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The Break-Though:
A Total Team Effort
September 9, 2008
This week ended on a tremendous high note! Sunday evening, the Centre Women faced a strong and relentless squad from Kenyon College. Taking an early lead, it looked as if the old Centre team had once again returned. However, moments later, we gave up a goal and it became apparent we were in for a dog fight. The game would go on scoreless for the rest of the match as both sides remained even on the stats sheet. Heading into the overtime period, it was time to regroup and see how bad we really wanted this game. Thinking back on this week of training, we certainly had the tools to pull out this win.
Monday, the session was designed to focus on individual ball skill as well as endurance training. To accomplish these goals, the ladies played a little game of Connect the Dots. Yes, you read correctly, connect the dots. Picture this: an entire soccer field filled with cones which are spaced 10 yards apart. It's actually a very cool sight. Brightly colored cones strategically placed every-which way you look in nearly perfectly straight lines. The objective for the activity - game realistic running. This includes cutting, turning, and various changes of pace. For 30 minutes or so, the ladies were asked to repeat this pattern: sprint 30 yards and then jog 20 yards. Their only stipulations – 1) runs must be either diagonally or 2) laterally on the field, and 3) they were to avoid merely running up and down the field (i.e from end line to end line).
It was encouraging for the coaching staff to see many of the athletes continuing to train with high intensity in the final minutes of the activity. You could hear them shouting encouragement to one another even through the fatigue. When they had finished, they knew they had accomplished something that day and were ready for whatever came next. Tuesday, the ladies met on the game field for an inter squad scrimmage. Wednesday, we were back on the practice field for small-sided training which focused on switching the point of attack from one side of the field to the other. Thursday, was more technical training followed by possession games, defensive work, and finally, more small-sided games. Friday, the focus switched to preparing for Washington and Lee.
On Saturday, though we did not show as well as we should have, the fact of the matter was this: the ladies possessed the tools needed to turn things around for Sunday. It was just a matter of using those tools, collectively. For much of the game Sunday, the attitude and desire was present. You could just see it in the way they were competing. At one point during the game, one of the athletes even commented about the fact that she was having fun. As coaches, we certainly hope this is the case more often than not. However, we understand that the ladies are only human and sometimes it gets challenging to find the fun on the field.
In shifting our focus back to the moments heading into the overtime period, you could feel the desire emanating from the team. They wanted it! They would not settle for the tie, they wanted to earn the win! They had come together and through sheer team effort, had put themselves in the driver's seat heading toward victory.
With 10 seniors on the field, the moment had arrived. The referee blew the whistle and everyone was on there feet anticipating what might come next. Within moments, we had penetrated Kenyon's defense and sent a cross that was redirected into the back of the net. The bench and sidelines exploded with cheers, high-fives and hugs! Coach Hoffman sprinted onto the field, hugging and congratulating both the scorer and the passer. The Centre Women had done it! We broke through and earned our first win of the year. It is a moment we will, hopefully, all remember for some time to come. For those 10 seniors, it is a moment, they will remember for the rest of their lives!
For now, we begin preparation for a challenging Saturday match-up against Wittenberg University. Hopefully, the feeling from this weekend will carry over into practice and set us up for a successful evening. Game time is set for 5:00 pm EST on Centre's Colonel Field. Think Centre!
This week in women's soccer archives:
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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