Back again !
After 3 games in 3 days during our visit to Vermont and a rare off day where I was able to get away from soccer for a brief moment, I am back for our final week of preseason before the players start school. The Stingers travelled to the Burlington Vermont area for 3 games and we returned with our first win and 2 hard fought losses (but still losses). Preseason games aren't about winning because if it was, we would simply schedule games against opponents we know for sure we can beat (if there is such a thing) and pad our record in order to look good. Point of fact, last year in our 7 preseason games, we won 3, tied 3 and lost only one.... but yet only managed 1 win and 2 ties in the games that counted , the regular season. In fact in looking back over past year's results, in the two years we had our best results during the regular season, 2004 (8 wins, 3 losses and 3 ties) and 2005 (8 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie ) we actually didn't win a single game during either of those preseasons (pretty much even split between losses and ties). You might actually want to track down statistics from recent proffesional teams and see how they have done in preseason vs. how they have faired in regular season, you might be surprised at the outcomes. So all that to say, that preseason is about getting the team ready, preparing the individuals and the team as a whole to face the opponents during the regular season when wins, losses and ties actually count in the standings and are the measure of where you fit within you league. Sometimes you learn much much more playing against tougher, more experienced competition, forcing a team to get out of their comfort zone and push themselves to improve, than playing weaker teams where things come too easy and bad habits become the norm.... think of it like being thrown in the water and being told "learn to swim or drown" ok maybe a little extreme but I think you get the image. However, losing and winning are both contagious and you certainly want to avoid getting used to and accepting the first and want to learn to expect and enjoy the second. This year, with so many younger players many of whom are experiencing university level soccer for the first time, force feeding them some intense, high quality games so that they have to get up to par quickly might be drastic but might also be just what is needed. Our 3 games in Vermont provided in my opinion just what we needed in order to evaluate what our team is capable of but also show our players what is needed for us to be succesful and compete at the level required. We started off with a 5-1 win against Norwich University. Are they a great team, a very good team, even a good team ???? Hard to tell but I think the score isn't just about their quality but about us being able to generate scoring chances and capitalize on a number of them. Good teams are able to beat the teams they are supposed to beat and beat them by a score that indicates their respective levels of play and then find ways to beat teams that they might be even with or that are slightly better than them. I think we did that first part quite well in our first game, now we have to work on the second part...finding ways to win, when the going gets tough. Both our 2nd and 3rd games of the trip mirrored each other fairly closely. Good starts but giving up a an early goal to put us behind, some erratic play followed by a regain of confidence and some very determined play...followed by a late back breaking goal. Friday saw us loose 3-1 to St Michael's in a game that could have ended differently. A big "hat's off" to 4th year player Alex Eskanazi who stepped into goal to replace injured goalie Fanny B. and gave us a chance to get a result. We gave up two goals in the first half on two mental mistakes that led to break aways. We managed to pull one back after convering on a penatly kick (Alli Burgess) and managed to put sustained pressure on the opponents as we looked for a tying goal. We actually had two golden chances that if we expect to do well have to be finished, only to give up a 3rd goal with a little over 10 minutes remaining as we had pushed players forward. Saturday, the story is a little different but the result similar. We gave goals early (3rd minute) and late (90 minute) and between had a panicky first 30 minutes only to slowly settle down and find our game. For large parts of the second half I venture to say we were the better team on the field but just couldn't find a way to put the ball past the opposing goalie. I give full credit to all the team for determination and effort, now the job of the coaches is to fix the mistakes we are making and help our players have the confidence to bury the chances when they arrive. I start week 3 of training confident and excited about what is possible. To quote Fanny in her guest post, there is a special vibe around this group and I think we can really only get better as we grow as a team. This week, 3 practices, two games (Dawson and Middlebury) 3 days off during the long weekend and get ready for the season !
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Hi There, well the experiment I tried this summer is back. I will once again have guest blogging on my site although now it will be members of my Stingers soccer team. Today's guest, Fanny Berthiaume, team captain, 4th year player, academic all canadian and so much more but enough..... take it away Fanny
Well first of all, thanks Jorge for the nice introduction! Today was the first day of our pre-season trip to Vermont, kicking off our 3 games streak playing Norwich University. We pocketed a 5-1 win, and got an impressive 20+ shots on net. Norwich might not have been an amazing team, but after playing with Concordia for 4 years, I can honestly say it felt great to see this team create such a massive offensive. To see this team string so many passes together, and to watch us create so many dangerous opportunities up front, that makes me feel so much more confident about the potential this team has to move up and forward. I'm not the most tactical player, nor am I the best reference when it comes to game plans and strategies...So I will leave that for Jorge and others to comment on. However, having been here for quite some time now, and having met and played with many different groups of players, I have got to say I am really happy about the people we have here this year. There's just a really good vibe about this group. I haven't felt this excited and optimistic about our season in a long time. Not only do we have refreshing talent, vision and skill, but we have great people, and great individuals first and foremost. I am really looking forward to seeing what will come out of the next 2 games here in Vermont, and for the next couple of weeks leading up to our regular season! Fanny The first week of the fall 2009 season has come and gone. Our team is made and after 5 practices and 2 pre-season games, the team is showing some great potential but unfortunately we started with 2 losses against Ryerson.
While the results during pre-season aren't as important as implementing the style of play and team tactics, you hate to get on a roll where you start to lose games and it becomes acceptable under the guise that it is just pre-season. Winning is contagious and a team has to learn how to win and hopefully get somewhat addicted and used to winning so that when they are in a tough game, habits get in and you are able to put teams away. In terms of this weekend's games vs. Ryerson, I would say that the results themselves do not reflect the quality of play shown by the team however bottom line, is we made mistakes for which we were punished in the scoreboard and conversely when we had our chances, we were unable to take advantage. There was significant improvement in the quality of play from Saturday to Sunday as we generated much more offensive push and were able to challenge Ryerson's penalty area. The ball possesion was much more cohesive and the attempt to get balls into dangerous areas was better... now it becomes a question on learning to finish, of getting players with the mindset of putting away the chances and have that street soccer mentality of attacking the opposition net in the last 1/3 of the field. We can find excuses or reasons to validate why we lost but I prefer to focus on finding the solutions that will simply make us a better team. I think the foundation is there of which to build and install a style of play that will make us competitive this fall but also start to lay ground work to make us VERY competitive in future years. This week .... only one practice Tuesday and then off to Vermont for 3 games in 3 days. Hopefully all minor injuries will be healed and the team will be rested and slightly sharper with a lighter pratice load so we can start to post some positive results. The 2009 Stingers women's soccer season is underway ! Yup, we got started last night with our oreintation meeting, fitness testing and a short practice. A small group of athletes have come together this year which will limit the cuts required BUT will allow us to start putting certain plans in place quite quickly. It has been a somewhat weird off-season with a number of potential returnees choosing not to return added to a few other players not back for personal reasons or injury.
Safe to say that this year's success will ride on the backs of our returning core but will also depend on a certain amount of 1st year players stepping up and making an impact quickly. These first days are more about observation and evaluation than about actually coaching although as coaches we never waste a moment to send a message or correct a glaring error when there is one. We continue to train throughout the week and should name the final roster by end of Thursday's session. However this year, very possible we leave a roster spot open for a late arrival at school that might be able to help us. Preseason games start Saturday and Sunday as we host a back to back against Ryerson and my buddy Peyvand. and they are off....... Well we are now less than a week away from the start of training camp and I find myself quite excited at the prospect of getting going. I think my experience this summer at the FISU games has fueled my passion to get back on the field compared to other summers where I was basically away from soccer from end March through the summer. Being involved in practices and games over the summer and rediscovering those butterflies and anxious moments just before the start of a game has really made me approach this fall's season with a different perspective than I have probably had in recent years. Additionaly, I think watching a group of players who barely knew each other come together and become a strong knit team in just 3 short weeks, has opened my eyes to the possibilities of what can be built at Concordia.
I think that all the above being true, I am also keen about this fall's season because of the potential that I think some of our new players might be able to add to the team. Of course we have the 4 top recruits that signed letters of intent, but beyond them, we have a # of other incoming players that I think might be able to make an impact right away this season not to mention grow with the soccer program for the next few years. A new season brings a fresh start and a wide range of possibilities and while I prefer not to make any assurances about where we will end up in terms of positioning in our league or wins and losses, I can't help shake the feeling that this fall's season could be something special... the kind of season that could kick start a succesful run over the next few years. I think we will see the foundation for a group of players that can grow together and ironically, while we are just days away from getting started for 2009, I have already gotten quite a bit of interest for potential 2010 players... more advance interest than in the past with a few of these potential players planning to visit Concordia during training camp. I am hoping that my resdiscovered passion and enthousiasm will rub off on the players and that they will feed off of this to push themselves to play to their potential ... because when a team works hard, plays hard and believes in what they can achieve, then much is possible. It all starts Monday and I will attempt to post regularly throughout training camp |
AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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