|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Three cheers for Krush soccer at the Orange Classic
A Successful Tournament, and Looking Ahead to Regions Cup
 The Krush Academy U-12 Girls Blue squad was proud to join the U-10 and the U-12 White Girls on Sunday play, all 3 teams advancing past group play. Going into the weekend, Coach Carlos Sarria felt very positive about his girls’ chances, having seen them make great improvements over the past two months and play well against strong competition.
Thursday, KSC Cougars, 0-0
On Thursday, they started with the Kendall Soccer Coalition (KSC) Cougars. Scoring opportunities were not in short supply for our girls, but unfortunately the ball didn’t quite bounce our way – including a hard shot by Gracen off the post that was an inch from ricocheting inside the goal instead of back out. While the Cougars had perhaps 3 scoring opportunities, they were all very strong. If not for a pair of very difficult saves from goalkeeper Natalia, the Blues could easily have lost 2-0.
Friday, Plantation Samba,3-0
After facing the constantly pressuring Cougars, our girls found plenty of room and time to move the ball around against Plantation Samba. The Blues demonstrated excellent composure from opening kick. Passes and traps got better as the game went on, and soon we were spreading the ball fairly often from one side of the field to the other. We first got on the scoreboard on a nice through-ball to Madeleine L. who calmly slid the ball past the keeper. The second goal was probably one of the tournaments most original – a long punt from goalkeeper Natalia bounced twice before reaching the Samba keeper, who mishandled it as the ball bounced a little higher than she thought, and it wound up dribbling into the goal. It counted, since she touched the ball before it went in. And the third score was another breakaway, this one by Kimmie G. on an assist from defender Peyton. We had several other scoring opportunities, including some promising crosses and a PK that were inches from converting into goals.
Saturday, Florida Premier, 1-1
Perhaps the most dangerous game, because we needed a tie to advance, and Florida Premier needed the win. Would we be ready to play against a team fighting for its life? Turns out we were, just enough. Madeline L. scored probably the fastest goal of the tourney, taking a through-ball off the opening kick for a breakaway score, maybe 20 seconds into the game. FP evened up the score in the final minute of the half, taking some momentum with them into the break. But the teams were too evenly matched, and the scoring remained knotted at one to allow our girls to stay and play another day.
Sunday, KSC Cougars, 2-2
The rematch was much more difficult than the first meeting, with the Cougars coming out harder and more aggressive by far than our girls. The majority of the first half was played in front of our goal, and eventually an unlucky bounce off one of our own players gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead. Give the girls credit – instead of getting down, they raised their level of play and began spreading the game to the other end of the field. Our first scoring opportunity came at the end of the half, with a free kick about 25 yards out. Kimmie G. hit a nice one which banged off the center of the crossbar, right back at defender Taylor D. who slammed the rebound in for the tying score. In the second half, our girls came out strong and continued to match the Cougars’ furious pace. Finally, Madeleine S. took a through ball and finished nicely at a full run. Unfortunately, the ball bounces funny sometimes, and a short time later the Cougars were awarded a penalty kick as a result of an unpreserved handball inside the box. The game ended in 2-2 tie, to be decided by PKs. Unfortunately again, the Cougars were better at this skill than were our girls, and they advanced to the finals. But no player, parent or coach could feel bad about the way the girls played, the determination they showed, and the positive results they earned against stiff competition and amid the pressure that comes in a major tournament. Coach Sarria thanked the girls individually and as a team as he handed out the runner-up medals, taking a moment to single out the defense for its consistent and high level of play. In four games, the defense surrendered three goals – and only one was scored by the opposition in the field of play (the other two being an own-goal and PK). In addition, the defense had a hand in scoring 3 of our 6 goals, with one assist and two goals. Coach Sarria told the girls to take a well-deserved break, and preparation for Region B Cup play would focus on offense, now that the defense has proven to be solid. Not that the girls did poorly on offense – quite the contrary. And team defense depends greatly on the midfielders coming back to defend, so credit can be shared across all eight girls on the field for such excellent defense. But if the coach can bring the team’s offensive performance up to the level of the defensive performance in the next two months, who knows how far these Blues might advance in Region Cup play?
U-12 Girls Blue team prepares for Orange Classic
When the Krush U-12 girls blue team was assembled, it was not with the expectations of being competitive with other premier teams in the area; it was to become competitive with the elite teams in the southeast region. A tall order, to be sure, but the girls have already made great strides in their first two months, and plan to make an impact at the Orange Classic in December. Since their first meeting in August, that has been the goal for 2007, and every tournament, game, and practice has been conducted with that goal in mind.
Coach Carlos Sarria gave the team an immediate test at the Atlanta Cup in September, where this team that had barely been together a month competed against seasoned teams from the Atlanta and Nashville, TN areas. One tie and two close losses (by a total of 3 goals) let coach know the team was in pretty good shape. In fact, considering how close the games were played, the girls were disappointed at letting a couple victories slip away, rather than happy with losing by only a little.
The next tournament was the recently-played Seminole Girls Fall Classic at the beginning of October. After winning two close games – including a second-half rally from an 0-2 deficit – the game against highly-ranked Braden River would decide who advanced to the finals against the winner from the other group. The team came up short, losing 4-1, but it was another yardstick to measure their performance and push themselves to get better.
Regular-season games have so far been a rousing success. The defense has led the way to a 5-1-1 record with 5 shutouts, helping the team boast a goals-for/goals-against record of 28-5. Their one loss was against Port Orange the second game of the season at their field – the girls eagerly await the rematch on our home turf in November.
Individually, each girl has improved her skills and strategy knowledge greatly, again in only two short months. In keeping with the high expectations for the year, however, much more development is expected. Too many poor passes and bad traps are stalling otherwise promising runs on goal. While the emphasis is not on winning, the desire here is to teach a complete game – not just stealing the ball, but also stringing together several passes to work the ball up; not just crossing the ball, but getting a solid head or foot on the ball on frame. The girls know the competition will be the toughest they’ve ever seen in Miami, and they are working hard these next two months to bring their games up to that level.
PARENT'S CORNER...
Seven Hint's for Soccer Parents!!!
 Readiness is an important issue for both the beginning soccer player and parent. It is vital that a child have an interest is being part of a social environment that relies on interaction and cooperation. It is just as vital that a parent realizes that their child’s play is exactly that, child’s play. It is not a reflection of the parent. It is not a valid prediction of future ability. The true value of playing any organized sport is to have fun. A good experience will help to promote all of those other issues that are frequently stated such as self-confidence, teamwork, physical development and a healthy lifestyle. A bad experience can turn off a child and as a result cause the child to miss out on the opportunity to participate in a sport and enjoy its benefits. It is natural for anyone to want to continue to participate in a given activity when they are having fun. Here are seven hints that can help the beginning player have a positive experience:
1. The win-loss record of a team is not an accurate assessment of the coach. All that a win-loss record indicates is the comparative ability of groups of players on given dates. A better way to assess a coach is by how many players want to continue to play the next season.
2. Being a great player does not ensure that someone will be a great coach. The younger a player is, the more important it is for a coach to understand children. Playing experience is always helpful, but knowledge of developmental stages is the best way to select activities that are appropriate to the age of the players.
3. The outcome of a game is not the best way to evaluate the quality of your child’s experience. For a lot of young players, practices are more fun than games. This is especially true when the coach is utilizing activities that are age appropriate. Practices provide greater opportunities to use age appropriate activities than games.
4. An outstanding novice player does not have the inside track on becoming a great player in the future. The statistics indicate that less than one out of four outstanding novice players maintain that distinction ten years later. This means that the lesser player locked into that designation either. There is no true way to know what type of player a child will become.
5. Yelling directions to your child during a game does not really help. The truth is that is causes more confusion than anything else. When processing information, it is harder to make good decisions when there are a lot of people giving directions. The younger a child is the more confusion it causes.
6. Your child does not need to be psyched-up on the way to the game. Anticipation is strong enough in young children, adding to it can cause too high a level of arousal and result in making it more difficult to play well.
7. Your child does not need a game analysis on the way home from the game. Any conversation about the game should initiated by your child. Keep in mind that anything you say will most likely be repeated. Be careful not to make strong negative comments about your child’s teammates. Negative comments can drive a wedge between teammates. The same thing is true about the coach. If it is really important, talk to the coach directly. Don’t put your child in the middle.
The best advice is to enjoy watching your child and the other children playing. Cheer for good things that happen. Have a good chuckle at the mistakes that occur (and they will occur). This can make for a great experience for both you and your child.
The parent’s role is vital to a player’s success and enjoyment....
U-12 Krush Academy/Blue...
***KRUSH ACADEMY BLUE***
*** Kimmy, Payton, Madeline, Jessy, Gracen, Taylor, Hannah, Michaela, Natalia, Sloane, Madeleine, Ambar and Coach Carlos***
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
