Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Match Report Round 2
Second round and we lost. It was a fun match though and our first away game. I wish the playing surface was better. We missed a great opportunity when Jack tripped over a loose sod of turf that had been thrown on the ground to make it look like there was grass there. Other than that, the other team played better, but it was a good game.
U6 Greystanes Orange 3 def. Ermington United Cahill 0
Our one game winning streak came to an end this week with a hard fought loss to Greystanes. The intense heat and lack of mosquitoes sapped at the energy of our team, but the players were valiant. It was obvious while watching the game that the training is paying off. The players are showing some real skills now and aren't merely hacking at the ball.
Both halves of the games saw many crossings of the center line. While there was a lot of U6 type pack activity, Lexie and AJ typically managed to get the ball into the clear so the others could take it down the field. Joel, who I believe is half cattle-dog, and Fraser, who is the other half, were everywhere the ball was. Jack proved once again to be an excellent sweeper attacking every opposing player who broke away. James and Sebastion teamed up for some glorious passing and dribbling. They managed to take the ball to the opposing goals on several occasions. These two guys have really been paying attention at training. Lachlan once again provided good support on the outside of the pack while Geordie kept both the goal and smiling.
Despite the score the teams were well matched and it was a great game. The player of the match was Sebastion for his great break aways and controlled dribbling. We now have to work on converting these opportunities. Well done guys.
U6 Greystanes Orange 3 def. Ermington United Cahill 0
Our one game winning streak came to an end this week with a hard fought loss to Greystanes. The intense heat and lack of mosquitoes sapped at the energy of our team, but the players were valiant. It was obvious while watching the game that the training is paying off. The players are showing some real skills now and aren't merely hacking at the ball.
Both halves of the games saw many crossings of the center line. While there was a lot of U6 type pack activity, Lexie and AJ typically managed to get the ball into the clear so the others could take it down the field. Joel, who I believe is half cattle-dog, and Fraser, who is the other half, were everywhere the ball was. Jack proved once again to be an excellent sweeper attacking every opposing player who broke away. James and Sebastion teamed up for some glorious passing and dribbling. They managed to take the ball to the opposing goals on several occasions. These two guys have really been paying attention at training. Lachlan once again provided good support on the outside of the pack while Geordie kept both the goal and smiling.
Despite the score the teams were well matched and it was a great game. The player of the match was Sebastion for his great break aways and controlled dribbling. We now have to work on converting these opportunities. Well done guys.
Match Report Round 1
For our first official soccer game we played ... the other Ermington United under 6 team. My team has been named Cahill, after Tim Cahill - legendary Australian and Everton FC player. It seems that all of the junior teams have been named after current Australian players. The other team is Aloisi. Here is my match report:
Ermington U6a (Cahill - Yellow Jersey) vs Ermington U6b (Aloisi - Red Jersey), Round 1:
Result: Cahill 1 def. Aloisi 0
The first game of the season saw a civil war between the two under 6 teams. Ermington won! Yet, Ermington lost. Cahill, resplendent in their alternate yellow colours, spent the first half of the match battling a determined attack from the red devils of the Aloisi side. Excellent keeping from Jack Brady kept the score at half time to nil all. The second half was a much more even affair with both teams having opportunities at goal. AJ kept well for the Cahill team in the second half and let nothing through. Jack and Joel were all over the field and always on the ball. Lexie had some big clearing kicks and narrowly missed a goal opportunity. Fraser and Sebastion mixed it up in the pack at every occasion, while Lachlan and James provided wonderful support on the outside. The only goal of the match (thanks to brilliant defence on both sides) was scored in the second half by Jack, who earned the Player of the Match Award. Well done to all of our players. you guys have really come a long way.
Ermington U6a (Cahill - Yellow Jersey) vs Ermington U6b (Aloisi - Red Jersey), Round 1:
Result: Cahill 1 def. Aloisi 0
The first game of the season saw a civil war between the two under 6 teams. Ermington won! Yet, Ermington lost. Cahill, resplendent in their alternate yellow colours, spent the first half of the match battling a determined attack from the red devils of the Aloisi side. Excellent keeping from Jack Brady kept the score at half time to nil all. The second half was a much more even affair with both teams having opportunities at goal. AJ kept well for the Cahill team in the second half and let nothing through. Jack and Joel were all over the field and always on the ball. Lexie had some big clearing kicks and narrowly missed a goal opportunity. Fraser and Sebastion mixed it up in the pack at every occasion, while Lachlan and James provided wonderful support on the outside. The only goal of the match (thanks to brilliant defence on both sides) was scored in the second half by Jack, who earned the Player of the Match Award. Well done to all of our players. you guys have really come a long way.
I'm a soccer coach!
In the months(!) since I last posted I have been appointed(?) the coach of my daughter's under 6 soccer team (we play a modified version called Rooball). We wanted to get my daughter (or preferably daughters) into some sort of sport - to get them active and promote "physical literacy" [this little phrase has become a favourite of mine ever since I read it]. We wondered about what they could do until we were fondled by the hand of fate. The local soccer team registrations were advertised in the school newsletter. We went, paid our ridiculously high fee and signed up for soccer.
My daughter didn't know what soccer was. She had a soccer ball and knew that you had to kick it, but she had never seen a game. I am not into sports in any serious way, although I do like cricket, so there has never been any visual references for her. She was still keen to do it, though, as was my middle daughter. If we told them we had signed them up for abalone diving they still would have been excited. Unfortunately middle daughter was too young to play soccer despite being bigger than some of the boys in higher age groups. She still trains with us though and will be ready for next season.
Anyway, the club president rang us with the training details and mentioned to my wife (who took the call) that they needed a coach for the team - she volunteered me knowing that I had played soccer before, as a kid, more than twenty years ago! Since no one else stepped forward (weak bastards) I got the job.
Trying to get 5 and 6 year olds to do anything is like trying to herd cats. The problems increase for group sizes of 1 or more children. The more there are, the harder it is to get them all doing the same thing at the same time. I really don't know how teachers do it. I have enough problems getting adults to do what they need to do to learn, let alone getting kids to do it (although sometimes there is little difference, I'm sure). Fortunately the club arranged for a former Socceroo, Gerry Gomez, to come and give us a grass roots coach training clinic. We spent almost three hours running through the excellent training manual prepared by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) and learned that training kids was all about games and fun and engaging them in play. Of course I knew this all along, but with the training manual it is a real no brainer. I wish they had this sort of stuff when my dad coached me in the under 6s. I am sure he would have liked the support.
The club, Ermington United, is brilliant. They have given me all of the support I need to give the kids a great experience. The grounds are well maintained and green, despite the drought. The people are friendly, the kids have fun: everyone should be doing this! Match reports to follow.
My daughter didn't know what soccer was. She had a soccer ball and knew that you had to kick it, but she had never seen a game. I am not into sports in any serious way, although I do like cricket, so there has never been any visual references for her. She was still keen to do it, though, as was my middle daughter. If we told them we had signed them up for abalone diving they still would have been excited. Unfortunately middle daughter was too young to play soccer despite being bigger than some of the boys in higher age groups. She still trains with us though and will be ready for next season.
Anyway, the club president rang us with the training details and mentioned to my wife (who took the call) that they needed a coach for the team - she volunteered me knowing that I had played soccer before, as a kid, more than twenty years ago! Since no one else stepped forward (weak bastards) I got the job.
Trying to get 5 and 6 year olds to do anything is like trying to herd cats. The problems increase for group sizes of 1 or more children. The more there are, the harder it is to get them all doing the same thing at the same time. I really don't know how teachers do it. I have enough problems getting adults to do what they need to do to learn, let alone getting kids to do it (although sometimes there is little difference, I'm sure). Fortunately the club arranged for a former Socceroo, Gerry Gomez, to come and give us a grass roots coach training clinic. We spent almost three hours running through the excellent training manual prepared by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) and learned that training kids was all about games and fun and engaging them in play. Of course I knew this all along, but with the training manual it is a real no brainer. I wish they had this sort of stuff when my dad coached me in the under 6s. I am sure he would have liked the support.
The club, Ermington United, is brilliant. They have given me all of the support I need to give the kids a great experience. The grounds are well maintained and green, despite the drought. The people are friendly, the kids have fun: everyone should be doing this! Match reports to follow.
