Extreme Family,
While we are very disappointed by the result on Saturday, you have to give credit to Odyssey South for taking the initiative and and playing aggressively. In the end they wore us down and the 6-0 score certainly flattered them I think (to put that into perspective, they also hammered Manteca FC in a NorCal Premier League match 5-1 later that day).
It was always going to be a challenge to drive the 3 hours to Visalia and then be expected to come out of the traps flying, but the girls did a good job of handling the pressure and even proved to be on even footing with Odyssey for the first 25 minutes. They kept knocking at the door and eventually we collapsed. The third goal was particularly deflating and I am a little disappointed we didn't respond better. Instead of rising to the challenge and rolling up our sleeves, the girls conceded a little bit. This is something that we will work to improve in the coming months.
Looking back, it is easy to see how missing Katie and Cookie not only hurt our defensive teamwork, but also limited our options going forward as all too many times our attacks hit a wall in the Odyssey half. We lacked a variety in our attack, and while we troubled them early with our ability to pass out of trouble and find the space behind the defense, we were unable to sustain or capitalize on our better moments.
Despite the result, I still believe in this team's potential. We are playing catch-up in areas of aggression and fitness, but lead in playing patterns and passing and possession ideas.
Soccer progress is a marathon not a sprint.We will get there as a team. If the girls can keep focusing on their improvements and set good goals for themselves, this group can do it.
Results like this must bring motivation to make yourself better.
Soccer Problems to work on:
- Being aggressive to the ball. Anticipating the play on both Offense and Defense. This take time to learn. We worked on it on Tuesday, but when you play a team with more experience it is difficult.
- Playing out of pressure. Our best moments were when we linked from the back to front with our passing finding the open players. But we still struggle with teams that put us under pressure. This too takes time and commitment to improve. We must strive to make our training session even more competitive to simulate match pressures.
- Attacking options. Sometimes we get too stuck in one soccer idea. We will work to bring more effective variety to our attack.
- 1v1 defending / group defending. Specifically choosing the right moment to attempt a tackle, how to cover a pressuring teammate, and using communication as a organizing tool to help you defend.
- Fitness. We were worn down by superior athletes more then superior soccer ideas.
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