blast.

As a player the last game doesn't end at the whistle of the last full side organized game but when you decide to step away. This list could go on and on and I have told my dad that I am more then willing to share more in-depth memories of this wonderful game.

Expectations.

When you achieve at a high level every day,

 

you don't see it as high achievement,

 

you view it as the accepted norm.

Soccer Memories - Ashleigh

Having played soccer from the age of 5 to my senior year of high school, there are plenty of memories that were made.

My favorite memory would have to be when we made it to State Final Four my sophomore year of high school. The support we got from other WBL schools and the community was an awesome feeling! I really enjoyed when we took our charter bus around to the elementary schools and the little kids held up signs and cheered! It was also an amazing feeling every time we won a tournament game getting lead into town by a fire truck.

Coming from a bench player my freshman year, it was much to my surprise when I got my name on the record board my senior year. Breaking 2 records was an awesome feeling and it’s always great to look and see my name there. I might not be on the field anymore but the times I had playing as a Roughrider were the best.

Girls State Semi-Finals. Good Luck to Ottawa-Glandorf and Bath!

The #7 Bath Wildkittens will play Akron Archbishop Hoban (15-4-2) on Tuesday at 7:00 pm at Ashland High School. They will have their work cut out for them as coaching colleagues in the Akron area tell me Hoban is a very good side. I think Bath will be up to the task... and certainly hope so.  I have long thought it would be a girls side that eventually breaks through and gets to a OHSAA State Finals match. 

Good Luck Bath Wildkittens!

 

The #4 ranked Ottawa-Glandorf Titans (19-1-1) will square off against #6  Elyria Catholic (15-1-4) on Tuesday at 7:00 pm at Clyde High School. This should be a tremendous match and I am greatly looking forward to watching it. In my opinion, Western Buckeye League Champions have an excellent chance to advance but it definitely will not be easy.

 

Good Luck Ottawa-Glandorf Titans!

Functionality in Goalkeeper (and all) Training

I remember being asked to become the goalkeeping coach at Shawnee High School.  I knew very little about goalkeeping and was hesitant to say the least. I was honored to be considered, but couldn't help wonder, why me?   This much I knew, it was January and I had about 6 months to prepare for the role of goalkeeping coach.

One of the first things I did was to contact Graham Ramsay and ask him to recommend books and video tapes on the subject. This is where my library of now over 300 DVDs and 200 books on soccer got its humble beginnings. 

Shawnee's then head coach, Dick Hagen, recommended taking a coaching goalkeeping course and that was my next stop. I was one of the last to register for the NSCAA State Level Goalkeeping course to be held in Columbus, Ohio in about two weeks time.  This course would forever change the way I coached, regardless of the sport.

The instructors for the course were Tony Waiters, Tony DiCicco and John Murphy. Waiters and DiCicco were world renown household names.  Waiters was widely recognized as England's star goalkeeper much as Tim Howard is recognized as the US goalkeeper these days.  DiCicco was in his heyday as the USWNT team coach.  John Murphy?  Only true die hard soccer fans probably knew who he was.  I certainly knew nothing of him at that point in time, but it was Murphy who stole the show that weekend.  To this day, he is still the best clinician I have ever had the privilege of learning from.

Among the many lasting lessons learned that weekend was the importance of functionality being a part of everything we do in teaching the game. I'm not sure why, but that concept really struck a chord and still resonates with me to this day. Graham Ramsay seconded the importance of functionality in his camps and the many discussions we have had over the years. One of the reasons I have so many DVDs and books is that I am constantly searching for quality DVDs and books that stress functionality in training. A lot of the DVDs and books I have are mostly rubbish. A few are absolute gems.

So, there I was that July in the team's coaches led mini-camp getting my feet wet as a goalkeeping coach. My biggest concern was simply to not mess up the already established goalkeeping ability of the players being entrusted to me.  I had worked tirelessly to prepare and knew one of the first things I had to do was to convince the athletes to trust me.  I was about to change the way they had previously trained to be goalkeepers and had absolutely no experience or credibility to base my approach on. 

I want to focus on one simple exercise still common in goalkeeper training today.  This exercise is supposed to train a goalkeeper to "collapse dive" and pin the ball to the ground.  The active goalkeeper will be sitting on his butt as a coach or teammate hand serves balls to first the left then the right. The goalkeeper reaches out to field the ball and then collapses to the ground. When this occurs the goalkeepers body is falling away from the server. The goalkeeper is actually falling backwards... towards the goal.  It is a terrible drill in terms of functionality.  This is where my assault on poor goalkeeper training began.

In every goalkeeper camp and clinic I have ever conducted the question of cutting down angles has been raised by athletes and coaches alike. Heck, it was one of the few things I "knew" about goalkeeping before starting this journey as a goalkeeping coach.  When faced with a breakaway the goalkeeper comes out or comes off his line to cut down the shooting angles of the approaching attacker.  I had a basic understanding of this. I "knew" what it was all about. Sound tactical strategy generally accepted by everyone.

Somewhere in my mind all these bits and pieces were beginning to coalesce into what would become my curriculum for goalkeeping.  Tony Waiters' gorilla stance and Tony DiCicco's step to the ready position combined with John Murphy's demand for functionality in everything we do. 

I asked myself, how many times in a match would a goalkeeper be found sitting on his ass making a backwards moving collapse dive save?  My answer was, if it ever happened it would be as a result of the goalkeeper having made a mistake leading up to the necessity of performing such a maneuver.  It was that day the decision to never train a goalkeeper to recover from a mistake was made.

Can you imagine the reaction of young men who had played the position of goalkeeper for years to a rookie goalkeeping coach banning one of the most widely known goalkeeping exercises in the known soccer world?  Yeah, it was about what you would expect it to be.  I had to convince the players that my approach was better.  I taught them why it was indeed better and functionality was the main selling point.

When teaching the collapse dive to goalkeepers I have them begin with their knees on a painted line - goal line, touch line, any line will do.  I then place a soccer ball diagonally out in front of them to one side.  From this position we learn to dive diagonally forward on our collapse dives. Once I am satisfied with their technique for collapsing to the ground we put their feet on the line and progress to collapse dives from a standing position.

Let's back track for just a moment.  From their knees I have them collapse dive diagonally forward.  When defending a break away the goalkeeper comes out to take away shooting angles. By performing the collapse dive diagonally forward as opposed to falling backwards toward their own goal the goalkeeper is in effect cutting down the angles of the balls path to goal. 

So, on your feet the goalkeeper takes the step into the ready position as the attacker prepares to strike the ball. From the ready or gorilla position the goalkeeper takes a diagonally forward step towards the path of the ball and then collapse dives diagonally forward to make the save of the shot on goal.  This is functional training. 

What I discovered was when performing a collapse dive while falling backwards the effective range for saving a shot was generally 4 to perhaps 4.5 yards for an averaged size goalkeeper.  When the goalkeeper dives laterally the effective range for saving a shot stretches to approximately 6 yards for an average sized goalkeeper.  But when the goalkeeper attacks the ball by collapse diving diagonally forward the effective range for saving a shot can be stretched to cover 8+ yards.  With a goal being 8 yards wide we can cover its entirety provided we are positioned properly on the ball line angle arc. 

That first year as Shawnee's goalkeeper coach,  once proper collapse dive technique was established we never once practiced performing this technique from any position other than on our feet. Three times in each direction every day, including in pre-match warm ups.  No more. No less.  Our training was completely functional in nature. And if I recall correctly our GAA (goals against average) was a minuscule .48 / game that season. 

Since that time, I have strove to make every exercise utilized in training - for goalkeepers and field players alike - functional as it pertains to games.  Whether it is a technique, tactic, physical or psychology consideration I strive to make it game-like and functionally applicable in training. After all, training is preparation to play the game.  Failing to prepare properly is preparing to fail. So why ask athletes to train / prepare in a manner that is not functionally applicable to playing the game? 

October a record setting month at CBA Soccer Blog!

Thank you once again for your continued support of the CBA Soccer Blog and Conceive Believe Achieve Soccer Camps and clinics.  The growth of both has been steady over the years and we are very appreciative of our loyal fan base. 

I will be updating the most popular posts of the month a bit later.  Usually there are fairly clear cut winners, but for the month of October there are several contenders.

We are now accepting reservations for camps next summer.  Get your week reserved now!  As always, we give preference to returning teams, but we also have room to grow!

After much deliberation and some minor flirtation with a couple of college coaching positions I have decided to seriously explore returning to coaching high school soccer if the right situation presents itself. If you hear of an opening, please advise. West-central Ohio as a preferred location.

As always, if you wish to contribute articles to the CBA Blog, all you have to do is contact me at tbrown@wcoil.com

Thanks once again for your tremendous and continued support!

More Soccer (and a basketball) Memories - Tim II

A few more of my favorite memories from coaching

These first two revolve around young players with disabilities.   Both were such neat kids from loving homes wanting to play sports like their siblings, friends and classmates. I was blessed to be able to coach Eric and John.

Eric played soccer for me one season. If I recall correctly the team was a group of U12 boys. Eric might have been slightly older. I don't know the correct term for Eric's disability. Suffice it to say he was mentally challenged in some ways. Eric was also very bright in some ways and could be a bit of a prankster. One of the challenges I faced were complaints from a couple of players / parents of how Eric's presence on the team and especially in the game put our team at a competitive disadvantage. My approach with those people was to cheerfully reply "Of course, it does!  But it also makes us a make stronger team!"  It was enough to defuse potentially ugly situations if only because it stunned them into silence.

I made no exceptions for Eric, expecting him to attempt everything his teammates did. I worked with Eric the same I would with any other players.  I acknowledged and cheered his successes and when necessary corrected his mistakes. I did notify opposing coaches and referees that we had a special needs kid on our team, but asked no favors on his behalf.  If Eric were offside, call it. If Eric committed a foul, call it.  If Eric handled the ball, call it.  I even played Eric in goal a bit.  I, and his teammates, strove to treat Eric as we would any other member of the team.

Eric, for his part seemed to have a great time. The kid was always smiling and often times I spotted a twinkle in his eye that belied a mischievous streak.  For instance, we sometimes finished practice with an exercise known as butts up! This usually involved the coaches or a birthday boy standing in the goal with hands on knees and their back to the field. Players would each have a turn to "shoot the ball" at the coaches butt.  If they hit the coach, no running. If they missed the coach, they ran half a lap.  Eric didn't have much luck hitting the coaches butt until late in the season. I had seen that twinkle in his eye before we started butts up that evening but was unprepared to actually be hit by the ball when it was Eric's turn!   He had picked up the ball, snuck up behind me, threw the ball and hit me in the butt!  Much laughter ensued!   I pretended to be upset that he had "cheated" but Eric didn't care, he had hit coach in the butt!  Secretly I beamed at his ingenuity.

And there's the lesson to be learned.  Soccer is a game about solving problems encountered on the pitch.  That's exactly what Eric had done!  In his own unique way and to the best of his ability he solved the problem.  Love, Love, LOVE that kid.  Such an inspiration to the rest of us.  I cannot begin to remember what our record was that season, but I will always remember Eric was on our team.

John was a sports aficionado.  His special needs were both physical and mental in nature.  Great kid who smiled a lot. I was privileged and honored to coach John in 7th grade basketball. Anyone that has been around 7th grade boys knows their competitive nature really begins to emerge in middle school. Having a special needs kid on your team can be a difficult situation.

I made no exceptions for John. I expected him to attempt everything his teammates were asked to do. To John's credit he dribbled and shot fairly well all things considered. Certainly not at a competitive in-game level but competently nonetheless.  He wasn't much of a defender and playing man to man defense with John on the court was never  a consideration .  Of course, there were one or two players / parents upset about the competitive disadvantage John placed the team in when he was on the court.

My solution with John was to play him in the middle of a 2-1-2 zone whenever he was on the court.  On offense he played "high post".  As I recall we actually had one player / family become very frustrated and leave the team over John's presence. We were struggling through the season, losing games we "should have" or at least "could have" won except for John.  An amazing thing happened as the post season tournament began - the team went on a winning streak that carried them to the championship game!  And yes, John was involved in each of those games.

We didn't win the championship, but I'm not sure anyone aside from John really cared. As I said, John is a sports aficionado.  He recognizes his limitations but that makes him no less competitive. I remember overhearing him talking with his father about if he had only done "this or that" a little bit better. Never blaming his disabilities, only lamenting that perhaps he had not played as well as he was capable of playing.

My own son said something to the effect, "If it weren't for John we could have won, but I think we got a better prize than a trophy by having John play on our team."  And he was absolutely correct.  The lesson here is about making the most of what God has blessed us with.  John certainly did this on a daily basis. His positive attitude was contagious to the point that he was inspirational to his teammates.  I myself don't know if we would have won that championship or not, but I do believe firmly that we would not have played for one without John leading the way.

When I took over the Lima Central Catholic girls program I knew we had to change a culture of losing.  What I did not realize was how deeply ingrained the culture of losing was. That first summer with the girls I remember getting incredibly frustrated with teaching the girls to give intelligent effort.  The idea of less physical exertion in favor of more mental exertion was struggling to find a foothold. It seemed at some point in the past a coach had told them they were not as talented as opponents and the only way they could compete was to outwork the other team.  I took the team off the pitch and we sat in the shade along the St. Gerard's school building. I told the girls they were a good team and it was time to start playing like it.  ...  there was a collective look on the players faces ... I'm not quite sure how to describe it.  I recall looking over my shoulder because I thought something might be seriously wrong. I thought back over what I just said to ascertain if I had somehow been out of line in my speech. I finally asked what was wrong and Sarah spoke up. Of course, it would be Sarah.  She is one of my all-time favorite players. A royal pain in the butt and her own worst enemy, but nonetheless one of my all-time favorites and likely in part because of her response that day.  "No one has ever told us we are a good team."   I was incredulous.  I know my mouth gaped open and I asked "What?!"  Sarah responded with "You're the first coach to ever tell us we are a good team." As I looked around at the girls I saw heads nodding in agreement, but there was something else visible as well.  There was a physical transformation and a changing of attitude happening right before my eyes.  In 60 seconds we changed the culture of the program.  I gave them my belief, my confidence in them and they knew I was sincere. One of the truly unforgettable moments in my coaching career.

The last memory I will share today is actually a product of the saddest experience I have ever had in sports.  A good friend and volunteer assistant to me committed suicide in mid-season. It happened on a Friday night.  I spent much of that night with Justin's family and especially his son, Kaleb who was on our team. The next day Lance and I took Kaleb with us to a tournament in Glandorf.  Kaleb wanted to be with us and it seemed like the thing to do.  Scott Bentz was the coach for the team Lance was guest playing for and when he learned of the circumstances he graciously allowed Kaleb to come along and play that day as well.  The next day our own team was scheduled to play the ISC Storm in Botkins, Ohio and I just didn't know if Kaleb and his family would be up for it. I called to warn the ISC Storm coach, Terry Paulus, of what we were dealing with and he graciously said he would go along with whatever we thought would be best.  We decided to go ahead and play that Sunday.  The sun shone through cloudy skies but there was a bitterly cold wind blowing.  We scored first and I began to think of how good it would be to win that day. The Storm tied the game late and, oh, I don't know ... the result just didn't seem to matter much at all.  Unbeknownst to me, Terry and the parents from the ISC Storm team had taken up a collection for Kaleb and his family.  Now, the first time I ever spoke with Terry Paulus was the day before when I informed him of the tragedy that had struck our team.  I didn't know the guy from Adam. It wasn't just a few bucks they collected either. It was a sizeable amount given to complete strangers. ... now good friends. Both Kaleb and Lance have guest played for Terry and the ISC Storm on numerous occasions.  This is of course a bitter sweet memory, but Terry Paulus and the ISC Storm made a lasting impression on us that day and provided a memory that will last a lifetime. The money, while a wonderful gesture, is not the memory though.  The memory is of others in the family of soccer stepping in to do what they could when it was most needed..  Scott, Terry, all the kids who played in those games that weekend let Kaleb know they had his back and were there to help as they could.  Can you imagine having over a hundred people, many whom you never knew before that weekend embracing you with their love?  That's a pretty special memory, in my book

Communication and Relationships - The Art and Science of Coaching

Back in my college days I took a couple of courses on coaching.  The "professors" were basketball and football coaches.  Both courses were largely anecdotal with a fair smattering of logistical considerations thrown in. I'm not sure how much I actually learned about coaching, but they were fun classes.

Soccer is one sport that actually promotes coaching education through the USSF and NSCAA as well as a few smaller organizations.  Even so, many people in our area are given a whistle, clipboard and roster of players then declared a coach as is the standard in most sports.

Even within the soccer family the quality of education provided and required is a bit murky.  The USSF largely tests ones knowledge to an extent if you do not know what you are doing the only real benefit to be gained from some of their courses is the re-verse engineering of them so that you might pass on your second try.  The NSCAA does a much better job of teaching the art and science of coaching but in no way, shape or form provides an extensively inclusive education.

While the two organizations are friendly rivals competing for your dollars they are also complimentary in the sense many coaches take the NSCAA courses as preparatory work for the USSF courses.  For all I know, the two organizations may be in cahoots with one another?

The fact remains, if you wish to coach at the upper levels of the game - college or professional - one must have passed the USSF "A" licensure course or a foreign equivalent.  There is not another major sport that requires such a license to coach.  In sports like baseball, football, basketball and hockey the "license" a coach obtains is from experience and success.  If your teams are successful, your experience as their coach is deemed proof of your ability to coach.

That leaves many people to stumble upon the art and sciences of coaching. Playing experience becomes a factor, but the most important aspect of learning to coach will be those you learn the game from - your coaching mentors.  When it comes to soccer, for me this is Graham Ramsay and Ken White.  I learned the "do's" of coaching from these gentlemen.  I have learned what not to do from the school of hard knocks - my own mistakes and those of people who have coached me or my sons. 

Becoming a student of the game is something I have written often about, but as I type today I think a better description of that process would to become a student of coaching and a student of the game. Even in this context the single most important thing to recognize is the relationship aspect of coaching.  Building the coach / player relationship is the very foundation of coaching. 

Over the years I have certainly learned more about soccer.  I know far more about each component of the game - technique, tactics, physical and psychological - then I ever dreamed existed when I started out as coach of an undefeated U6 team 20+ years ago.  I've learned even more about relationships - how to build and maintain them - and this has been the enduring life lesson soccer has taught me. 

It's not all been positive though.  I recently wrote a letter of recommendation for a coaching candidate and closed it by offering the highest form of endorsement I have - I would not only allow, but welcome the opportunity for my children to play for the candidate.  There are very few people who receive that endorsement from me.  For example, my wife and I allowed our sons to play for the local high school coaches even though we did not welcome their opportunity to do so with open arms.  We recognized the coaches as trustworthy men even if we did not always appreciate or respect their coaching methodology. More specifically we did not appreciate the lack of quality in the coach / player relationships.

Going through the college selection and recruiting process with your youngest son the considerations are finding a school Lance likes that offers the degree he seeks and has a coaching staff he connects with.  Trust me, that is a tall order.  Lots of good schools. Many offer the course of study he wants to pursue. Several have soccer programs with coaches who are expressing interest. Do any of them meet his expectations in all three areas?

As I contemplate this, I cannot help but wonder how many parents approach youth soccer or youth sports in general in this manner?  I know there were youth coaches I did not want anywhere near my sons.  We either avoided them or in the one instance with Lance we pulled him out of the program to avoid his exposure to her "coaching."

I know there are some who do not wish to play for me.  I understand that.  With me, I do not play favorites. You might believe you are the best player around, but if you expect special considerations you might as well go elsewhere.   Not happening in my program.   A classic example of this was a player named Kelly.  Kelly and her parents had the perception she was the best player the program had ever produced and somehow based this and her value / worth as a player on Kelly scoring a great preponderance of the teams goals.  When I introduced a system of play with balanced scoring, they thought Kelly's soccer playing world had come to an end even as the program enjoyed its most successful seasons ever on the field.  I understood this even as I never understood this.

We are speaking to the "art" of coaching in the sense that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Kelly and her parents never really challenged the science behind my coaching.  They readily admitted that I knew the game as well as anyone they had encountered, they just didn't appreciate how I applied that  knowledge when it came to Kelly.  Their contention was I held Kelly back even as the team was wildly successful.  The disconnect was on a relationship level. 

The art and science of coaching are tied together by the relationship bond between coach and players.  Sometimes I feel salesmanship is one of the most important aspects of coaching. Being able to sell players (and their families) on the programs goals and ideals is crucial to achieving "buy-in" which in turn is the single most important determining factor in a teams success.  Of course, we are talking about communication.  The players, the team must be receptive to what the coach is selling and effective communication is the cornerstone for success in this area.

If a team does not buy into the coach's program -  his formation and system of play, his expectations for standard of conduct -  it's going to be a long season marked by underachievement and discontent... even if the team happens to be winning.  A team that buys-in tends to be a happy team even when the on-field results are not as good as they might be.  The perception that they are improving each time they step on the field, that the process is working, can cover for a lot of disappointment and frustration. Again, we address not only the art and science of coaching but the importance of building relationships.  Coach / player relationships.  Effective communication. 

What about player / player relationships?  Team Chemistry.  Team Bonding.  This too is very important and within the purview of the coach.  It's not about fostering an environment in which everyone loves one another. Its all about building trust and respect within the team setting.  It's all about individuals being able to effectively communicate with one another and trust what is being communicated to each other.

Relationships. 

Trust is the glue of life, the most essential ingredient in effective communication. Trust is the foundational principle that holds all relationships together.  The beauty of art will always be in the eyes of the beholder and the science of the game will always hold certain truths therefore the difference maker from a coaching perspective is found in relationships.  Coach / player and player / player relationships.  Effective Communication.  Trust and Respect.

Congratulations! And Good Luck!

Congratulations!  to the Ft. Jennings Musketeers!  I saw this team early in the season and recognized it had some very talented players.  They struggled a bit when I saw them though. They obviously persevered and things fell into place for them as they made a deep tournament run. Congratulations on a fine season!


Congratulations! to the Celina Bulldogs.  There is no doubt in my mind the Bulldogs were the best boys team in our area from the end of September on.  Two things that made a difference for this team were impressive quality depth and putting their best players, Moeder and Hoying, in space to play in.  This was a really good team.  It took a perennial power like Bay Village Bay to knock them out of the tournament. Extremely well done Celina.  Congratulations on a great season!

Congratulations! to the Bath Wildkittens for advancing to the OHSAA State Semi-Finals! The #7 Wildkittens will play Akron Archbishop Hoban (15--4-2) on Tuesday at 7:00 pm at a site yet to be announced. They will have their work cut out for them as coaching colleagues in the Akron area tell me Hoban is a very good side. I think Bath will be up to the task... and certainly hope so.  I have long thought it would be a girls side that eventually breaks through and gets to a OHSAA State Finals match. 

Good Luck Bath Wildkittens!

 

Congratulations! to the Ottawa-Glandorf Titans for advancing to the OHSAA State Semi-Finals!  The #4 Titans (19-1-1) will square off against #6  Elyria Catholic (15-1-4) on Tuesday at 7:00 pm at a site yet to be announced. This should be a tremendous match and I am greatly looking forward to watching it. In my opinion, Western Buckeye League Champions have an excellent chance to advance but it definitely will not be easy.

 

Good Luck Ottawa-Glandorf Titans!

 

Soccer Memories - Grant

I have been fortunate enough to spend 20 years around a game that I love as a player, referee, and coach and I thank God for the opportunity, my parents for their support, and all of the friends I’ve made along the way.  These are a few of my favorite soccer memories from those experiences.

I was fortunate enough to play on a club team where we would travel to Dayton to play about half of our games. We used walkie talkies to stay in contact while traveling since this was before cell phones. Being a group of 14 year old boys we joked around a lot on our trips. One time we passed a police cruiser on the highway. One of my teammates parent’s was speeding and got pulled over. My teammate Nick who had a walkie talkie comes over the air “Mayday Mayday I got a bogie on me!” The entire team was laughing. To this day I still joke with my family about it.

During my sophomore year of high school I took most of our free kicks in the attacking half of the field. At an away game against one of our rivals there was a free kick about 35 yards out that I took. I took the kick and my intention was to put it about the 6 yard box so it could be headed on goal. I miss hit the ball and it went farther than I intended but with where the kick was on the field it drifted over the keeper’s hands into the upper left corner for the goal. It’s really the only goal that I remember scoring mainly because it seemed like the ball just hung in the air forever and at the last moment dipped perfectly.

From the referee side there are too many to list here. I was privileged to referee regional and national finals , multiple USL Pro games and an MLS scrimmage.  Many of these memories are so great because they were with great people. I would like to mention Dan Fennema in particular because we traveled together a lot and he was a great mentor to me. On the field my favorite memories actually came before a game. I was refereeing an adult amateur game between two Hispanic teams who had gotten into a fight the last time they played. As we were getting ready for the coin toss the captains were speaking Spanish to each other. I unfortunately do not know Spanish so my response was to start speaking German to them and do the coin toss through hand motions. At the end the captains said good luck to each other, they shook my hand and said good luck to which I just smiled and replied good luck back to them, all of this in clear English. The rest of the game we communicated to each other in English and the game was almost perfect.

My coaching career has been rather short thus far but my favorite memory so far came at the end of the year soccer tournament with my U9 team in the Spring of 2014. The boys had been playing well and improving in the weeks leading up to the tournament but couldn’t get over the hump to win. Then everything clicked in their first game. They went on to win the tournament and were so happy with that after a season of being so close. The winning is not what I remember however. I remember that the boys played great defense and only allowed 3 goals in 4 games, had multiple bangoo goals, and the least athletic player on the team who had been working so hard on his skills did a double scissors move that left the defender wondering what had happened.

Some other things that stand out to me as I reflect are getting up at 4:00 AM to watch the Korea/Japan World Cup. Spending summer afternoons with Graham Ramsey and my father watching coaching videos and talking about the game, hearing an entire complex erupt with cheers when Donovan scored the World Cup goal. These are just a few of my favorite memories however what I enjoy the most about the beautiful game is all of the wonderful people I have met and shared stories and laughs with.