Weekend of Friendlies

This past weekend our U-14s and our U-12s played a series of friendly matches. The U-12s hosted Seacoast United, the Crusaders, PASA FC and FC Stars. The U-14s travelled to the Seacoast complex and played in the Granite State Youth Soccer League sponsored friendlies. In an ironic twist, the U-12s -- who are a group that closed the books on a phenomenal spring season and for whom high hopes have been attached -- played lousy and were run off the pitch by Seacoast 4-0 and FC Stars 6-0, they drew PASA FC 2-2. Ouch! The U-14s -- a group that struggled last spring to generate goals and who, as a result, let lesser rivals progress further in the NH State Cup -- earned some nice wins which should give them a nice boost as the Fall season commences this Labor Day weekend at the Bandits Cup tournament in Fort Devens.

I guess I am not surprised by the U-14s results. The U-14s struggles last spring were more than a bit unlucky. The girls defended well and possessed beautifully. They would have stretches of possession marked by great movement and 4, 5, 6 and 7 link ups. They struggled, however, in the final 18. There did not seem to be a player who wanted to put the ball in the net. In the past, they had relied almost exclusively upon JD a big, strong kid with wonderful athleticism and one of the most powerful ball strikes you will ever see in a sub U-14 player. She left the team last winter to pursue exclusively her true love -- softball. Hard to believe but true!

All kidding aside, JD was a huge presence on the field. She stretched defenses and created opportunity for all of her teammates. She also was a wonderful kid who was unaffected by her talent and was liked and respected by all. Her departure left a hole on the field that I believe those who remained were talented enough to fill -- if they worked hard and grew. What I failed to realize is that JD's departure would seriously undercut the girls' confidence. Soccer is a confidence game and when a player loses confidence their game can shrink to the point that it is unrecognizable. This is what happened last spring. The GSYSL friendlies hopefully mark a turning point in the girls' confidence.

As for the U-12s, what happened this past weekend really surprised me. This group is very special. They are passionately committed to the game. They have worked hard and shown startling steps forward in development. They played extremely well last spring, going undefeated in the Massachusetts Area Premier League Green Division (loosely, the 2d division). As a result of last spring's performance, the girls now sit in MAPLE's Blue Division and will be playing the best teams in Massachusetts which includes the FC Stars who pasted them so badly on Sunday. This suggests that the Fall will not yield results as rosy as last spring.

I am actually more optimistic about the Fall for this group than this past weekend would suggest. There are some very good players in this group. SS is a superb athlete and has shown great ability as a center back. TS is usually one of the great game day players I've ever seen. An absolute "beast" in a challenge and she has the heart of a lion. We get great wing play from KS who is the fastest kid I've seen on any field at this age. I am extremely enthusiastic about JS and EE as our strike partnership but I must acknowledge that their understanding of the game is only a fraction of the girls who held these spots last year -- MH and XC. Their intelligence and hard work should help overcome this problem. If our center mids can improve their fitness and toughness -- which was sorely lacking this past weekend -- their touch and vision should help restore our attack. Finally, the squad has greater depth than it had last year with additions like CS, AZ, AF, etc.

That said, we did lose two very good players -- MH and XC -- and, most galling of all, they went to that FC Stars team that toyed with us so savagely this past weekend. These girls were central to the team and -- depending on who you talked to among their teammates -- they were loved and respected or loathed and respected. Note, whether a girl loved them or hated them, these two were regarded by all as very good players and leaders on the field. Perhaps most important of all, these two had soccer intelligence, awareness if you will, that was second to none. A couple of the girls who remain have the same awareness but only a couple. In their hearts, all of the girls know this and it affected them on Sunday against the FC Stars. Here's hoping the girls rally and put in a better, more characteristic performance at Fort Devens this coming weekend.

Granite FC C.O.E. -- An Introduction

Granite FC Center of Excellence, is a small girls' soccer academy located in New Hampshire, a small state that is universally regarded as very small when it comes to developing soccer players. The C.O.E. will have been around five years -- come 2008 -- and consists of a very dedicated group of players, coaches and parents that, is by and large, striving to achieve the highest standard of play possible for the girls.

Simple enough, right? Well, yes and no. Yes, certain things are simple and wonderful -- our girls' passion for the game and thirst to improve, our coaches dedication, hard work and creativity in developing the girls and the parents' tireless support financially and in terms of their time. No, when it comes to trying something new in the insular and established world of youth soccer in New Hampshire. What is it that they say about the internal politics at colleges and universities -- the reason it is so vicious is that there is so little at stake.

Hence the Avis Experience. Just like Avis, the famous car rental company, we must try harder. We confront a handful of clubs who view soccer players as their property and who, shall we say, are less than happy about the competition for "their" players. Not surprisingly, some of the "institutions" of soccer in the state are influenced by that hostility and are not too interested in extending a helping hand to our endeavor. In many ways, the C.O.E. is the feisty little kid on the block who is scrapping and working hard to be given a chance but is viewed by the bigger kids as a pest to be ignored.

This blog will try to highlight some of the joys and challenges that the C.O.E. has encountered as it tries to create an environment of real soccer development. At the end of the day, no one disputes that this comes down to great coaching\training, lots of time on the ball, motivated players and creating a real soccer culture amongst your players and families. How you achieve these things is where the disagreement comes in. I believe that the C.O.E.'s approach works well and is a valuable contribution to the youth soccer landscape. No doubt its not for everybody but we'll throw it out for your consideration and choice.