Practice Tomorrow at WSC 6:00-7:30pm

Hi everyone, we have permission to practice tomorrow night at WSC Field 6, 6:00-7:30pm.. the field beside our home game field.

Coach Jim

Letter To Parents - Coach's Thoughts

Hello everyone:

I want to take a few moments to share with you my thoughts on where our team stands today and to also share with you the messages the coaches have and will be relaying to the boys at practice and during games.  Thanks for your time in reading this and helping with our message.

The players continue to grow and bond as a team and are truly a delight with their personalities.  The past two weekends were the foundation of our program and will pay-off for us in a big way. This is such a great age to coach – I really do enjoy it very much.

Looking back at the Vision Statements I shared with you at the parent’s meeting (from the Team Package) - I see us moving toward that vision with our on-field product.  Also the messages of “Pass & Move” and “Outwork Your Talent”, my cornerstone themes for the season, are also working well with the players.

Training

• Shin pads are required at training. If you don’t have shin pads, you risk injury.  If you worry about getting hurt and you have no shin pads, you will not tackle hard and challenge at training, meaning you are also cheating your opponent of his game-like situation. 
• We will be doing more positional work this year and slowly giving the kids more tactical information, in various forms. I have handed out information on Defensive Principles and will continue to give them more as we develop.  I also share information and training videos on our team facebook page and team blog.  Some players will read it, others will not.  Some parents may never show it to them.  I can’t control that, I can only prepare and deliver.
• As coach, it is easy to identify the boys who not only pay attention but who put in extra work outside of practice and show the commitment level and motivation required to make themselves better soccer players.

Tackles

• We tell the players that when you step in for a tackle: full tackle, body strong, with force.  Not to hurt the other player, but to prevent injury to you.  Failing to tackle hard not only causes you to look silly and is poor defending, it’s very dangerous.  Tackle correctly or don’t tackle.  A U12 soccer player must be able to tackle and play to win the ball.
• First to the ball -  go in to win the ball.  Strong.  Going in weak is not only poor soccer, it’s dangerous.  If you’ve played any sport you see people getting hurt by going in “second” and trying to recover. Going in strong forces you to be ready for impact (which doesn’t hurt) and requires balance, minimizing injuries.  Poor-balance Injuries can occur on impact or when moving your body into the next movement.
• I do not teach slide tackles and do not want my players experimenting.  I believe slide tackling should be taught to players at an older age, not U12. Honestly, I do not see any of my players possessing this specialized skill as of yet. If not performed properly, slide tackling has the potential to seriously hurt themselves and other players.  Slide tackling must be ball only and not late or from behind, going through a player. If not performed properly it will be considered careless, reckless and dangerous. If in the referee’s opinion it is careless, reckless or dangerous play, it will lead to a foul, free kick, card, or penalty kick.  Too many times I have seen players (not mine!) try to slide tackle because they have been beaten by the attacker or because they are out of position.  Also, once a player leaves his feet and slides, he takes himself completely out of the play. So, instead I teach my players to get themselves into proper defensive position first and foremost. 

Heading the Ball

• The boys are at an age now where they are a little more fearless when heading the ball.  My message to the players is this:  If you head the ball, you must attack the ball, not let the ball hit your head.  Eyes open, body strong, through the ball.  Failing to apply the proper technique is not only poor soccer, it’s dangerous and can cause shoulder, neck and head injuries.  
•  Bending down and heading a ball with the top of your head is a sure-fire trip to the chiropractor or dentist if you get a cleat in the mouth.    The problem is this - either head the ball correctly, or don’t head it. 
• If you want to play U12 soccer and beyond, you need to head the ball, so we will work to do it correctly.  We are sincerely afraid every time a player doesn’t go into a head ball with full intentions.  

Proper Technique – Kicking the ball

Our message:

• Kick the ball or don’t kick the ball, but don’t just swing your foot in it’s general vicinity.  Striking a ball with intention and purpose forces balance and strength and prepares you for your next movement. 
•  A lot of injuries at impact are technique related and we don’t want any of our boys getting hurt.  That’s why hockey coaches work so hard in teaching how to deliver and take a body check.  From my personal experience, as youth football player, I blew out both my knees before I was taught proper technique and form... proper technique is crucial for player safety.

Conditioning

Our message:

• There is no being “tired” - even if you are tired ;-)
• You feel some fatigue, try to work through it and find your second wind.  You play or don’t play.  If you are on the field, you want to play and you don’t want to come off.   
•  Inspire each other with your own hard work.  If you work hard, your teammate will work hard.  If you don’t, neither will your teammate.
• Of course, safety is always first and we will follow OSA Heat Alert Guidelines.

Technical Skills

• Our practices will always contain a technical skills portion. We will always practice the basics of passing and receiving a ball, first touch, turns, moves such as stepovers, rollovers, fakes and feints, Cryuff etc.
• We will also always emphasize juggling the ball or kick-ups.  I want the boys to work towards achieving 100 juggles.  Some have done so already, so I take it a step further with them in terms of patterns such as “inside-laces-outside-laces” “laces-thigh-laces-head-laces”
• Juggling or as Pele calls it “ball control”,  helps with all aspects of soccer development because it improves coordination, balance, touch and conditioning.

Summary

The points above are not a knock on any player.  These are things for me as coach to fix. We will continue to find ways for players to experience game-like situations at training so they are more prepared, and less fearful for the confrontations in a game.  If a boy is scared of a certain situation, it’s our job to find ways to expose him to it and allay those anxieties.  The nice thing is if you work past any reservations you have with all situations, you are not only safer, you also become one hell of a soccer player.

The game is not dangerous, but I know it’s scary living this physical reality for the first time. This is an interesting time in the boys development physically.  Some boys have started growth spurts, others have not yet.  I’m sure you all saw at the tournament last weekend that some teams have more than just a few bigger boys.  Coaches Rowan and Beri and I were watching a U13 team warm-up and we thought they were U15!  The boys will grow and change very much over the few years.  As coaches we need to understand that and coach the boys with that in mind.

In U12/U13 competitive sports, players who were successful before are being pressured for jobs by boys who are blooming later.  Don’t assume your spot is your spot.  There is more turnover on teams and what starts to separate players are their level of commitment, hard work/grit, their durability and their competitiveness in all situations.  This applies to all sports.  Coaches also like to see who the players are that push others to compete – leadership qualities.  We want to prepare the boys for this and make sure they are mentally and physically ready to challenge at the next soccer, basketball, hockey or lacrosse tryouts.

Parents please make sure the players have access to our facebook page or the team blog.  This is important because they can feel “connected” to the team whenever they want.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Coach Jim

*a special thank-you to Coach Frank D for his ideas helping me with this letter.

Tuesday Practice Moved to Thursday

Everyone, let's give the boys a break tomorrow and move practice to Thursday night (6:00-7:30) ... I will send details as to where on Wednesday night

Coach Jim

Our Regular Season Schedule

Hi everyone, our regular season schedule was released this weekend. It and the standings (once we get started) can be found at: http://www.niagarayouthsoccerleague.com/Games.aspx I am happy we only have 4 Friday games and no real conflicts with our remaining tournaments (such as playing a league game on Friday and then a tournament on Saturday and Sunday). ... TiAmo Festival Cup is July 27-28 50th A.C. Douglas (where we are defending champs!) is August 3-5 We will keep our regular Sunday AM and Tuesday PM practice schedule. I will send out details about tomorrow night’s practice later tonight. Our first game (@ Port Colborne) is only 11 days away! Coach Jim

#	Div	Day	Date	KO	Field	Home Team	Away Team
20	12	Fri	May 25	18:30	TA Lannan 5	Port Colborne	Welland
34	12	Wed	May 30	18:30	Welland SC 7	Welland	Club Roma
57	12	Thu	Jun 7	18:30	Memorial Park A - NOTL	NOTL	Welland
90	12	Fri	Jun 15	18:30	Harold Black Park	Pelham	Welland
101	12	Wed	Jun 20	18:30	Welland SC 7	Welland	Fort Erie
135	12	Fri	Jun 29	18:30	Smith Park 3	Grimsby	Welland
144	12	Wed	Jul 4	18:30	Welland SC 7	Welland	Niagara Falls
170	12	Wed	Jul 11	18:30	Welland SC 7	Welland	Port Colborne
194	12	Wed	Jul 18	18:30	Club Roma Main	Club Roma	Welland
215	12	Wed	Jul 25	18:30	Welland SC 7	Welland	NOTL
237	12	Wed	Aug 1	18:30	Welland SC 7	Welland	Pelham
267	12	Fri	Aug 10	18:30	Optimist Park 1 - Fort Erie	Fort Erie	Welland
278	12	Wed	Aug 15	18:30	Welland SC 7	Welland	Grimsby
295	12	Wed	Aug 22	19:00	Club Italia	Niagara Falls	Welland

A Quarter Final Thriller For Our Moms

We gave FC London Academy Elite a Quarter Final Battle they won't soon forget.  Losing 0:1 to the eventual tournament winner is nothing to hang our heads about... our boys noticed that the London coaches were losing their cool as we took the game to them - and they loved it! 

This was a great weekend for our team. I loved watching the team grow. They played through adversity and with pride and class.  A few things to remember:

• we played in a group with Toronto based teams
• we played three games with no subs and one game with one sub
• we played in three ganmes decided by only one goal
• we won a heart-stopping penalty kick shoot-out
• we were knocked out at the Quarter Finals stage by the eventual tournament winners in a super-close and very entertaining 0:1 game 
• we hit a total of 10 goal posts and cross bars in our four games
• when we had the wind at our backs we only surrendered 2 goals in the entire tournament

Besides the very emotional PK win yesterday that propelled us into the play-off, the lasting memory for me was after getting knocked out of the tournament - the players did not want to go home. 

After my post game talk, I asked the boys to gather up their things before we head home and the boys said ``no lets stay``... we talked for a few more minutes and I looked over and saw the parents waiting on the other side of the field and again asked the boys if they wanted to pack up. One player responded ``we don`t want to leave yet``... another said ``yeah,  lets stay here a bit longer``... the boys just wanted to hang-out and chill together for a few more minutes... 20 minutes later we had to tell the boys it was time to go home.  I told them we had practice on Tuesday and I heard a few ``Yeah`s`... This was so very rewarding for me as their coach.  We have a true team...

The boys have formed a bond and that was one of my biggest goals heading into the season.  IMO, this aspect of coaching, team building, is very often over-looked.  The boys feel accountable to each-other.  They will work hard for each-other and they will fight for each-other.  We had one boy who had strep during the week, and another who was in bed with a fever on Friday.... but they came to play all weekend long. I saw players working together, encouraging and cheering their team-mates on.  

This is what the last two weekends were about.  I am pleased.  This has been a great kick-off to our 2012 season.

UP NEXT: We will have practice on Tuesday, I will send out the details tomorrow evening.  Next weekend is the Champions League Final and like last year I will arrange a Champions League Pizza Party for the team.

Coach Jim 

Wow - What A Day!

This is how TEAMS are made!

Everyone, our boys deserve huge praise for amazing accomplishments today... playing three games with no subs available and digging deep to win the third game in a thrilling penalty kick shoot-out to qualify for the quarter-finals... heart-stopping moments and great memories...

So, we have now earned the right to play in the quarter-finals tomorrow at 9:00am vs FC London Academy Elite.  The game will be played at Beamsville High School located at 4317 Central Ave., Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0

Players must be at the field by 8:15am.... 

Thank you boys - the journey continues!

Coach Jim

West Niagara Invitational Tournament Details

Hi everyone, our pre-season tournament is upon us!

Saturday  Schedule

We play two, possibly three games on Saturday as follows:

10:50am vs Cherry Beach Dragons

3:30pm vs Richmond Hill

7:00pm v TBD

If we finish 1^st in our group after the first two games, we will not play a 7:00pm game – we would automatically advance to the Quarterfinals on Sunday morning at 9:00am.  If we finish in 2^nd or 3^rd in our group we play at 7:00 vs a TBD team.

All Saturday Games will all be at Smith Public School, 18 Oakes Rd North, Grimsby L3M 4B1

Players need to be at the Grimsby field by 9:30am latest on Saturday as I will be handing out the uniforms and getting the boys organized.  I’m picking up the uniforms tonight.

Sunday Schedule

Quarter-finals 9:00am

Semi-finals 1:30pm

Finals 4:30pm

Quarterfinals could be at the Grimsby School or Beamsville High School depending on the standings.

Semis and Finals will be played at the Grimsby School location.

The following link is where you can find all of the rules, game sheets, etc., under the Downloads tab. Using your smartphone you can follow live scoring throughout the tournament weekend. The tournament organizers will not be posting scores anywhere except for online so please save this link:

https://www.gosportnet.com/search/tournament/tournament-info.php?tournament_id=2205

The weather looks to be very comfortable for the boys, 18-20 degrees and cloudy.  It could be windy though so please bring some clothes to bundle up in just in case.

That’s it for now – see you in the morning in Grimsby at 9:30!

Coach Jim

Practice Tonight at Glendale School (6:00-7:30pm)

Hi everyone, see you tonight at Glendale School (same place as where we had Tuukka nights)… go to the field behind the school

Thanks

Coach Jim

2012 Sherkston Training Camp Wrap

Hi everyone,

*This is a longer post than usual so first let me say that there will be no practice tomorrow (Tuesday), we will move it to Thursday, I will send the details of when and where shortly.

We completed our camp and everyone is in one piece - although very tired!  We were  blessed with great weather and I know the boys enjoyed themselves, learned a lot and will have many great lasting memories.

Let me take this opportunity to say thank you to all the parents for your commitment to our program and the camp – it wouldn’t be possible without you.  Thank you to Rowan, Dennis and Neil for staying over and helping me and the boys throughout the camp - I owe you guys huge.  Also thanks to Clayton, Pam and Calvin from Elite Soccer Development for helping us with the weekend program.

The biggest thank-you though goes out to my players!  They worked their hearts out all weekend long! 

Let’s remember what they did on Saturday:  

They woke up at 6:00am and completed a 2 mile run on the beach… followed that with a 2 hour technical training session with Clayton… and then played the friendly match v Roma U14s - against players that are 2 and in some cases 3 years older.  If that wasn’t enough for one day we also had a 60 minute boardroom tactical session and team meeting in the evening.

On Sunday morning they were back on the beach at 7:00am for a 90 minute agility training session, followed by another 2 hour technical session, and then the game with our Welland U13 friends.

I cannot be more proud on my players.  The FIFA tournaments, COD, campfires with mega-marshmallows, and Arcade fun was all very well-deserved given the tremendous effort they put in this weekend!  Thank you boys, I had a great camp with you!

As a coach, I am always evaluating and assessing what works, what doesn’t work and looking for areas to improve all aspects of our soccer program.  Looking back, there are a few things I may do differently next year such playing the exhibition games in the morning and having the technical training sessions in the afternoon. This would ensure the players are not running on empty for the games after training all day long, and we could work on lessons from the morning games in the afternoon technical training. 

Also, I am thinking about the work load - perhaps I asked them to do too much work physical work on Saturday, although in all honestly I cannot stress conditioning enough.

I will research and talk more with other coaches about the merits of playing exhibition games with older teams.  I believe in the end it will be beneficial as they have now experienced a game situation that is physical and with some pressure.

Working more on the meal plan paid off.  The food was healthy and fresh – no fried foods, lots of veggies. They even had steaks and garlic mashed for supper!

The boys also learned more about proper warm-ups and stretching.  I am a little concerned about the amount of muscle pulls/strains…  this should not be happening at their age.  Parents, please make sure the boys do some of the stretching exercises everyday - when they do their individual at home work with the ball – remember “Touch the ball (and stretch) every-day!”.

One reminder for parents: please come-out and cheer our boys on at every game, but remember no direct instructions to the players. This includes comments such as: “cover this guy” or “move over here” or “let someone else take the throw-in”.  This point was  covered on page three in the Team Package handed out in the Parents Meeting under “Required From Parents”. 

During the first water break yesterday the players came to me frustrated - by the direct instructions from some parents on the sideline.  One player said:  “we are trying to do what Clayton taught us but the parents are confusing us with go here, go there, cover this guy, cover that guy”.    Please remember, no direct instructions to the players during the game.

I have one very big surprise for our team. Clayton is working towards his National C Licence and asked if he could use our team as a project for the practical portion of his studies. This means that from time-to-time he would join our Sunday morning practices and that some of those practices will be videotaped for training purposes.  This is a fantastic opportunity for myself and our boys to develop and reach to the highest possible levels we can possibly achieve.

That’s it for now… the boys have a day off tomorrow, I will send the details for practice Thursday shortly.

Thanks

Coach Jim

2nd Annual Welland 2000 Wizards Training Camp - Instructions for Parents and Coaches

Hi everyone, I am so excited that our 2^nd Annual 2000 Wizards Training Camp is only two days away! 

  

I want to take this opportunity to answer some common questions that have been coming my way:

• We are meeting at the Sherkston Shores Resort on Friday night at 6:00pm
• http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=sherkston+shores+map&meta=&aq=3&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=sherkston+shores
• Directions from Welland:
  • hwy 406 to East Main (the end), turn left and go under tunnel
  • turn right onto hwy 140 to Port Colborne and follow all the way to Hwy 3
  • left onto Hwy 3 towards Fort Erie
  • turn right onto Empire Street (approx 15 mins from corner of  140 and hwy 3)
  • Resort is found at the end of the road (approx 2K)
• When you arrive -  do not go through the “toll gates”… veer to the right and park at the Visitor/Welcome Centre
• Clayton and Pam Rosario will be waiting for us to give us a quick tour
• We will then have our pizza and drinks, go over the rules of the camp, and get settled in our Cottages.
• Players can bring their own snacks but they need to be labelled and please remember – no peanuts
• Weather permitting we will have campfires in the evenings.
• Nothing planned for Friday night other than a lot of getting settled in and hanging out together.
• Parents are always welcome to visit us during the weekend.
• So far we have one xBOX confirmed coming (thanks Kalen!)…. There are three cottages, please bring your PS3s or xBOXs or Wii’s
• Weather should be much better than last year, but still looks like we will get some rain. Please bring lots of changes of clothes, hats, umbrellas etc…
• Last year, big black garbage bags for wet clothes worked well… every boy will bring home a big bag of wet and dirty clothes for mom!

The priorities for the weekend are Fun, Team Building and Learning… the exhibition game/scrimmages are very much “exhibition”… please do not read anything into what position your son is playing, who starts a game etc… I will only be looking to work on shape, basic tactics and game/situational awareness, using a number of different player combinations, rotations etc.  Please come and cheer our boys on!  Special thanks to Coach Danilo for bringing out his Roma U14s on Saturday and to Coach John Csuka for bringing his Welland U13s on Sunday. 

*A huge thank you to you (our parents), for your amazing cooperation and enthusiasm which allows this weekend to happen.

PS: since we are having the Sherkston weekend, I’m not asking the boys to go to ND this Thursday for WSC Fitness Night…..

See you Friday night at Sherkston!

Coach Jim

Practice Sunday AM

See you at practice tommorow AM at Chippewa site 8:30-10:00am.... dress appropriately!  it will be sunny but cool

 Coach Jim

No Practice Tuesday Night

Hi everyone, given the weather will still be very wet and cold tomorrow, I have decided to give the boys (and parents!) the night off…. See you Thursday 6:00pm at ND for WSC Fitness Night.

Thanks

Coach Jim

Side Slice

Guys, see you at Chippewa Park at 8:30 tomorrow AM.  Watch this video from Clayton's DVD ... we will work on the Side Slice until you can do it sleep walking!!!

Coach Jim

Thursday Night Summary

Hi everyone, click here to read Coach Frank's summary of this past Thursday's training...

Coach Jim

WSC Fitness Night at ND

See you tonight for WSC Fitness Night at ND, 6:00-7:30!
Coach Jim

PARENT'S MEETING SUNDAY AM

Hi everyone, I will have the first parent meeting on Sunday AM starting at 9:45am (while the boys are finishing up practice) under the Pavillion at Chippewa Park. I have been working on sponsors for the team and have finalized our fundraising and budget.  Thanks

Coach Jim

Practice Tonight

See you tonight for outdoor practice 6:00-7:30pm, at Chippewa Park location.

Coach Jim

Practice Tomorrow 8:30 - 10:00AM Chippewa Park

First Outdoor Practice tomorrow 8:30 - 10:00AM - Chippewa Park Welland at the Pavillion between the baseball diamond and volleyball, off of First Avenue... it should be warm but raining - wear your cleats and shin pads... I can hardly wait!

Coach Jim

Team Activity & Training Update

Hi everyone, I trust you all had a great Easter! 

WSC Fitness Nights:

We resume tomorrow night at the ND Track from 6:00-7:30pm.  I want everyone coming out for these nights as a normal practice night.  Please let me know if you cannot make it (thanks to those who already have). It looks like we have settled on Thursday night for this training.  Last week we had 60 players out!  Parents please join us! – we need parents to monitor stations so that coaches can follow their players around the circuit.

Practice Shirts:

We will have “Official Team Practice Shirts” this year.  I have a supplier who will do up dry-fit type workout shirts with screening for approx. $15.00 per shirt. I have some sample shirts for sizing which I will bring with me on Thursday night to size up the boys.

Regular Practice Schedule:

We will go with our regular practice schedule from last year – Sunday AMs and Tuesday PMs.   I will push the start time for Sunday to 8:30am so that we finish by 10:00.  I do not want to conflict with church times so please let me know if that is a problem.  Tuesdays will be 6:00 -7:30pm until June when I will push that to 6:30-8:00 for the summer weather.  As always I will send reminders regularly and have the practice schedules posted on the left column of our team blog.  Given the weather can be tricky in April, I will confirm Sunday and Tuesday Practices via email by Friday and Sunday respectively.  As you know, we are not allowed on any fields yet -  so for now we will practice at Chippawa Park in Welland, between the baseball diamond and volleyball court, off of First Avenue.

Sherkston Shores Preseason Training Camp:

Please mark down May 4-6 for our 2^nd Annual Preseason Training Camp – details to follow shortly

Parent Meeting:

I am finalizing the Parent Package which includes the team budget.  I will set up a parent meeting within the next two weeks at one of our practices.

Thanks everyone - I think that’s it for now… as always please let me know if you have any questions.  See you tomorrow night!

Coach Jim

Fitness Night Update

Hi everyone, Coach Frank has an update on our fitness night in his blog. It's a very good read that describes what we are aiming to achieve.

There were 60 players out last night! We had 10 of our 14 boys... I want all the boys out next week.

A special Thank You to parents that joined us!

Coach Jim

New Welland Sports Complex Front Page News!

If you didn't see the front page of the Welland Tribune today, CLICK HERE!

Coach Jim

Team Activities This Week

Hi everyone, a quick note re our schedule this week:

Ø  Tonight is our last Speed & Strength Conditioning Night with Tuukka at Glendale from 6:30-8:00… I have rec’d very positive feedback from everyone re Tuukka’s training… I’m sure we will use Tuukka again in the near future

Ø  For those playing on Tuesday Nights in Niagara Falls, tomorrow is our last game-we play in the early slot at 5:30… I understand there will be pizza and drinks for the players after the game

Ø  Thursday Night - WSC Fitness Night at ND track from 6:00-7:30pm. I expect all players to come out for this fantastic night of fitness training. The 6 boys that have come out the past two weeks were very enthusiastic about the training.  I love the idea of the Welland Teams working out together – it has a real “Soccer Community” feel.  Parents please come and help us at the different stations of the circuit. Dennis did a great job last week with the sit-ups station!  One of the goals for the night is to have parents help out at the stations so that the coaches can walk around and observe and work with the players.  Thanks in advance for your help!

Ø  No practice on Easter Sunday

We will see how the weather goes and hopefully we can move outdoors after next week… I will keep you posted.

Thanks, you guys have been terrific (players and parents!)

Coach Jim

See you in the morning!

...9:30-11:00 at WSC!

Practice Sunday 9:30-11:00 - Strength & Speed Training Monday 6:30-8:00 - WSC Fitness Night Thursday 6:00-7:30

REMINDERS:
>Practice Sunday 9:30-11:00
>>Strength & Speed Training Monday 6:30-8:00
>>>WSC Fitness Night Thursday 6:00-7:30

Hi everyone, see you tomorrow AM at the WSC at our usual 9:30-11:00 and Monday night at Glendale for Strength and Speed Training from 6:30-8:00.

Coach Frank DeChellis confirmed that this week`s WSC Fitness Training is on Thursday from 6:00-7:30 at the Notre Dame Track... make every effort to attend this night to work out with your fellow WSC U10, U11, U13 and U17 teams!

A great week planned!!!!!!!!

Coach Jim

Arsenal Training Session - Pics from Arsenal.com



Wenger - Vermaelen Juggling in the background

 

RVP Juggling at Practice






Simple One Touch Passing Warm-up

 


RVP, Walcott & Benayoun play Keep Away

 


 









Guys, I came across these pictures on Arsenal.com. Besides trying to brainwash you into being Arsenal fans, I posted them here to show you that even the best of the very best in the world still work on the basics in practice... Juggling the ball for ball control, one touch passing warm-ups and a simple game of Keep Away... Guess how we will start practice on Sunday morning!

Coach Jim 

WSC Fitness Nights - Tuesday at ND Track

UPDATE: Coach Frank clarified that so far only this Tuesday (March 20) has been scheduled .  We haven’t settled on a steady night as of yet.... will keep you posted!


Hi everyone,  Coach Frank DeChellis has organized a Fitness Night for the WSC teams – all players are welcome!   Players from 6 different teams are participating and I am hoping as many from our team as possible can join in as well.  This program is on Tuesday nights from 6:00-7:30 on the Notre Dame track – where we did our conditioning nights last spring.

The course is set up in 8 stations that the boys pass through over the course of 90 minutes. Everybody starts off with a 12 minute run and we monitor how far they go from week to week.  This program will run 8 weeks.  There is no charge/fee for this program. I believe starting in April,  the nights for this program will change to Wednesdays. 

So, for those of you not playing in the Winter League on Tuesday nights, we hope you join your fellow WSC players at ND tomorrow night.  I will join you starting the second week in April as I am still coaching the indoor winter team for three more Tuesdays.

……and, see you tonight at Glendale for Strength and Speed Training!

Coach Jim

Sunday AM and Monday PM - March Break is Officially OVER!

Hi everyone, reminder re practice Sunday AM at WSC 9:30-11:00 and Speed and Strength on Monday night at Glendale 6:30-8:00... Tuukka told me today that he is going to turn up the heat on ya!

Coach Jim

Congrats to Sabrina D'Angelo & Our Canadian U20 Women's National Team !

On Friday night Canada's U20 Woman's National Team beat Panama to secure a spot in the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup. Sabrina was in goal for the fourth straight game during qualifying with a fourth straight clean sheet.

Our Canadian Women play the USA in the CONCACAF Women's U20 Final today.

Many of you know Sabrina, Coach Frank D'Angelo's daughter, who is playing university soccer at the University of South Carolina. Sabrina has earned numerous accolades, most recently the Welland H.L. Cudney Memorial Award for Sportsperson of the Year. 

Sabrina has done everyone at the Welland Soccer Club proud.  Her successes at the club, provincial, NCAA, national, and international levels make all so very proud and shows all our players what is possible with comittment, dedication, talent and hard work.  We will try to get Sabrina to come out to one of our practices this summer!

Well done Sabrina! Good Luck Ladies!!

Coach Jim

Talking Tactics - Defense

Hi guys, below is the hand-out we went over last night on our Defensive Fundamentals.  Make sure you understand all of it and if you have any questions, ask me any time...  Not only will be the most fit team, we will also be the smartest team!

Coach Jim

SOCCER DEFENSIVE FUNDAMENTALS (from Coach Jim March 5/12)

Ø  The Player closest to the ball challenges, your team-mates then support behind you

Ø  Knees Bent , Lean Forward, keep your balance

Ø  Jockey side-to-side, quick feet, on toes

Ø  Challenge Attacker but do NOT charge full steam at the attacker– attacker will be able to blow past you

Ø  On an angle – do NOT square up on Attacker – you will get nutmeg-ed and not be able to turn

Ø  Be patient – wait for Attacker to make move and then time your move to threaten the ball

Ø  Use the Sideline as your partner – steer Attackers out-of-bounds

Ø  Keep your Eye on the Ball

Ø  If/when you get beat (it will happen from time-to-time) make a quick Recovery Run to get between the Attacker on our Goal  -“GOAL SIDE”

Ø  Block shots

KEY WORDS COACH JIM WILL USE DURING A GAME

“Immediate Pressure”

Ø  try to win the ball back  - try to stop forward progress of Attacker - delay the Attacker

“Support”

Ø  MOVE to help defend around the ball

Ø  Follow Attackers running into dangerous spaces and challenge for every ball

“Balance”

Ø  1^st defender (closet to the ball) provides Immediate Pressure, slows down the Attacker

Ø  2^nd defender then provides Cover or back-up for the 1^st defender and cuts off angles/passing lane .

Ø  The 3rd defender provides Balance - the 3rd and other defenders cover deep and attacking spaces which may be used by the opponent to switch their point of attack, for example, by playing to the opposite wing.

“Compact”  

Ø  Keep your shape - do not be drawn out of your Balanced shape. Together, 1^st and 2^nd defenders squeeze the attack into a tight, difficult or crowded space and the 3^rd and 4^th defenders Balance the defense

“Recovery Run”

Ø  When defending, if you get beat by an Attacker, make a Recovery Run straight to the net to defend the Goal – get between the Attacker and our Goal

“Goal Side”

Ø  Between the Ball & the Net.  When defending or marking a player, always line up goal side to your opponent. This means getting between him and the goal. Never let the Attacker make a run around the back of you toward goal, especially to collect a ball delivered by his teammate. If a ball is kicked behind your defensive line, it is important that you are first to the ball.

No Sunday AM Practice March 4 and 11

Hi everyone, we will not have Sunday AM practices the next two Sundays (March 4 and 11).

We will start-up Sunday AMs at WSC again on March 18, 25 and April 1.

See you on Monday night at Glendale 6:30-8:00pm for Speed and Strength with Tuukka.

Coach Jim