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Tentative Spring 2009 Schedule
March 15: home game vs. North Hunterdon
March 22: away game vs. Bloomfield
March 29-30: Ft Dix tournament
April 5: home game vs. Thistle
April 18: Monroe tournament (not sure about that yet)
April 19: away game vs. Chatham
April 26: away game vs. North Hunterdon
May 3: home game vs. Bloomfield
May 10: away game vs. Sayreville
May 17: away game vs. Thistle
May 23-24: Hopewell Valley Memorial Tournament
May 30-31: West Windsor Sunburst tournament
in addition, we'll need to add two home games (Chatham and Sayreville), and might or might not play in East Windsor's tournament on May 10.
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The Well-Adjusted Youth Soccer Coach...
1.Realizing that young players have many years of soccer in front of them, emphasis is placed on development over winning
a.gives players chances to learn to play multiple positions
b.gives ample playing time to all players that show an eagerness to learn and aptitude for the game, not simply to more athletic kids that give the team its best chance of winning a particular game
c. develops an enjoyment for physical activity and hard work, not simply an enjoyment for winning
2.Training sessions
a.Drills are fun yet challenging, and tend to utilize many players at the same time
b.Spends very little time teaching set pieces (throw-ins, corner kicks)and more time teaching the total game.
c.Players get in a lot of running during drills where they also touch the ball; conditioning is not done separately as “laps” or “suicides”
d.Coach encourages kids not to simply kick ball out of bounds or over the heads of the opposing defenders, but instead to come up with more creative alternatives such as looking for ways to both possess the ball while also attacking weak parts of the defense
e.Game plan for the next game is introduced carefully and comprehensively during the weekly training sessions
3.Game day
a.Coach has very few pre-game instructions, because game plan has already been put into place during training sessions.
b.Coach and assistants speak with one voice
c.Other than repositioning players that are away from the ball, coach rarely instructs players that are on the field, giving them an opportunity to make decisions and to be creative
4.Punishment
a.A player is not removed from a game immediately after a mistake. Mistakes are also not discussed as soon as player leaves field, but after a bit of down-time. After discussing mistake, player re-enters field of play.
b.coach rarely uses running as a punishment. Soccer players are supposed to like to run.
c. generally flexible about players missing practice due to other conflicts.
5.Discussions
a. Coach does not simply lecture. Before coach makes a complicated point, he first asks players what they already understand, and coach develops a discussion from there.
b. Coach is interested in what players are learning. So, he asks them.
6.Coach is honest with players
a.Coach will critique a strong player if he plays incorrectly, and makes suggestions about how a weaker player can improve his game. When player improves, coach then plays him more.
7. Parental interactions
a.Engages all parents on any topic, even the tricky issue of playing time
8. Might not win all the time. But win or lose, coach conveys a love for well-played soccer. Players tend to stay with program longer
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... Versus The Insecure Youth Soccer Coach
1. Emphasis placed only on winning
a.players play only one position, and some players rarely get into games at all.
b.only the strongest and fastest play, not less athletic players with stronger aptitudes
2. Training sessions
a.drills tend to involve long lines, with few kids engaged and most standing around
b.emphasis on set pieces that lead to scoring, as opposed to teaching the total game
c.drills that lead to conditioning but not to skills, such as laps and suicides, are emphasized
d.tactics are overly simple because players are encouraged to give up possession. Defenders are told to kick the ball out of bounds whenever possible, and mids are told to put the ball over the defense so that forwards can run onto the ball.
e.Game plans are seldom part of training. Rather, training is often spent going over things that the team did poorly in a previous game.
3. Game day
a. Game plan might be introduced 30 minutes prior to the game, as a long set of instructions on topics not covered during previous training sessions.
b. Assistant coaches often contribute a completely different set of instructions, which overloads the players
c. Coach yells at players that are on ball, and seems to think that he can actually impact the game by yelling real-time instructions.
4. Coach is punitive
a. player is removed immediately after a mistake, chastised, and often does not re-enter the game.
b. players see running as a punishment and strive to avoid it.
b. often takes playing time away from weaker players for missing practices, but never takes playing time away from stronger players.
5. Coach lectures
a. Lectures are often about sacrifices that players are not making to win games.
b. coach tries to turn a kids game serious
6. Coach patronizes players
a. Weaker players are usually just told “nice job” even when mistakes are made, and are told that they’ll get a "chance” that never actually materializes
b. No critiquing of a strong player for fear of losing him to another program.
7. Parental interactions
a. averse to discussing concerns of parents, particularly playing time or position concerns.
8. Coach conveys only a love for winning. High rate of player attrition.
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Fall 2008 Report
record: 4-5-1 (league), 5-13-2 (overall)
Goals For: 34
Goals against: 49
Overall, the Avalanche showed vast improvement. After a 1-5 start, they put together a 4-game unbeaten streak, and played particularly well against the best teams in the flight.
The team performed best on large fields, where the kids spread out very well, and less well on smaller pitches, where there's a lot more congestion. That may have contributed to the weak (1-8-1) tournament performance by the team, given that tournaments are often played on the smaller fields.
A key to the turnaround was better defense. After surrendering about 25 goals in first five games, the Avalanche gave up only two goals over last four games, including a pair of shutouts.
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2008 Spring Season report
June 20, 2008 --
2008 spring record: 3 wins, 3 losses, 3 ties (league); 5-7-5 (overall)
Goals for: 37; goals against: 34
Notable accomplishment: every player on Avalanche scored during the spring season, including our two guest players. Congratulations!
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2007 Fall Record
Record: 5-13-2 overall, 0-8-2 in league play.
Goals for: 40, Goals against 67. In league play: goals for: 13, goals against: 50
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2007 spring season
Including tournaments, the Avalanche had 7 wins, 6 losses and two ties. They were 4-3-1 in league play.
The Avalanche scored 31 goals, and allowed 42.
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Who says what?
"Wide and long"
"We work on things that begin with C. Can anyone tell me what those are?"
"Go, Ryan!"
"You're usually brilliant, but you're just rubbish today"
"Two touch! two-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o touch!"
"Guys, I guarantee that we won't do well without a goalie. Nobody wants to play in goal?"
"Shorten the field!"
"Eyes, guys! Eyes!"
"Hahnd-boll! That's a hahnd-boll!"
"That's not a handball today. Maybe next game, but not today."
"Defenders have to be the smartest players on a soccer field."
"Even a blind squirrel can sometimes find a nut."
"Unlucky"
"That's just unfortunate"
"If the milk is spilled, somebody has to clean it up"
"The first line of offense is the goalie. The first line of defense are the forwards."
"Did you see the Chelsea match against Arsenal? You didn't? Ah, you missed a great game. Let me tell you about it..."
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Futsal final report
March 5, 2007 --
The Avalanche finished the futsal season with a record of 3-5-2. Their record did not reflect their high quality of play. In fact, the players should think seriously about firing Riley's father, who deliberately scheduled the toughest futsal opponents.
Highlights included a victory over a top U10 girls team, and a draw against against a top U11 girls team. Also, every player scored at least one goal, and every player had an assist.
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Fall record
November 26, 2006 --
League games: 5 wins, 3 losses, 1 tie. This record will keep the Avalanche in Flight 1 this spring
Tournament games: 4 wins, 3 losses, 1 tie. The Avalanche played four tournament doubleheaders, finishing 4-0 in first games and 0-3-1 in second games.
Overall record: 9 wins, 6 losses and 2 ties
Goals for, 44; goals against, 28
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That's number eleven!
November 26, 2006 --
Every Avalanche player has now scored at least one goal, which is a first for Coach Ken's teams. One reason is probably that the passing has really improved. Each player also now has at least one assist.
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