CSC 01 Gils Gold vs CKSC at 4pm on 8/28/11

We started out playing super aggressive to the ball. We pressured them when they had the ball and caused them to make alot of turnovers. We spread the field and controlled possession well. We finished several of our shots on goal during the first half. We led at the half 5-0. Second half we continued to pressure the ball well and caused them to turn the ball over alot. When we had possession, we continued to spread the field and look for our crosses. Our number of shots on goal were good but, we were only able to finish in the goal on one of them. Defense continued to play solid and only allowed one goal late on an unfortunate turnover. We won with a final score of 6-1.

CSC 00 Boys Gold vs Javanon at 2pm on 8/28/11

First half started out a little sluggish. We were rushing ourselves much like we started out in our game Saturday. We began to slow our attacks down midway through the first half and ended up scoring two goals before halftime. Our defense was pretty solid not allowing too many shots and our tackles were pretty good on the ball. At halftime we discussed that we needed to score some more goals in the second half if we wanted to secure our lead and hold on to a win against Javanon. Unfortunately, we made a mistake early in the second half and a bad deflection off of one of their players went into our goal. We seemed to panic in our play after that misfortunate goal. We found ourselves trying to rush our possessions and attacks which resulted in us turning the ball over too often. They counter attacked on our turnovers and had speed up front which caused us some issues. We got called for a pushing foul inside our box on a 50/50 ball which resulted in a penalty kick being awarded. They scored on the penalty kick and tied the score at 2-2. We lost our team composure and continued to feel rushed when we had possesion. Our midfield turnovers in the middle third gave them several attacking opportunities against us. One of our turnovers and fouls on the left side allowed them to have the ball down on the corner for a free kick which they crossed to the far post. We had two players on the back side during the cross but found ourselves ball watching while two of their players ran past us to the far post. One of them hit the one touch and scored their third goal to go up on us
3-2. We made a late substitution to get in more offense and switched to a 2-4-1 formation to try to get in a last minute tying goal but we were unsuccessful. We ended up losing a tough one 3-2.

CSC 01 Girls Gold vs Thoroughbred Blue at 5pm on 8/27/11

The girls came out with alot of intensity on the ball. They played great from the opening kick off to the last whistle. We got lots of shots off in both halfs of play. Our offense controlled possesion of the ball well by spreading their team out. Our defense was solid all game and made hard tackles on the ball. We won possesion with smart defense on the ball. We only allowed two shots on our goal all game. Our keeper got her first kssl premier division shutout. We finished the game with an impressive 9-0 win! It was a great team effort for 60 minutes.

CSC 00 Boys Gold vs Thoroughbred Blue at 9am on 8/27/11

First half we started out playing rushed. We did not maintain our shape in the midfield and did not take time to spread out and look for our passes. We were rushed in our decision making. We began to settle down toward the end of the first half. Our defense played pretty well during the first half and was relatively aggressive to the ball. We went into the half with a score of 0-0. We discussed at halftime to come out relaxed and to not play rushed when we had possession of the ball during the second half. We did in fact play better possession in the second half. We spread the field and saw some good opportunities to switch fields. Our back line defense played aggressive to the ball and helped pushed the ball forward and take pressure off our keeper. We found the net twice in the second half with two great finishes. We did allow one goal on a misfortunate clear out on a corner kick. Overall, it was a good team effort with the win of 2-1!

Boys and Girls Training 8/23 and 8/25

Training went pretty well this week for both teams. We worked on finishing, first touches, receiving the ball out of the air, and possession with drops and switching fields. We had some good moments of intensity in our training this week but, we will continue to work on elevating our intensity for the full 1 1/2 hours of training time each day. Our fitness level is improving overall but, we still will continue to improve that as well week by week. I feel that both teams are ready for their games on Saturday and Sunday this week. We should see some good results this weekend if both teams come out and play with intensity, speed, and possession. CSC 00 Boys and 01 Girls Gold - Have Fun and Play Hard this weekend!!

CSC 01 Girls Gold vs Javanon at 6pm on 8/21/11

We knew going into this game that it was going to be a tough one since they were supposedly the best team in the top division last year as u10. We came out really strong with intensity on both sides of the ball. Offense and defense both played much better than our game on Saturday. The game was very physical and our girls endured the battle well. I think we controlled the ball well and had lots of opportunities to score. Our defense played really well against the speed up front that javanon sent toward our goal. Going into halftime up 2-1 was proof that we were outplaying them. It was important for us to come out in the second half and score some more goals to set the tone for the second half. Unfortunately, they got a good shot off to tie it up before we could score again on them. We felt the need to get a goal pretty quick after that because we could see the clouds rolling in. Sadly, the thunder and lightning rolled in and the remaining 15 min of the game was cancelled due to lightning. The 2-2 tie is the way we finished but we came away knowing we could handle their speed and physical play. We had lots of shots on goal and could have scored several more if our finishing had been a little better. It will be good match up when we play them again on the road in a few weeks. Looking forward to challenging them again!

CSC 01 Girls Gold vs MUSA at 5pm on 8/20/11

First half started out with a lack of intensity and our team really struggled to get any good possession going. We were slow to the ball all over the field. Our first touches on the ball were not controlled well. Despite our first half slump we were able to connect on a great header goal off a corner that helped spark us. The second half was alot better as we began to play with more intensity we started passing better and our defense shut them out to allow us to find a way to tie it up. I believe the girls learned not to take things too easy just because you have beaten a team before. I was proud that they did not give up and played harder in the second half. Overall definitely not one of our better performances as a team. It was good that we got a chance to play another game the following day.

CSC 00 Boys Gold at LSA 1pm on 8/20/11

As always #1 and #2 in the 00 Boys KSSL premier division go head to head in week one of play. The first half began really well for us. We completely controlled the ball and came out aggressive on both sides of the ball from the opening whistle to the end of the first half. Our offense attacked the goal with speed and control. Our defense denied them the ball and made good tackles when they had the ball. We controlled the ball from the back third up to the attacking third. The team effort was strong and we entered half time with a 2-0 lead because of it. The first half we showed our physical and mental toughness. We came out in the second half and became somewhat reactive instead of proactive. We did not apply the same intensity on the ball as we did in the first half. We did not deny their players the ball and we did not make good tackles on the ball when they had possesion. We allowed a couple of goals and once that happened we seemed to lose our mental toughness. Once that happened we began to panic and got away from our style of play because we felt a sense of urgency to try to do too much as individuals and not work to get it back together as a team. Our offense lost its attack and when we did attack we did not finish our shots on goal. We have to give our opponent some credit they did not give up and stayed with their game plan of long balls and speed up front. As frustrating as was to give up too many goals and not score anymore goals ourself in the second half, I think we will take away from the game that we have to keep our mental and physical toughness as a team for 60 minutes. We will be back at work Tuesday and Thursday. Looking forward to two good performances this coming weekend.

The fall 2011 soccer season kicked off this weekend

It was an great weekend to begin the fall soccer season in kentucky despite the high temperatures and high humidity. I was fortunate to coach three games this weekend in the premier division of kssl. I also enjoyed watching several teams play in the bluegrass cup tournament over in versailles. I was witness to some promising things to come in the future development of soccer players in our state. I witnessed alot more than just the skill of the players on the field, I also noticed the teamwork and sportmanship from players which they will value as they mature in everyday adult life. I found myself looking around and seeing families spending time together instead of going their different ways as they so often do. I am blessed to have soccer in my life and cherrish the experiences it has provided me over the 26 years that I have played and coached. Soccer is a great game and so much more than just a game!