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

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