Well, this has been a weird trip.
All my coaching career, I felt I had an X factor. I could will my team through encouragement, through confidence, through some skill to win over the other team. And I don't mean score more points - rather have personal and team victories. While the scoreboard told us we won most often (sometimes all the time), it was the feeling on the sideline, the pride in their play that set us apart.
So, stepping into the high school game should have been similar. Turns out, not so much.
I was greeted with a team captain I'd passed over year after year as it cocky attitude got in his way of being a great player. More than half of the kids were new to the game (some had 2 years in, some had none). We had trouble passing and catching.
Luckily, our opponents didn't and really seem to enjoy showing us how well they could play. Our defense was porous, our attack was afraid to shoot and poor Ian at midfield was playing by himself.
This wasn't going to be a will them to win kind of scenario; this was just getting out of the game with enough kids to play the next one. Numbers were a constant worry as we fielded just 14 or so boys (9 on the field).
This is new.
All my coaching career, I felt I had an X factor. I could will my team through encouragement, through confidence, through some skill to win over the other team. And I don't mean score more points - rather have personal and team victories. While the scoreboard told us we won most often (sometimes all the time), it was the feeling on the sideline, the pride in their play that set us apart.
So, stepping into the high school game should have been similar. Turns out, not so much.
I was greeted with a team captain I'd passed over year after year as it cocky attitude got in his way of being a great player. More than half of the kids were new to the game (some had 2 years in, some had none). We had trouble passing and catching.
Luckily, our opponents didn't and really seem to enjoy showing us how well they could play. Our defense was porous, our attack was afraid to shoot and poor Ian at midfield was playing by himself.
This wasn't going to be a will them to win kind of scenario; this was just getting out of the game with enough kids to play the next one. Numbers were a constant worry as we fielded just 14 or so boys (9 on the field).
This is new.
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