BOCA     INTERREGIONALS

 

1988’S

 

NOVEMBER   22-29   2003

 

 

COACHING STAFF:  RICHARD ILSLEY

                           MICHELLE SALMON

                           NANCY FELDMAN

 

ADMINSITRATOR:   CHARLOTTE MORAN

 

Saturday, November 22

Arrival day for most of the players.  Short meeting at night to lay out the general schedule for the rest of the week and to reacquaint the players with each other and the staff.

 

 

Sunday, November 23rd

Early breakfast and out to the field for a training session..

The training session dealt with maintaining possession and keeping some type of shape around the ball. We worked with numbers up and moving the ball from zone to zone. We next moved to even numbers and gave points to the number of passes completed. Lastly we went directional again and awarded points for possession passes and goals.

The session was a feeling out process for us with the team. We had to integrate six new players into the team that were not with us in Austin. Even though we have picked them in July we still had to become more familiar with their play.

 

 

Monday, November 24th

The next session involved defending. We reviewed footwork, channeling and jockeying for position.

2v2  pressure/cover to endline

3v3  pressure/cover/balance---angle of support,etc

4v4 to endline

7v7 ½ field to goal

We also reviewed restarts. Defending against and taking the kick.

The girls are starting to come together and we are beginning to get a sense of where they might be able to play effectively within this group.

 

 

Saturday, November 29th

 

Region 1 vs.  Region 11                       (0-0)

 

4-4-2

 

 

                                                Naeher

                                                Henderson 40th

 

            Trusty              Eagan               DeMaio Moore,N

                                                                                    Bowers

 

            Bowers Edwards           Klingenberg      Johnston

            Nichols40th      Stannard40th                           Roberts44th

 

                                    Moore, A          Brynes

                                    Johnson            Swaim

 

Again we struggled to finish. Defensively we held them to a few opportunities and played better position soccer. We challenged hard for air balls. The commitment was definitely there throughout the game and the players gave full effort.

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, November 25th

Region 1 vs.  Region  1V         (0-0)

 

Played in a 4-4-2 formation

 

 

                                                Naeher

 

            Moore               DeMaio Eagan               Trusty

 

            Roberts            Stannard          Klingenberg      Bowers

            Riley 14th          Edwards 40th                            Nichols40th

            Johnston 65th

 

                                    Byrnes              Swaim

                                    Johnson 40th    Moore,A 40th

 

 

 

Although we had the better opportunities we were unable to finish. We need to be able to switch the point of attack more effectively. We have a tendency to attack one side of the field and ignore other opportunities. We bring the ball to the middle but do no use that moment to continue spreading the play and attacking weak side or into the gaps we have created.

We had some trouble with defensive marking on restarts. We need to more aggressive in moving to the ball and clearing the ball. They were challenged at half time by our staff to win more balls in the air and to challenge earlier and more aggressively in 1v1 situations.

We did raise the level of out game in this regard which shows that the players are capable of responding to challenges. The tie was a disappointment in the sense that we played well enough to win but were unable to capitalize on our opportunities.

                                                           

Wednesday, November 26th

The bulk of the training session was given over to Jeff Pill. It consisted of ACL prevention warm-up. Although the session was excellent I think some of the players over did some of the stretches. They were very sore the next day and took extra time to get themselves loose for the game. The players need to be cautioned to take care in how they stretch and make sure they are doing it properly.

We spent the remaining time work on finishing runs in the box. We stressed types of runs and where we should be looking to serve the ball.

 

Thursday, November 27th

Region  1  vs   Region  111          (3-3)

 

4-4-2

 

 

                                    Henderson

 

Moore,N           Eagan               DeMaio             Trusty

Bowers38th

 

Moore,A           Klingenberg      Stannard                      Riley

Johnston40th   Edwards           Roberts40th                 Nichols40th

 

                        Johnson,J        Byrnes

                        Swaim 54th

 

Half time score  1-1

Stannard---unasssisted---direct kick

 

Second half

Johnson----assist----- Katie Johnston

Byrnes------assist----Becky Edwards

 

The encouraging part of the game was that were able to score three times. We worked very hard in the final third and made much better decisions with and without the ball. The players looked for each other and made some fine penetrating passes. We certainly had the better of the play until the final 8-11 minutes of the game. Then we seemed to lose our concentration and allowed some very weak goals. We had been attacking well and forgot to risk less and defend more. I think the mentality of the players was at fault here. We need to be more aware of the conditions of the game and adjust to the situation.

            We needed to have better game management. Understand the score, time, and the attacking posture of the other team. Also lacking, surprisingly, was the absence of on field leader. We really needed for someone to step up and take charge and organize the team. We needed someone to gather everyone and harness the hard effort that was being expended. A really good effort was wasted and we really had to settle for a tie.

 

Friday, November 28th

 

Training: Defensive shadow training. We reviewed the 1v1 responsibility of each individual player. We stressed getting into passing lanes, speed of closing  a player down, staying between player and the goal, and recovery runs when beaten. We noticed that we were taking poor angles on recovery runs and were unable to get goal side to defend with any consistency. Part of the problem is that these players seldom play against others that are as quick as they are. Therefore, they rely on their speed to get back to the ball. At this level speed is about equal and positioning becomes paramount. Much improvement was shown during the session as these girls are very quick studies.

We finished the session with some finishing exercises stressing technique and accuracy over velocity. Getting the ball on frame and to the proper corner was emphasized.                                  

Summary

 

Game management: the players must be able to understand the demands of the game as it relates to time, score, field conditions, etc. Players must be tactically aware to these situations so that they can adapt their play to these demands.

 

Fitness: Level has definitely improved and we need to re-enforce the importance of maintaining this level of fitness for all events. The session with Jeff Pill was very instructional and probably should be extended to all members of the staff. Great strides have been made in this area and we need to continue to push this element of our program.

 

Tactically we need improvement in the following areas:

Timing of runs and delivery of passes, clearing space, and recycling of runs.

More involvement of the backs in joining the attack. Backs must learn when and how to make runs. They must understand formations and who should be open to join attacks

 

Play in the final 1/3. Speaking for this tournament alone, we continually wasted chances because of poor pass selection and runs off the ball.

 

Zonal defending needs some focus. Important factors are compactness, reading cues, passing players on, reading when to double the ball, etc.

 

Obviously not all these areas can be dealt with in the limited time that we have with the players. We have to find some way for these lessons to be taught in other domains other than ours.