Blue Lightning Party
Exceptional parents = exceptional kids. 12 families attended, plus one over long distance from Toronto. Whispers was noisy!
Posted in | 8/26/2010 10:57:00 AM
Exceptional parents = exceptional kids. 12 families attended, plus one over long distance from Toronto. Whispers was noisy!
Posted in | 8/22/2010 10:57:00 AM
They are the nicest players a coach can hope for.
Posted in | 8/19/2010 09:32:00 PM
What else to say... That was the best Blue Lightning performance to date against a strong team with great players. The team had awesome defending, precision efficient scoring, they just played like one solid block. And two disallowed goals!
However, the best, and what really counts is that all season long they played fair and behaved nicely.
Goals scored: 33, goals against: 7, 1 loss
Our main goalie suffered an amazing.... 1 goal the entire season, and he scored 2 himself! Outstanding.
They are also the nicest group of soccer kids I have ever seen.
Posted in | 8/18/2010 01:18:00 PM
Warm-up, Denilson sance, head up, roll ball, always moving 5
Offer support: Stay Away 3
Defender runs fast on wings, centers 5
Defending free kicks 4
Board
Throw-ins 3
Corner kicks II 5
Free kicks: F and D 5
Headers, crosses, diving headers 10
Chest and shoot 10
Defensive methods; Tackles 6
Wall Pass 8
Posted in | 8/14/2010 04:41:00 PM
The kids defeated parents 12x11. A penalty shootout followed for fun.
Posted in | 8/13/2010 05:34:00 PM
Gustavo's attempt at Didi's Folha Seca shot. he shoots, he scores!
Posted in | 8/13/2010 03:32:00 PM
What a team! It was a superb effort against a very tough team. Blue Lightning hanged on and held them scoreless for about 35 minutes, then reacted and managed to tie the match.
Amazing team effort: forwards running back and helping the defense, defenders supporting forwards. Also, our goalie made a spectacular beautiful save in the first half.
Well done!
Posted in | 8/11/2010 02:54:00 PM
Warm-up, running passes on 3,step on, always moving | 5 | |
Offer support: Stay Away | 10 | |
Defender runs fast on wings, centers | 10 | |
Turns (inside, outside, Cruyff) | 8 | |
Board | 5 | |
Throw-ins | 3 | |
Corner kicks | 5 | |
Free kicks | 5 | |
Headers, high and low (diving headers) | 8 | 59 |
Volleys | 10 | |
Kick-offs | 4 |
Posted in | 7/29/2010 08:20:00 AM
Posted in | 7/28/2010 08:59:00 AM
Warm-up, running passes on 3,step on, always moving | 5 | |
Offer support: Stay Away | 10 | |
Pass to defender running on wings, center | 10 | |
Game | 12 | |
Throw-ins | 3 | |
Corner kicks | 5 | |
Free kicks | 5 | |
Headers | 8 | 58 |
Volleys | 8 | |
Emerson move, both sides | 5 |
Posted in | 7/25/2010 06:24:00 PM
Gustavo's favorite singer was in Ottawa Saturday. He took this picture of her:
Posted in | 7/24/2010 05:13:00 PM
It was an awesome day for soccer and rockets!
Posted in | 7/24/2010 03:11:00 PM
Here is the video analysis of both John ad Noah's instep drive shots. Interestingly, both have similar movements.
John shows great back swing. For a more powerful shot, at the point of contact his knee and chest should be over the ball, not behind it. Also, he is hitting with the front left corner of his foot as opposed to dead on center, which would give him more power. He has some follow-through, which should be oriented more forward as opposed to sideways (he is slightly off balance)..
Noah:
Similar to John, same comments above apply. Also, he is dropping his body at the time of contact as opposed to following through forward. Note how his foot sticks out to the right at the end, because he is hitting with the inside left of the foot as opposed to dead center.
Posted in | 7/22/2010 08:14:00 AM
Posted in | 7/21/2010 01:09:00 PM
Warm-up, running passes on 3,step on, always moving | 5 | |
Off-side (board) | 5 | |
Positioning (Board) | 5 | |
Corner kicks, drills, moving | 10 | |
Penalty kicks (team) | 5 | |
Goal kicks | 5 | |
Throw-ins | 4 | |
Sportsmanship | 5 | 44 |
Not bunching up | 10 | |
Free kicks | 5 | |
Ball clearance | 3 | 62 |
Midfield Long passes | 8 | |
Pass to defender running on wings | 10 |
Posted in | 7/17/2010 08:41:00 PM
This Saturday kids had a blast at soccer -literally, several times actually.
The match kids vs parents was decided by a penalty shoot-out, where after 5 shots the shootout score was 2-2, going into sudden death shootout, kids finally winning.
Posted in | 7/15/2010 07:41:00 AM
One of our players asked yesterday if the goalkeeper could take corner shots. The answer is yes, but that would be difficult as the goalie needs to run back to his net after taking the corner.
However, goalies can take free kicks and penalty shots much more easily. In fact, the goalie of my home team, Sao Paulo FC, is the goalie that has scored the most goals ever (91 total, list), he is the holder of the Guinness World Record. At age 37 he is still the goalkeeper number one and he is a great sportsman. He is a triple World Club champion.
Here is a goal against Santos earlier in 2009:
Posted in | 7/15/2010 07:25:00 AM
Another hot day, another great effort and good result against a very tough team which was short of players. Some of our players did our corner kick move during the match, it was a pleasure to see.
A couple of forwards displayed great speed and were even caught off-side a few times (we will be practicing off-sides). Forwards must be fast. Ball clearance needs work. There were some too slow clearances, as well as using the center instead of the sides.
We have talked and will talk again about sportsmanship: Things like never complain about a teammate, opponent, ref, coach or parents during the match, never fake injuries, never lie, never swear, no spitting, don't make fun of players, etc. Our players are great in this regards.
Posted in | 7/14/2010 07:01:00 AM
Warm-up, running passes,step on, always moving 5
Corner kicks 7
Olympics 18
Stay Away, Sportsmanship 5
G4 Bunching up drill 12
Pass to defender running on outside 10
Cone display, offensive, defensive support, stay away 6
63
Posted in | 7/10/2010 03:56:00 PM
It was a fabulous day for soccer. Some old friends showed up, and cold yummy watermelon for all (thanks Tom!)
Posted in | 7/09/2010 05:36:00 PM
Last week players started learning the chip shot and bending the ball. Gustavo demonstrates both.
Chip shot.
Posted in | 7/08/2010 03:24:00 PM
Posted in | 7/07/2010 10:22:00 AM
Warm-up, spot the coach, step on, side to side, sole to sole, on toes, dynamic stretching, always moving | 5 |
Pass to defender running outside, with ball protection | 15 |
Plus Defense positioning | 10 |
Corner kicks | 8 |
Turns, inside, outside, cruyff | 12 |
Speed Dribble cones and shoot | 10 |
Game, forwards outside of cones only | 15 |
75 |
Posted in | 7/05/2010 05:12:00 PM
For the other players who like airplanes, a video of the 2010 Air show on July 4th, featuring several aircraft. The snowbirds were amazing.
Posted in | 7/01/2010 08:06:00 AM
Amazingly, we had all players in - the night before Canada day.
It was a superb effort for our players, under very difficult weather conditions, cold, rainy, and muddy field. The team played an outstanding first half, when they were spreading themselves out much better, which was the objective of a couple of our practices.
During the 2nd half, players bunched up again and that makes scoring much harder, in fact no scoring happened. However, players are to be commended for still running hard under those conditions. Awesome job.
Areas for improvement:
- Spreading out, using open spaces
- Use of wide sidelines/wings
- Forwards coming back to help when we lose the ball
- Players arriving on time for practice!
Posted in | 6/29/2010 05:15:00 PM
Warm-up, step on, side to side, sole to sole, on toes, dynamic stretching, always moving | 5 |
Passing grid | 12 |
2/3-Nets WC | 12 |
Attack: use sidelines, support, spread out , open space | 12 |
Defense | 12 |
Olympics | 10 |
Short game | 10 |
Posted in Labels: World Cup | 6/25/2010 07:12:00 PM
Posted in | 6/24/2010 07:35:00 AM
Blue Lightning players did well. Once again, goalkeepers were outstanding.
A few things to work on:
- increased use the sidelines/wings (not the crowded center)
- players without the ball should move into open space
- forwards should run faster
- more passing, less crowding of the ball
- forwards not coming back to help defense. Sometimes forwards go to attack and they forget to come back
Posted in | 6/23/2010 02:32:00 PM
After a 5.5 earthquake this afternoon, for a change, the forecast is for rain only after 8PM!
Warm-up, step on, side to side, sole to sole, on toes, dynamic stretching, always moving 5
Protect & Pass Deep, Center 15
Defending, positioning drill 15
Fake, Turn around and shoot 7
Passing, cone grid 12
Photo 10
Small Game 10
74
Posted in | 6/19/2010 06:39:00 PM
Shall we dance? This is the Denilson Move. 6 out of 7 are doing it correctly!
The move was used later during the match! These moves are constantly used in Brazilian players - on moving balls, you can see them in the South Africa Cup.
Posted in | 6/19/2010 06:36:00 PM
In our practice the players did the Robinho pass and the Elano Run.
Beautifully done!
Posted in Labels: post game | 6/17/2010 06:52:00 AM
That was a fantastic performance from the team. Our players were really running hard and helping the defense. We also had a very good practice session in which we introduced tactical concepts which were used during the match.
The great stuff:
Posted in | 6/16/2010 07:55:00 AM
Forecast is for rain, yet again.
Warm-up, side to side, sole to sole, on toes, dynamic stretching, always moving, no flat feet 5
Attack, basic, pass along sidelines, score 15
Attack, pass along sidelines, center 10
Sidelines defending 15
Maicon move 8
photo 10
Short small game 15
Juggle challenge update 1
79
Posted in | 6/10/2010 07:50:00 AM
A great effort by the team; it was a tough match. The goalies were great and prevented many goals.
Areas of improvement:
- Ball clearance from defensive zone: at least 2 goals were given to the opposition by our defenders shooting the ball towards the middle, where the ball can be easily intercepted by the opposing attackers. Defenders must use the sidelines instead
- Forwards should use the sidelines, and should run fast
- Forwards must come back running really fast to help defense when they lose the ball and the other team is attacking (on several occasions this did not happen)
- Some players are not in good shape and were tired
- There is too much chatting during practice; players must pay attention to what the coach is saying
We will work on all these things next weeks.
Posted in | 6/09/2010 10:22:00 AM
Warm-up, side to side, sole to sole, on toes, dynamic stretching, always moving | 5 |
WC pong, individual shots | 15 |
PKs | 8 |
Receiving ball: passes side by side, both feet | 6 |
Kicking the ball Part II, side foot, instep (laces), New: pass with outside of foot | 7 |
Spot the coach, wp | 7 |
Juggle results | 3 |
Team formation defense | 3 |
Team formation attack | 3 |
Throw-ins | 1 |
Substitutions | 0.5 |
58.5 |
Posted in | 6/06/2010 08:34:00 PM
Players practiced variants of the Jairzinho moves. They are like sponges and have already nearly mastered the move. In fact, one of the players used it during the game afterward.
Peter does a very good demo of the Jairzinho move (ballless variant):
Posted in | 6/06/2010 06:35:00 PM
Gustavo shows a great backswing and great ball contact. Follow-through and balance could be improved and his chest should be a bit more forward over the ball. Note how he lands backwards, he should land forwards on his kicking foot to increase the power of the shot.
Peter shows a very good shot as well, good backswing and good contact and some follow-through. His chest should also be a bit more over the ball at contact:
Tristan shows good backswing and follow-through; his non-kicking foot is a bit too far back from the ball, and his chest and kicking knee should be over the ball. Being behind the ball they force his body to drop a bit too much. Left arm should be forward for balance:
Thomas shows good backswing and solid ball contact with the laces. His left foot is well placed beside the ball. His left arm is correctly upfront but moves back too early; it should remain forward to help complete the follow-through, stepping forward after the ball is hit.
For a good professional explanation, please see this post in the Resources section.
Posted in Labels: game | 6/06/2010 10:40:00 AM
Turned out to be a beautiful day. Some great passing can be seen.
Posted in | 6/02/2010 09:05:00 PM
The match itself was a wash-out as it was canceled only 2 minutes in due to lightning. At least we got some practice going, although under not very pleasant conditions and many players being late.
It is crucial that the players practice those skills: hard shots with the laces part of the shoes and accurate shots with side of the foot, with both the strong and the weak foot, and never using toes.
The players also got their health check from the referee :-)
Players have a juggling challenge to practice as well. They all can succeed at it if they practice every day (if they have time!). It helps if they practice facing a wall to stop run away balls. It also helps to deflate the ball a little and use regular sports shoes. The players were show how to progress with this exercise.
Parents may wish to wipe clean the inside and outside of their soccer cleats. This exercise we did yesterday is an eye-opener for the kids on how to strike a ball.
Posted in | 6/02/2010 06:02:00 AM
Tentative.
Warm-up, side, sole, dynamic stretching | 5 |
Kicking the ball, shoeless, side foot, instep (laces) | 15 |
Take shots, instep, long | 10 |
Take shots, inside, short | 10 |
Juggle challenge | 7 |
Always moving (no flat foots) | 3 |
Free kick, Indirect kick | 5 |
Team name | 5 |
Basic team formation, defence | 5 |
Throw-ins | 1 |
Substitutions | 1 |
Spot the coach | 7 |
69 |
Posted in | 5/29/2010 12:53:00 PM
This morning at Lincoln Fields park, there was no official practice or game, but players showed up anyway, including a very, very, very slow player:
You can see one of the Team Blue players in the background. Does anyone know who he is?
As for the slow player, many questions remain unanswered: where did it come from, how did it get there, and why did the turtle cross the road?
Posted in | 5/28/2010 06:29:00 PM
Next week the players will choose a team name. Two very good suggestions were mentioned Wednesday:
Posted in | 5/27/2010 07:30:00 AM
Team 2 players did awesome, incredible running with very high temperatures. There were many 'giants' on the field for our team, particularly those who kept running all the way back from the attack to help defense when needed. Those were huge efforts. We had spectacular goal tending from both keepers.
One of the planned activities (how to properly kick a ball) could not be executed yesterday due to lack of time and the general first day chaos. It is perhaps the most important basic skill so we will take our time with it next week
Posted in | 5/25/2010 12:40:00 PM
Our first day is tomorrow May 26. Forecast is for a beautiful and warm day. Please bring plenty of water (and/or Gatorade).
6PM, McKellar Park.
First day is more of a 'getting to know you' session and the first fun game. With the temperatures and possible delays we won't be able to run much anyway; plans will be 'dynamic'.
Plan: