I have posted the schedule for our first four weeks on our team website: http://cnyushootingstars.
Games are on the back fields at Twin Brooks. We're on field #7 this week but all that will be explained on Saturday.
We are two uniforms short, but we're wearing white shirts with black shorts and white socks (my previous email was wrong about the socks). We need to have numbers for the roster we turn into the refs, so I will try to bring some black duct tape for the two who didn't get jerseys today (we will get them at some point).
We are going to play 7 versus 7 - this includes the goal keeper. Since we need to set the roster for positions before the game, it would be great to hear if any of your guys want to play keeper (so far I have two - Will and Toby). While everyone is going to play every position at some point (although no one will be forced to be a keeper if they don't want to), we would rather not stick a boy in goal for the first game who either hasn't done it or doesn't want to do it.
I barked more at practice tonight than I probably ever will again, but I wanted to get through a bunch of things and we went over more than I could have hoped. To begin, all nine boys (we might get another) showed up and we covered:
- striking the ball only with either the inside of our feet or on the laces
- trapping the ball always with the inside of our feet
- passing to where your teammate is going
- using both feet and passing with your outside foot (to pass to the left, kick with your right foot)
- give-and-goes (wall passes)
- throw ins (feet planted, ball goes straight over your head)
- kick offs (opposing team can't approach until ball is touched)
- drop balls (ball has to hit the ground before you can touch it)
- goal kicks (opposing team has to go to half field until ball is touched)
- corner kicks
- free kicks
Other than working with the keeper, we actually went over about 90% of the basic rules and rule differences of our league (which I covered in the earlier email - which is also posted on our web site) AND the coaching staff was able to gauge where our guys are in terms of skill sets.
The boys were all excited and probably fried from the first week of school, so I know it was a particularly tough time to try to focus on a coach's lecture (my Toby is case in point: exhausted but frantic). But while I pushed them tonight, I think they did a great job in covering a ton of skills and drills and rules and roles. I think they were all amazing to have covered what they did. In fact, I think we're actually ready for the first game.
Our lineup is going to be two strikers (forwards), one center midfielder/stopper back, two wing fullbacks and one sweeper (again, we will have 7 players on the field including the goalie). This might not make a great deal of sense to many of you, but we are essentially doing a standard diamond defense with two strikers for the offense. It looks like this:
E F
G
D
B C
A
K
A=sweeper (center fullback)
B=left back (left fullback)
C=right back (right fullback)
D=stopper (center midfielder/center mid)
E=left striker (left wing)
F=right striker (right wing)
G= center midfielder/mid (when we field 8 players)
K=keeper (goalie)
The strikers are standard offensive players. The stopper/center mid is going to run like crazy to be on both offense and defense (and will usually sit out the next quarter. The left and right backs are standard fullbacks - which means they must support the attack when our team has the ball. The sweeper is the only guy (other than the keeper) who might not ever go over mid-field: no one should ever get behind him. If the keeper even touches the ball in this league, the ref stops the play.
So while this setup might not be what you are used to talking about, it's what we want all of the boys to understand. So, if you can, please help them try to understand all of the positions and learn all of the names I used for them just above to the right of the numbers. The only difference between this lineup and professional lineups is that we are basically playing without a midfield line - so this will help them learn proper positions even though it's a smaller crew on a smaller pitch (field).
It might seem like I have poured too much information onto the boys and too much onto the parents in the first couple of emails, but at this point both you and the boys have gotten about 90% of what we intend to cover during the season. And the boys did an amazing job tonight: I was extremely proud of them - they got through all of it (and were even asking to learn a couple of trick moves at the end!). And now it's going to get much, much easier for them as we go along.
