Friday, April 15, 2011

Explosion of Goals!

Since my last post we have only scored 28 goals over 4 games. An explosion of finishing. What happened?

The competition did not play well during this 4 game stretch against South Sioux, Ralston, St. Peter Claver, and Bryan. Some of the programs are struggling at this time. St. Peter Claver is closing at the end of the year. Be that as it may, I have coached teams playing against sputtering opponents and still have had close games or a game with a few goals. I have even lost to poor teams when we make one mistake and they score and we have trouble finishing. So, just because a team is having some difficulties does not mean you will be successful against them. You have to perform, finish and run through the ball. We were able to do so.

The most competitive game of the lot was against Ralston in the pouring rain. At the start of the game, we played tentatively, and allowed Ralston to dominate possession. We scored against the run of play about 15 minutes in. Our first shot of the game was a goal. Then, as Ralston was worried about that goal, we scored again about a minute later. As the game went on, we had more and more possession and were able to finish our chances, beating them 5-0. We have never beaten Ralston by that many goals so it was a game to remember.

The most difficult challenge when playing teams that aren't at your level (either above or below) is to stay focused and confident. We need to guard against over-confidence or under-confidence. Just because a team has beaten you in the past, doesn't make it so the next time you play. Also, beating a team by a large margin yesterday does not mean you will do so again. You need to strive to perform at your peak no matter the circumstances. As Chris Berman says, "That's why they play the game."

Our next game is at Central, Saturday April 16 at 1:00 PM. Come out and watch the Cougars claw the Eagles.

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