Practice Tomorrow AM 8:30 - 10:00

See you at the WSC in the AM

Coach Jim

Another Strong Team Performance

The boys played great, AGAIN!

Congrats boys on a well earned 5-2 win at Grimsby. We have the top defense (GA) in the division and are 2nd in scoring... we are all alone on top with a perfect 6-0-0... 

As coach I have lots to be proud of, but if I had to pick one thing, it is that the boys have totally bought in to playing team defense... Also as I sub players on, they tell me "I will play where ever you want coach"... That attitude is priceless....

A more detailed summary to follow... WELL DONE!

Coach Jim

Game Tomorrow Night @ Grimsby

Hi everyone, players must be on the Smith School Field 3 in Grimsby ready for warm-ups by 6:00pm. 

Weather:

·     For the game the Weather Network says it will feel like 32 degrees, sunny, with a 20 km wind. I'm hoping it will be like tonight where it was ridiculous hot and muggy during the day but cooled off nicely for the evening games.

 

Pre-Game Meal and Hydration:

·     As always it’s very important to pre-hydrate.....make sure to pre-hydrate: drink one 500ml bottle of water between 3:00-3:30pm, then another glass of water between 5:00-5:30pm.

·     eat early and light e.g. small serving of pasta and lean meat (remember our meals at Sherkston), dried fruit, or my favorite choice - a banana

·     absolutely no fast-food before the game… you cannot perform on the field with McDonalds, Harvey’s, Wendy’s or Burger King in your belly!

·     Have a full supper after the game.

·     I recommend a large cold glass of chocolate milk after the game.

As always, remember to bring lots of your own LABELLED water for sipping and splashing on your head during the game!

To our Fans and Supporters who will be at the game: Please wear RED – everyone in RED! Red shirts, Red hats, Red blankets, Red towels!  The boys and I want to "See a Sea of Red" on the other side of the field!!!!!…and bring any noise makers (horns and vuvuzelas) you have!  Of course, let’s remember that all the cheering is in fun, encouraging and supporting our boys, and always respectful.


"Red Dogs, Red Dogs, Red Dogs, Crave The Burn, Crave The Burn, Crave the Burn, Hajrá, Hajrá, Hajrá!"

I can hardly wait for tomorrow...

Coach Jim

An Interesting Practice

Practice last night was very interesting… towards the end of practice I realized that the next day was the last day of school… ‘nuf said!  We also had a girls team practicing on the field next to us which didn’t help with the concentration levels for drills...

We started with speed and agility drills, using techniques/lessons I have learned from Tuukka (Monday Nights) and Calvin Rosario (Sherkston AM Beach Workouts).  The boys are getting stronger, quicker and faster.  The footwork and conditioning is getting better.  We ended with hill sprints (2 sets of 5) and I was pleasantly surprised with how much the boys enjoy that.  Conditioning Levels really come out with these hill sprints. When I was playing football, I hated “The Hill”, but most of my boys eat it up, which is great.

Because we had use of the large field for practice, I wanted to utilize it for specific tactical work on corners, both attacking and defending.  It was great because we nailed down responsibilities such as signals from the corner taker and near/far post runs, on a field that we play on, using the lines as guides for player positioning.  This is something I don’t think I spend enough time on with the boys so it was important for me to get that work in.  It went well. Hopefully we will be solid defending corners tomorrow night and maybe score a couple as well!

The third phase of practice was a shooting drill and this is where we completely lost focus and concentration. It was ugly, but I know the boys are better shooters than that.  It did get better towards the end, and shooting with the left foot actually exceeded my expectations.  It’s clear though - we need to be much better finishing in front of the net. We will continue to work on that.

As I mentioned at the top, in hindsight, it was a tough night to have a practice on… lots going on in the boys lives, ending the school year and the like. However, I ask parents to emphasize to your sons that concentration and focus must be better at practice.  We have lots of fun and I know the boys are happy to be together and see each other and want to socialize, but there is a time to work as well.  My message to the boys at the end of practice was “you play like you practice”… I told them I had a coach who used to tell us that “you can’t just turn it on like a light switch on game day”.   It’s very true.

That said, the boys truly make me laugh sometimes with their personalities and sense of humour… This is a great group to coach!

See you Friday night in Grimsby… game day instructions to follow…

Coach Jim

Practice Moved To Tomorrow Night at WSC

Hello everyone, we have a few families with Graduations tonight so I thought it best to move tonight’s practice to tomorrow night (Wednesday) at the WSC from 6:00-7:30pm .

See you tomorrow night.

Coach Jim

Solid Practice Sunday AM

We had a strong practice yesterday morning.  Almost everyone was early!  As a coach, I love that.

The pre-practice message to the boys was this:  Well done on getting stronger, you have come a long way… we have taken another step in our journey.  Our success thus far should be the motivator to achieve more – we have to make sure this is only the beginning.  The way you work on your own, the way we train together, and the way we play together – as a team, we all have to continue to raise the bar. We cannot be satisfied with beating Fort Erie and think “OK we have made it”...  we have another big challenge on Friday when we play at Grimsby. 

After I ran the boys through a warm-up, Clayton joined us to work on possession, movement, maintaining shape, decision making, and transitioning to attack to create advantages in numbers. As always I took notes for my library!

In one drill which required the boys to go 1v1, Clayton used a great current example of poor defending that we all saw in the Spain-France quarter-final where French defender Florent Malouda gave up on a play and lazily walked back, letting a Spanish player run past him and attack for the first goal of the game…  It was great to see that when Clayton mentioned it most of the boys knew exactly what he was referring to!  “No stopping to have a cup of coffee”!

I especially enjoyed running the boys through a drill that worked on 4 different type of passing combinations (wall pass, double pass, lay-off with runs and a simple exchange)… once we felt the boys had a good handle on what we were asking of them, we moved to small-side games where the boys could use the passes in “game-type” scenarios. We encouraged them to think, to make smart and quick decisions and to be creative without giving the ball away.

I was very happy with the effort of the boys as we worked them for 2 hours and by-in-large they stayed focussed and competitive through-out. 

A special thank you again to Clayton who has chosen our team to work with as his demo team for his C Licence in the US.  Next Sunday we will begin video-taping the practices.  As a coach, I am very fortunate to have excellent coaches like Clayton, Frank DeChellis, Rob Lalama and Gerry D'Angelo to share insights with, learn from and lean on.  As players, the  boys are benefiting greatly from them volunteering their time and getting exposure to different soccer teachers.

See you at practice at the WSC tomorrow at 6:00pm (5:45pm!)

Coach Jim

Practice Tomorrow AM 8:30 - 10:00

See you tomorrow AM at the WSC... be there for 8:15... parents we may go longer than 10:00, I understand if you have to leave at 10:00...

Coach Jim

Total Team Effort Puts Us On TOP!

Boys, you did a heck of a job tonight... I hope you all see how the hard work we have put in, the running at Sherkston, the long practices, the Strength and Speed training with Tuukka, the Conditioning Nights with Coach Frank, the early Sunday AM practices, the drills - with me jumping on you when it was ugly ;-)   ... ALL has had a HUGE PAYOFF!

Tonight we made very few errors... you worked as a team, you rose to the occasion and really controlled the game from whistle to whistle.

I am very pleased with the concentration level... doing the little things right makes all the difference. We had a short spell where we went back to passing the ball blindly, but for the most part, you were focussed on defending, ball control, possession, and attack.

Our crosses where awesome... I am pleased with how quickly you picked that up from training.

PRIDE IN DEFENDING
Defensively you were superb... my back four worked together and communicated, we were decisive and strong in clearances and we worked hard to not just kick the ball away, but to win possession and start the counter attack... we even had two attempts on net by our defenders!  Everyone got involved in defending... it all works well when the mid fielders are defending and forwards track back...   Fort Erie had only four shots for the entire game!  Very well done.

It's rewarding for me as coach, to see you guys getting stronger and stronger, understanding the game and how to play it more and more...  you are a great group to coach.  Thank you. You gave me great memories tonight.

Rest well tonight, you earned it! ... and then back to work!

Coach Jim

PREHYDRATION & OSA HEAT ALERT BULLETIN

HI everyone, another quick  note to say please make sure the boys prehydrate – drink a minimum of a half litre bottle first thing when they get home school and another before you leave home for the game. 

Please make sure to bring EXTRA PERSONAL WATER ( Labelled) for drinking and splashing on their heads during the game.

I will have a large cooler full of ice water and cold towels for them to use when they come off the field. I will do what I can to make quick substitutions.  I’m sure the Referee and the Fort Erie Coach and I will agree to a water break each half.

My message to be boys is safety first… no heros, go down on one knee if you are not well.

Please click here to see the OSA’s  Heat Alert Bulletin

See you at 6:00pm

Coach Jim

Game Day!

Game Tonight at WSC Field 7 v Fort Erie – players must be on field for warm-ups at 6:00pm. We are wearing Red.

Weather:

·     Tonight will be draining for the players.  It will be hot and very humid.  Hopefully there will be a breeze like last night. I will have a cooler with ice water and cold towels for the boys  As always it’s very important to pre-hydrate.

Pre-Game Meal and Hydration:

·     make sure to pre-hydrate: drink one 500ml bottle of water between 3:00-3:30pm, then another glass of water between 5:00-5:30pm.

·     eat early and light e.g. small serving of pasta and lean meat (remember our meals at Sherkston), dried fruit, or my favorite choice - a banana

·     absolutely no fast-food before the game… you cannot perform on the field with McDonalds, Harvey’s, Wendy’s or Burger King in your belly!

·     Have a full supper after the game.

·     I recommend a large cold glass of chocolate milk after the game.

As always, remember to bring lots of your own LABELLED water for sipping and splashing on your head during the game!

Supporters: please wear RED – everyone in RED! …we want to look over to the other side of the field and "See a Sea of Red"   .....and bring any noise makers (horns and vuvuzelas) you have!  Of course, let’s remember that all the cheering is in fun, encouraging and supporting our boys, and always respectful.

Coach Jim

“Hajrá Wizards!” 

Happy Magical Father's Day to Wizards Dads and Game Summary

Happy Father's Day Dads... hope you were all able to sleep in!

Game Summary: Showing Heart

The boys played one of the more exciting games we have had together on Friday night in Pelham.

In the first half we played our type of game and really controlled the game for long periods with “Pass & Move”, winning balls and playing with confidence.  We did well challenging for balls and not "playing with the ball" in the defensive third. I have been stressing to our players that we cannot get caught watching the ball or "playing with the ball" in the defensive third; be first to the ball, win the ball, be decisive and get the ball cleared WIDE. 

In the second half, even the players admitted that with a 2:0 we took our foot off the gas pedal, yet again… Pelham came to play and we let them gain momentum because we started to ball watch and stopped challenging the ball.  I need to work on that from my coaching… I need to be better in getting the players ready to start the second half on the front foot.  It’s come up a number of times this season, where we just come out flat in the 2^nd half. 

What to focus on Defensively:

·        challenge the ball, no ball watching

·        control the ball first, forget trying to hit fancy one-timers! We just give the ball away when not sticking to the basics… ball control is #1

·        first defender immediate pressure

·        second player provides support

·        third and fourth players keep shape

One of the more pleasing things for me during the game was when Colton nearly saved the PK… tremendous effort that was inches away from a spectacular save… many of his teammates encouraged him and supported him loudly… I heard things like “That’s OK Colt, we will get it back” and “don’t worry about it Colton” and “close Colton”… I loved this, that is what being a teammate is all about, pick-up and support your teammates!

The other thing that pleased me was once the game was tied, with about 15 minutes left in the game, you could see that my boys decided that enough was enough, that they would fight to get the win.  We showed great fortitude.   A lot of teams would have went into a shell… we fought out of the mini-shell we went into and controlled the last 10 minutes beautifully… and it paid off with a last minute goal for the win. We showed heart!

All in all, we played well again but aside from the London FC and Roma games we really have not put together a complete game.  Things to work on: maintaining focus, eliminating ball watching, the defensive principles described above, and shooting.

Re Improving Shooting… get over the ball with balance, supporting foot beside the ball and pointing towards target, lock your ankle, strike the middle of the ball and follow through with your leg and hips… here are some of a tutorial videos I like…  since there is no practice today, take time to  watch these over and again and practice your technique at home!  All players need to spend time on their own working on their technique and conditioning.

How to Fix Your Soccer Shot

Shooting Low vs High

Placing The Ball With Accuracy

Cape Fear Academy – Shooting Basics

This Week: We have practice on Tuesday at WSC 6:00pm and play Fort Erie at home on Wednesday night!  See you Tuesday night!

Coach Jim

Ontario Soccer Association LTPD Video

I finally found this video I heard of... really explains the OSA LTPD Program well... click here to view the video

Coach Jim

Game Tomorrow Night @ Pelham

Hi everyone, players must be on the Harold Black Field ready for warm-ups at 6:00pm.  Jane will do our hair red again so players please be there for 5:45pm to get some red!  We will be wearing our Reds.


Weather:

·     For the game the Weather Network says it will be 25 degrees, partly cloudy with mild humidity, and only a slight wind of 5km. Great weather for soccer!

 

Pre-Game Meal and Hydration:

·     As always it’s very important to pre-hydrate.....make sure to pre-hydrate: drink one 500ml bottle of water between 3:00-3:30pm, then another glass of water between 5:00-5:30pm.

·     eat early and light e.g. small serving of pasta and lean meat (remember our meals at Sherkston), dried fruit, or my favorite choice - a banana

·     absolutely no fast-food before the game… you cannot perform on the field with McDonalds, Harvey’s, Wendy’s or Burger King in your belly!

·     Have a full supper after the game.

·     I recommend a large cold glass of chocolate milk after the game.

As always, remember to bring lots of your own LABELLED water for sipping and splashing on your head during the game!

To our Fans and Supporters who will be at the game: Please wear RED – everyone in RED! Red shirts, Red hats, Red blankets, Red towels!  The boys and I want to "See a Sea of Red" on the other side of the field!!!!!…and bring any noise makers (horns and vuvuzelas) you have!  Of course, let’s remember that all the cheering is in fun, encouraging and supporting our boys, and always respectful.

Also, please remember we have been invited after the game to Ben's house for an After Party!... thanks Bryan and Tanya!

I can hardly wait for tomorrow......"Who Wants It ?!"  …“Hajrá Wizards!”

Coach Jim

Practice & Parent Meeting Tomorrow

Hi everyone, a quick reminder for practice tomorrow at the WSC from 6:00-7:30pm.

Also, I would like to take 5-10 minutes at 6:00pm to have a parent meeting.

Thanks and see you tomorrow.

Coach Jim

Sun AM Practice @ Glendale School

Practice Tomorrow AM at Glendale School 8:30-10:00am ...see you then!

Coach Jim

Wizards Move To 3-0 with a 3:0 Win

Congratulations boys on earning your second straight shut-out win. 

I usually don't name a "Player Of The Game" but in this case I will: Colton was amazing tonight with a few saves that left my mouth wide open... defensively we let him down at times and he stood tall and was a brick wall!

Even though we earned the shut-out (NOTL only had one shot in the first half, which went wide), we must be better defensively. We lost shape and concentration in the second half... Still too much playing with the ball in the defensive zone and trying to clear the ball through the middle of the field... we will work on that in practice.

What concerned me the most was that at times NOTL wanted the ball just a little bit more than we did... we lost too many 1v1s... too much "ball watching"...  This is a good lesson for the players. We cannot just show up and think we are better.  I believe we took this game too lightly... there was a lack of sharpness in our play, like we were expecting to score by simply walking out on the field.  Lesson learned.  Sure, the boys dominated the play for long periods of time, but lack of focus and killer instinct cost us.

That said, we created enough opportunities to easily triple our tally.  Our three goals were all gorgeous and of the highest quality, nothing lucky about them at all!

So, all in all, a very good night... we won our third straight and earned our second straight shut-out... we were creative and dominated play for long periods... AND we learned a big lesson...

Well done boys, see you for practice Sunday AM.

Coach Jim

Game Tomorrow Night @ NOTL

***Game Thursday Night at NOTL Memorial Park – players must be on field for warm-ups at 6:00pm***

                                                                          

Hi everyone, tomorrow night players must be on the field in NOTL by 6:00 pm for warm-ups.  We are wearing our GREENS so remember to wear your GREEN socks, I will hand out the GREEN jerseys prior to warm-ups.

Weather:

·        For the game the Weather Network says it will be partly cloudy with a temp of 22 degrees, and humidity near 60%. As always it’s very important to pre-hydrate.

Pre-Game Meal and Hydration:

·        make sure to pre-hydrate: drink one 500ml bottle of water between 3:00-3:30pm, then another glass of water between 5:00-5:30pm.

·        eat early and light e.g. small serving of pasta and lean meat (remember our meals at Sherkston), dried fruit, or my favorite choice - a banana

·        absolutely no fast-food before the game… you cannot perform on the field with McDonalds, Harvey’s, Wendy’s or Burger King in your belly!

·        Have a full supper after the game.

·        I recommend a large cold glass of chocolate milk after the game.

As always, remember to bring lots of your own LABELLED water for sipping and splashing on your head during the game!

See you tomorrow…  “Hajrá Wizards!”

Coach Jim

A Great Quote from Cristiano

"All that I have achieved I have done so with my sweat and talent, but overall with a lot of work. Nothing has fallen out of the sky."

Click this link for the whole story:

http://www.teamtalk.com/news/2483/7796438/Ronaldo-wants-to-stay-for-life

Guys, this is why the back of your practice shirts says "Outwork Your Talent"...  as Cristiano says in this article, nothing falls out of the sky... you have to sweat to make your talent great.

See you tonight!
Coach Jim

PRACTICE TUESDAY

See you tomorrow night at the WSC Field 6C, 6:00-7:30pm... if you get there at 5:45pm even better!!!

Coach Jim

No Practice In the Morning

Hi everyone, I need to cancel practice for tomorrow AM - See you Tuesday night, 6:00 at WSC - enjoy your Sunday AM off - but I still want all you working on your own tomorrow - juggling, dribbling and turns!

Coach Jim