Practice Tonight at WSC 6:00-7:30

See you tonight as we prep for our match tomorrow night v Pelham!

Coach Jim

Very Proud Coach! ***UPDATE***

***UPDATE***   Waterloo United are Champions of our division beating the Niagara Falls Titans in PKs after playing 0-0 through added time in the final...  what does this say about our team?!  ... it makes today's 0-2 loss that much more impressive... I had the opportunity to congratulate the Waterloo coach tonight at the Festival and he told me that besides their dramatic final with NF, we gave them the best game of their tournament.  Well done Wizards!

Today the boys played Waterloo, currently the 26th ranked U12 team in all of Ontario. Let me say that again to put this mornings game into perspective - the 26th ranked team in the Province... Again, as yesterday, we were level at half, eventually falling 0-2... a tremendous effort.

The Waterloo coach was full of compliments and said we should be very proud - he was surprised we were not a SRSL team already... Head's up boys, lets keeping working hard, working on the details... like I say, always things to work on, but always getting better! We are on the right track!

Very proud Coach here!
Coach Jim

A Big Step Forward

Very happy and proud of my team today... Our first competition against the SRSL-type Teams and we showed we can compete... this is what I wanted to see... in both games we came out level at half time and kept our opponents off balance.

Both games we could have/should have scored first... The referee apologized to me for not calling the handball which would have surely changed the first game in our favour... in the second game we dominated play in the opening 15 and had many chances... but thats the way the game goes sometimes... play-on! I am VERY proud the team!

See you at the same field tomorrow morning at 8:15am for our match against Waterloo!

 

Coach Jim

TiAmo Time!

Hi everyone, we received another revision to the schedule … all the times are the same, only the location has changed to Ridley College Field 4.  I was told today that Ridley 4 is behind the College, near the Tennis Courts.

We will play at Field 4 for our three pool games as follows:

1.      vs UMSC, Saturday 11:15am

2.      vs Roma, Saturday 2:30pm

3.      vs Waterloo, Sunday 9:05am

Semis and Finals will be at West Park 2 on Sunday (1:25pm and 4:40pm).

Please arrive at the game site one hour prior to game start.  Also please join me in welcoming Santi Gaitan and Kennan Larmand as our call-ups.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Hajra!

Coach Jim

Big Win For Baily

Well done boys.  Last night you earned your 5th shut-out in 10 games. 

It was great to see Baily... get well soon 17!

Meeting in the WSC Club House lockeroom before the warm-ups, and then heading out to the field together in a group was great suggestion by Liam and Mitchell!

As for the game, the boys moved the ball very well, again!   Each game I see something new and improved in their play.  Our shape, discipline and decision making is getting more consistent with each outing.   Different players step up when needed and the communication on the field keeps getting better.  Always things to work on but always getting better...

We believe in Ball Possession, We believe in immediate pressure. We believe in a strong attack starting with proper defensive shape. We believe in a quick counter attack!  We are very excited for this weekend!

Crave The Burn!

Coach Jim

Game Day!

Game Tonight at WSC Field 7 v NOTL 


The players suggested last night that we meet in the lockerroom inside the WSC Club House prior to warm-ups. This works well as I can hand out the Green shirts there. Please arrrive in the WSC locker room by 5:45pm. We will then head to the field at 6:00pm for warm-ups.  Make sure to bring your green socks.

Weather:

·     Weather Network says it will be partly cloudy and 25 degrees, which will feel like 30 degrees.We should have a good breeze will make it much more comfortable (hopefully!). Please make sure to PREHYDRATE.  As always, I will have a cooler with ice water towels for the players. 

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.     
-     Have a full supper after the game.

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

-     Remember to bring lots of your own LABELLED WATER for sipping and splashing on your head during the game!

Supporters: please wear GREEN today – everyone in GREEN! …

CRAVE THE BURN!

Coach Jim

TiAmo Festival Cup Details

Hi everyone, I have emailed you all the TiAmo Festival Cup documents to you and uploaded them to our facebook page. I am so thrilled and excited that our team will be competing in the Elite U12 Division! 

There are three Pools in our Division. In our Pool we will be playing UMSC (Unionville-Milliken) from York Region, Waterloo and the Club Roma SRSL Team.

Our Pool games will be at Grapeview Public School. Players must be at the playing field at least 45 minutes prior to start of game.

Saturday Pool Games

11:15am v UMSC

2:30pm v Club Roma

Sunday Pool Game

9:05am v Waterloo

Semi Finals and Finals will be played at West Park at 1:25pm and 4:40pm.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Coach Jim

www.wellandwizardsteamtalk.blogspot.ca

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/290927750941060/

Great Practice This AM!

Great practice this AM...  we had a change of plans as a number of boys could not make it today so I adapted on the fly.

We leveraged some new drills that Coach Danilo and I learned from Tuukka's brother at the International Coaching Clinic and they worked really well...  It was about TONS of touches and ball control.  The boys worked hard and had fun. Thanks Danilo for helping me and Coach Rowan this AM.

See you Tuesday for practice.

Coach Jim, Chief Red Dog

Practice Reminder

Practice Reminder: tomorrow at the WSC 8:30-10:00am ... Coach Frank DeChellis will join us to continue our work on the theme "Can I Go Forward?"

See you in the morning!

Coach Jim

Very Nice Game

Very nice game boys.  It was pretty to watch (yes I said it -  it was pretty!)

Roma had no shots on goal and that was our 4th shut-out in 9 games.

The work on ball possession and starting offensive attacks with strong defensive shape is paying off... we made tons of passes tonight... during one sequence I counted 11 consecutive passes, switching the field of play... be very proud boys... we are getting there... this is what we want to be... keep up the hard work!

And, there is nothing better than doing a Rap song with my players after a game...

Coach Jim

Game Day! *Early Start

Game Tonight at Club Roma (Vansickle) - Early 6:00pm Start - Players must be at Roma by 5:15. We are wearing our Reds.

Weather:

·     Thankfully the weather is much better today for our boys.  Weather Network says it will be sunny and 26 degrees, which will feel like 31 degrees with a 15km wind. It should be great weather for soccer but please make sure to PREHYDRATE.  As always, I will have a cooler with ice water towels for the players. 

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.

Remember to bring lots of your own LABELLED WATER for sipping and splashing on your head during the game!

CRAVE THE BURN!

Coach Jim

Soccer Homework & Activities

Hi everyone, below I have linked some soccer homework videos for you to watch and practice on your own... everything is ball control, winning possession and keeping possession... there are videos for you on how to properly trap the ball with your thigh and chest, and controlling the ball in the air... as we always stress at practice get your body behind the ball, and keep your eyes on the ball.

Trapping the ball with your thigh

Trapping the ball with your chest

Control the ball in the air

Also, keep practicing your juggling... the video below demonstrates various ways to practice... remember Tuukka: "Break Your Record"

How to Improve Soccer Ball Control: Soccer Training Drills

I'm really proud of the extra work guys are putting in.  Congratulations to Mitchell and Liam for playing up with our Welland U13 SRSL team and helping them earn a 2-1 win!  And good luck to Kalen, Jay and Ben this weekend as they play with with Coach Danilo's U14s at the Grimsby 200 Tournament!

See you at practice on Sunday AM, WSC 8:30-10:30am

Coach Jim

A Good Lesson

Last night we lost our first game of the season – but hey, if you would have told me in May that we would play to nearly mid-July before we lost our first game, I would have taken it!

Of course, it’s not about wins and losses though, it’s about developing the players and building a team that will compete at a higher level each year. 

Yesterday was a good lesson for us… our opponents came to play, they were determined and physical.  They wanted revenge for the 7 goals we scored against them in the season opener. Although we created enough chances to earn at least a draw, in all honesty, for most of the game we were second to the ball.  Confidence can be funny thing, it can come and go even throughout the course of a game.  We seemed to play with the hand brake on for most of the game, we lost shape going forward and never really opened it up for an extended period.

I let the boys vent a bit after the game and was very happy to see that they were upset about what happened. It means alot to them.  Many of the boys were already focussing on next week’s game, which is great.  That is a huge motivator for me.

As a coach, I feel I may have let the boys down a bit in our training as I really have not emphasized the “physical-ness” of the game.   I want to teach them how to play the game of soccer first, technical and tactical. 

The players grow at different rates and some are more physical than others based on that.  Others are gentle giants and are learning how to be more physical week by week.  At this age teach them how to play soccer, emphasize technical skills and knowledge of the game - then when they do get more mature physically they will have the full "tool box" to work with.   That said, I will look to incorporate more physicality in our training.

All in all, we competed but we came up short. The good news is the boys showed me in our post game pow-wow that they understood what happened, that  they were ready to get this game behind them and play again right away. Too bad we have to wait a week for our next game…

Coach Jim

Game Day!

Game Tonight at WSC Field 7 v Port Colborne – players must be on field for warm-ups at 5:45pm.

We are wearing GREEN today.  Make sure you wear your green socks, I will hand out the green shirts prior to warm-ups.

Weather:

·     Weather Network says it will be sunny and 26 degrees, which will feel like 30 degrees. It shoud be great weather for soccer but please make sure to PREHYDRATE.  As always, I will have a cooler with ice water towels for the players. 

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.

Remember to bring lots of your own LABELLED WATER for sipping and splashing on your head during the game!

Supporters: please wear GREEN today – everyone in GREEN! …

CRAVE THE BURN!

Coach Jim

Great Practice This AM ... "Total Football"

Do you know what the term "Total Football" means?

Click here for a good read... you will also see links to Johan Cryuff's bio. 

More on Total Football...

We had a great practice this AM... My ankle is swollen like a balloon after playing keeper a bit!... I loved it, the boys energize me!

Another special "Thank You" to Clayton and Pam for their expertise and time...  we are so lucky to have such great supporters of our team!

See you for practice Tuesday PM

Coach Jim

Practice Reminder

Sorry for the late practice reminder, been a very busy day... as always 8:30am at the WSC, please be there by 8:15... This is the first of our video-taped training sessions... we are looking to go for 2 hours tomorrow.

Coach Jim

Video - check out the skills of this 6 yr old!

Hi guys, check out the skills of this 6 year old!  The video gave me some ideas for drills too...

In the end, it always comes down to dedication and hard work... working with the ball 1 on 1...  I haven't said it in all long time but remember my first slogan for the team...  "Priority #1: touch the ball EVERYDAY"

See you Sunday AM at the WSC.

Coach Jim

The Magnificant Seven (a reference I'm sure the kids won't know!)

We are so very proud of you guys. As I said after the game, I had high expectations of this team to start the season... and you have exceeded them.

We have to keep working hard and keep practicing and practicing and practicing... we have worked on corners in practice for two weeks and look what happened - we scored three off corners tonight and defended against NF corners perfectly... that's why we practice and that's why I ride you hard at times in practice... hard work and attention to detail pays off!

Tonight was our third shutout and we have the best defensive record in our division, only conceding 9 goals in 7 games. That's something to be very proud of.

Let's always want more, let's all have that desire to get better, let's see how far and high we can take this thing!

Coach Jim

Dairy Queen After The Game - Coaches Treat!

Hi Parents and Players,

To celebrate the half-way point of the league season and thank my great players for all their hard work, after the game tonight I would like to treat them to ice cream cones at the DQ (on Niagara Street, Welland).

They DQserve it!

Coach Jim

Game Day!

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

Weather:

·     Weather Network says there is a chance of Thunderstorms, 66% humidity will make it feel like 37 degrees. I will have a cooler with ice water towels for the players.  Depending on how the players are feeling I will likely make more frequent substitutions than normal to keep them fresh. PREHYDRATE!

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

Practice Reminder & Coach's Thoughts on Player Development

Hi everyone, this is a quick reminder re practice tonight at WSC 6:00-7:30pm.

Also, I wanted to share with you some info that I have been studying re player development from the US Soccer Coaching Curriculum.  Please click here to read the US National Teams Program Position Statement on “Quality versus Quantity”… a really good read… here are some “Coles Notes” with my thoughts:

• Soccer has changed tremendously in the last 10-15 years. Today, youth players can play and train all year round with Club and Travel Teams, School Teams, Indoor Teams, District and Regional Teams, etc

• Before the year/season begins, Coaches must set goals/targets for player development, team development and overall team performance (I’m glad to say my two year plan which I submitted to the WSC when I took the team over in 2010 is right on course!)
• “Training-to-Game” ratios must be considered when making decisions on practices and tournaments – too much training or too many games can take away from player development.
• At our Team’s age, the recommended ratio is 2:1, training-to-game
• At this age players need repetitive touches on the ball - structured training sessions are required to ensure this happens. (All of my practices are mapped out/diagrammed and planned ahead of time., I'm flexible based on how things develop during  the training but I never "wing it". The players deserve a well thought out plan).
• Also, players that do not learn ‘how to train’, or do not ‘spend quality time alone with the ball,’ will not develop into their own best self. (This is why I stress the juggling exercise on their own – just them and the ball! )
• Half of our training sessions should be spent on developing the ‘technical’ skills required in our sport
• Coaches need to consider this 2:1 ratio when selecting how many tournaments their team attends.
• Coaches (and by virtue parents), must ask themselves if attending a particular tournament will provide growth for their players and their team or will it be counterproductive. Is “less,” actually “more?”
• Coaches need to balance playing and training opportunities to ensure players have a productive schedule with the proper balance – at our age group more games is not always better.
  

Coach Frank DeChellis and I were discussing this the other day. I have also had this conversation many times with Clayton.

There is very little development in games.

Think of it this way-   Games: 30 boys, 1 ball.... Training: 14 boys, 14 balls...

This is why my soccer program includes: regular off-season team training sessions; encouraging winter training with the WSC Technical Department and Elite Soccer Development; Sherkston Shores Training Camp; Strength and Conditioning Nights with an expert such as Tuukka; WSC Fitness Nights; youtube training videos to augment what we do in practice; defensive strategy hand-outs for the players to take home and read; and utilizing Guest Coaches like Clayton, Frank D and Rob Lalama so that the boys get exposure to as many teaching styles as possible… It’s with these activities where the boys learn about the game and develop their skills. They can then apply their new knowledge and skills in games all year round (at Indoor Soccer, with School Teams, District Teams, in Exhibition Games etc -  in addition to our 14 game season and three tournaments).

I also believe encouraging the boys to watch Champions League (Pizza Party), English Premier League (while having breakfast together at Sherkston) and the Euro Cup Tournament is crucial for the boys to develop a true love for the game.  Playing FIFA12 on the PS3 is important as well!  This is also why I have developed our team blog and facebook group page. These are all very important and often overlooked pieces of Player (and Team) Development – developing a love for the game!

I have been asked by a few parents about registering our team for the Grimsby 200 Tournament.  The only teams registered so far are Roma, Fort Erie and Grimsby.   My thoughts are that the boys will not get anything new out of that Tournament.  We play those teams enough, I don’t see any value (learning or development) coming from playing them again.  It’s  the “Quality versus Quantity” -  “Is less actually more? ” discussion.  We are scheduled for TiAmo and AC Douglas which are two tournaments where we should be playing some non-Niagara based teams.   The West Niagara Tournament was great for this as we played two Toronto based teams and a London Academy team.

So, those are some of my thoughts as we near the halfway point of our season.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  I will send out game instructions for tomorrow night soon.

Coach Jim

Enjoy the Game Today Boys

Just remember which team you guys chose this morning... 25 push-ups on are the line for the start of Tuesday's practice! ... Kalen's Dad was watching who voted for who!   My official pick for today is Italy! 

 

See you Tuesday night at the WSC 6:00pm. 

Coach Jim