Umm.. someone must have switched my team overnight. We finished the tournament 0-4, but holy crap did they make an improvement between Saturday and Sunday!
On Saturday we lost the first game 5-1 and the second 5-0, and while the scores seem lopsided, I went home feeling like there was a lot of potential. Most of the goals were simple fixes -- defensive mis-communication, goalie mistakes .. things I knew I could fix. So while I wasn't necessarily excited about the first two games, I wasn't totally ready to shoot myself, either.
Well, on Sunday, we might as well have won both games, because they both felt that good to watch. The girls all clicked on Sunday. Where before I had eight individual players on the field, all of the sudden I had eight teammates on Sunday. They played together, they communicated, they passed the ball, they took shots, they worked their butts off, and they came off the field smiling.
"That was a win," I told them after their first game, which they lost 1-0. "That is what a win feels like."
Because in my eyes, they had won that game. Their effort was far greater than the other teams, and they had so many chances.
The second game we lost 2-0, but again, I didn't feel like it was a loss. The girls learned so much this weekend that it was a really great tournament for them. The wins will come, for sure, and now I have a practice plan for the next three weeks until their season starts -- finishing!
I learned a lot about coaching, too. Saturday I was trying too hard to get everyone in, and I realized that I can't do that. This is a competitive travel team, and while I need to make sure the girls get playing time, I don't necessarily have to stress about equal playing time. I have five subs sitting on the bench when the whole team is there, which is fantastic, but it's also tough to make sure everyone gets the same amount of minutes.
So on Sunday, I put in my starters, then let them play. I didn't make changes right away, but let the team get into the flow of the game and find a rhythm, then I started making changes. It worked so much better. I was much more organized, and I still was able to get everyone in.
I have a lot to learn still, and so does my team, but now instead of being a bundle of nerves about my coaching ability and the ability of my girls to compete, I'm a lot more confident that not only will we be competitive, but that we have the potential to have a great season.
Until next time, we're working on offense. Lots and lots of offense.
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