Prior Lake Soccer Club

Hi U9 Surge!

Well what a difference a week makes! One week ago we were prepping to play our first scrimmage and today we have a league game under our belt. 

Wednesday’s game was a tale of two halves. The first half had some moments of success but we also were not very aggressive and were losing those 50/50 balls. By the time the second half came around, we were very aggressive, taking tons of shots and scoring quickly. It was as if the “switch” was flipped and the boys were in a completely different frame of mind!

Some of the highlights were:

Improved defense and patience when putting pressure on

50/50 balls improved

Lots of shots from outside the box in the second half.

Grayson and Brandon in Net!

2^nd half intensity

Fan energy on the sideline

Team soccer – passing and distribution was improved.

Some areas to improve:

Better shooting technique

1^st half intensity

Marking (although this could have made both lists too I guess…)

Taking space when open

Defenders taking the balls to the outside and not trying to pass in front of the net

Transition both ways

Waiting for the perfect shot in the first half

Corner Kick defense

Team Soccer  - (yep it made both lists) – Passing and distribution was not there in some instances. We had some people hanging on to the ball too long to try and shoot when they had a teammate open

Thanks to all the boys for practicing in the rain Friday night! Our daughters had a game today at 2:00 and the downpours came! Game called and rescheduled but we were already soaked!  We have practice tomorrow with Terri, the club technical director. That is scheduled from 5-6:30pm. We will monitor the weather and field conditions. Lakefront was already a bog on Friday so I will go check it tomorrow to see what the condition is. Our daughters game is rescheduled for the same time over at Redtail Ridge, so we may call practice a little early or bump the start a few minutes early. (This is all pending a full confirmation and fields open etc.) Stay tuned and thanks for the flexibility!

John and I have discussed the regular schedule to see if 4 days was too much for this group. I originally did it to help us have time to practice and try and close the gap. It also gets us the field space secured in the event we have days when the fields get closed or we have lighting. I will leave the 4 days for now, but if I (or the masses) feel the kids are getting fried I will reevaluate. It looks as though we will be averaging 3 days anyway with the weather, tourneys, holiday weeks and field closures. I may also make the Friday practices one hour in length and make them “Fun games” and Shooting! I might as well let them loose occasionally from the tyrant of a head coach!

I have updated the calendar with some minor changes to the memorial day weekend. Right now I have us practicing Friday the 25^th. I would like to get one day in that weekend. I can leave Friday or go to Monday night.  I have no preference. If you have one, either way let me know. We will give Sunday and either Friday or Monday as days off for the kids. We do have the Tonka tourney the following week so some practice would be good.

I’m sure you all received the email about the $200 credit for a tourney! First off, congratulations, we (and the club) really appreciate all you do for the team and making the time for the lectures was appreciated. What we will do with that $200 is the kids that are doing the Blaine tourney will play $20 less per player toward their player fees. Paul will get them paid and you will continue to pay him. If there is anyone not playing in Blaine, work with Paul on taking $20 off the current statement he sent out. Make sure you thank Paul as you see him and pay him promptly. We all appreciate the time he puts into getting our paperwork and tourneys handled. As any of you know who coach or manage your kids teams, there is a lot to do at times and all help is appreciated.

I am off to my final competition of the year with my gymnasts the 9^th-16^th. Unfortunately due to workout schedules and flights we couldn’t keep me her through Wednesday’s game. John will be there and keep me updated and I’ll take any play by play texts you want to send too! I hate missing a game but this should be the only one I will miss.

I have embedded 3 new videos on the website. We introduced these in addition to our normal foot skills work. Feel free to watch and try! I will try and update with some additional videos in a week or two.

Thanks again for all of your time and commitment. We couldn’t get these boys ready to go without your help.

Bryon
952-500-3408