Niagara College Women's Soccer - 2013 season reflection

From the first day of fitness training in March 2013, I was glad I returned to coach the Niagara College Knights Varsity Women's Soccer Team.

The in-season phase of our program ended with a last minute 2-1 loss to Lambton College on October 6 at our home field.

I was coach of the women's program from 2008-2010 then left.  I returned to the college in 2012 to coach the men, then took on both teams this past season.

We had a job to do. The team had 4 points and 3 goals combined over the previous 2 seasons.  Their combined goal differential was -64.  They had credible coaches during that time that I respect,  so I cannot speculate as to what happened.  But I did watch most of their games last season.

My first call was to Kristin Campbell, one of the assistants with us when I coached last time.  Kristin was our indoor team MVP in 2009 and has a good understanding of the game.  She is a very active 12-month player on the women's soccer scene.  She is just as passionate as a coach as she was as a player.

Gary Condon has been the assistant coach for this program for the last two coaches.  Gary has a long soccer resume, a lot of coaching experience on the women's side and a former student-athlete himself while at University. 

The importance of the Quick, Early and Accurate pass

I've watched a lot of sports at various levels and I like to think I know which players are better than others.

My main experiences have been with soccer, hockey and basketball.  But over the last 3 years I've been introduced to and am enjoying field lacrosse.  This past fall, my son was a member of the University of Guelph Lacrosse team and I watched them play at least ten games plus their tournament on the way to winning a National Championship.  I used my old experiences to help me identify who the strong players were.

I always observe a player's athleticism, speed, "smarts", durability and body language.  But one thing I do appreciate about sports at a high level is how quickly the ball (or puck) moves. 

During my licensing courses with the CSA, our instructors used a term that has always stuck with me - "Quick/Early/Accurate" passing.  It's short enough to insert into your coaching and easy for players to

Turns - your definite sign that a soccer player is "getting it"

I like work on turns with young players, a lot.

Last night, at our U8-U12 weekly session, we saw some shy young players execute turns during games for the first time.  I LOVE IT!

The futsal session we had on the weekend also brought out the necessity of turning in some young players.

The technical part of teaching turns can lead to a lot of exercises at training that keep kids moving with the ball at their foot.  It also works on Agility , Balance and Control (the ABC of physical literacy).

But my main reason for working on turns and demonstrating when they can be used in games is that it is one of those indicators that a player's development is moving in the right direction.

If a player uses a turn to shake off a defender and create space, their 1v1 abilities just jumped a level.

If a player turns back when they determine they can no longer go forward they demonstrate that they

Futsal - the joy of just letting them play

This past weekend, we hosted some teams in our gym at Niagara College to play some futsal.
 
I've always liked futsal and I've always enjoyed training in gyms during the winter months.  I loved the whole idea of a confined area and just letting the kids play and figure it out.  Given the chance, they show you some pretty good stuff.  And being in a confined area, there is no where to hide; if you're on, you're involved.

Playing in a confined area on a hard court naturally brings out athletic, tactical and technical qualities that are required to excel and succeed.  Using a regular soccer ball instead of a futsal ball turns the game into a pinball machine.  The

Developing soccer players in Canada is not cheap.

So Canadians want Canada to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.  Awesome.  Let's do it.  OK now, let's talk about the cost. 

Hey, where did everybody go?

Soccer is a game that can be played by the masses, regardless of gender, physical ability, income or social position, anywhere, anytime, 1v1 up to 30v30, with a ball, can, stuffed bag or whatever else will move if you kick it.  But the environment has to change when it comes time to move a player to the next level.

There has been a lot of talk in Ontario the last 12 months about our new Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) and the proposed costs associated with it.  And this is just an extension of the talk that has always existed about the price tag for private soccer academies.  OPDL is a standards based program introduced in Ontario.  The first season is 2014 and will feature only U13 boys and girls programs at 18 host clubs.  Eventually, this will eliminate our current provincial team system.

There is a painful reality of a more consistent, high level, professional system and that is the reality of
money.  Physical space, equipment, support staff and professional coaching all cost money. 

Around the world, the development system is delivered by professional teams who have made their youth system an