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Short Week
October 20, 2008
Short weeks, what can you say about them. Once again, we were presented with a shortened practice week before our upcoming conference matches. Tuesday was an interesting Workday session. It began fairly normal – a little endurance run, coupled with a splash of total body fitness. Then onto a rest period followed by their typical 11 v 11 full-field scrimmage. Coach Chisley officiated with help from the team as line officials.
Though everyone was having a good time, somehow as the half wore on, things began to turn progressively toward the negative. Before long, Coach Chisley was vigorously blowing the whistle and signaling to stop the clock. What happened next caught everyone by surprise! A red card was pulled from her shirt pocket and a player was sent off. There was visible disbelief displayed on everyone's faces as one team quickly found themselves in a precarious position – short a player. Before the half they gave up a goal and faced the daunting task of trying to tie the game with only 9 players. At the half, Coach Chisley pulled the team together and proceeded to explain a few things to them.
As it turned out, the player ejection had been staged before practice. She had pulled the individual as well as the captains aside and explained vaguely how the scene would play out. The objective of the exercise was two fold. First, it was mental exercise to see how the team would handle that sort of situation. Would they lose focus and get caught up arguing with the official? Would they fall apart? Or, would they adjust and keep playing?
The next part of the exercise was about emotion – more specifically negativity. If you remember, at the beginning of the scrimmage, everyone was having a good time. Well, as the game progressed, the individual who was to be ejected became very vocal in a negative manner. Her tone was harsh and she was constantly harping on the play of one of the captains. From there, it only took minutes for the mistakes to start accumulating. Balls began pinging off of player's feet, the concept of possession went out the window, and both teams were playing frantic soccer. It was amazing what a little negativity could do to ruin not only the player's mental focus, but also their physical abilities. Before long, everyone was nagging and the fun was gone.
So, with everyone in the huddle at the half, we discussed these things as a team to get feedback from the players on how they felt in the situation. We were all in agreement that negativity has no place on the field. Even when things aren't going our way, the team must find a way to keep their attitudes positive and continue supporting one another.
The later is a task that may play out any day, not just during game play. We found this to be the case, days later in Texas when we hit a bit of a rut. On the field, we could not find the back of the net and eventually gave up a goal to Austin College. The team could have turned to finger pointing and frustration, but they stuck together and continued to encourage each other as the minutes quickly ticked off the clock. When the contest had ended, everyone was both disappointed and upset that we had suffered yet another conference loss. What was the problem – or – was there a problem? No one really had the answer to that question. Instead, in its place was a deep sting of defeat with no easy remedy in sight. When it came down to it, the ladies simply could not find the back of the net, but had many opportunities to do so.
Saturday, however, we had regrouped and were ready to put a little more fun in our play. Despite the heat and occasional Fire Ant attacks, the ladies played with smiles on their faces and had a good time. We were able to find the back of the net and went on to defeat the University of Dallas 5-0.
As one of our players has family in the Texas area, we were invited to dinner at their home later that evening. Enjoying a home cooked meal, good conversation, and a few laughs served as a much needed reminder of how special we all are to be a part of this program at this amazing institution. The task ahead of us now is remembering that fact over the next few weeks. Regardless of how much may be going wrong around us we must lean on one another for support and keep encouraging.
Next match-ups for Centre
The Reserve take on Lindsey Wilson in their final match of the season, Wednesday, Oct. 22 nd . Kick-off is 6:00 pm CST. The full squad will then take on Conference foe, DePauw University, Saturday, Oct. 25 th at 5:30 pm. Until next time...
GO CENTRE! 
This week in women's soccer archives:
Tuesday Oct 14, 2008
Tuesday Oct 7, 2008
Tuesday Sept 30, 2008
Tuesday Sept 23, 2008
Tuesday Sept 16, 2008
Tuesday Sept 9, 2008
Tuesday Sept 2, 2008
Tuesday Nov 7, 2007
Tuesday Oct 30, 2007
Tuesday Oct 23, 2007
Tuesday Oct 14, 2007
Tuesday Oct 9, 2007
Tuesday Oct 1, 2007
Tuesday Sept 25, 2007
Tuesday Sept 18, 2007
Tuesday Sept 11, 2007
Tuesday Sept 4, 2007
Tuesday April 24, 2007
Tuesday Jan 16, 2007
Tuesday Oct 31, 2006
Tuesday Oct 24, 2006
Tuesday Oct 17, 2006
Tuesday Oct 11, 2006
Tuesday Oct 3, 2006
Tuesday Sept 26, 2006
Tuesday Sept 19, 2006
Tuesday Sept 12, 2006
Tuesday Sept. 5, 2006
Monday Aug. 28, 2006 |
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