Stronger Together
We have a very challenging fall ahead of us for a number of reasons.
Baptism by Fire
The first time I’m allowed to train the players on the field is August 17th. This is because 1) we don’t have field space until then, and 2) no one is covered by our club’s insurance policy until August 16th.
We open on September 11th, leaving me less than a month to prepare the team for our first match.
Moreover, we open on the road in St Louis vs St Louis Scott Gallagher Navy (SLSG).
SLSG had a Missouri ECNL club and an Illinois ECNL club for the last few years. From my understanding, SLSG MO had 10 teams at the 09 age group last year and SLSG IL had 6 teams. Though affiliated and sharing the same name, the two clubs operated their own teams. Until now.
This year, they merged the clubs and took the best players from each club to form their Navy team, and the next best group of kids to form their Green team. That’s a lot of numbers…way more than we could ever hope to see here in Minnesota. I could be wrong about all this, and will try to find out the details to confirm when I can.
If opening weekend wasn’t challenge enough, we then battle perennial ECNL powerhouses Eclipse (IL) and Hawks (MI) all within the first month.
On the Road Again
All in all we have 7 competitive weekends, 5 of them on the road.
Sat, Sept 11 @ SLSG Navy (MO)
Sun, Sept 12 @ SLSG Green (MO)
Sat, Sept 25 Eclipse Select (IL)
Sat, Oct 2 @ Hawks (MI)
Sun, Oct 3 @ Hawks Magic (MI)
Sat Oct 9 Eclipse North (IL)
Sat Oct 16 @ FC Wisconsin (WI)
Sat Oct 23 @ Sporting BV (KS)
Sun Oct 24 @ KC Athletics (KS)
Sat Nov 6 @ Sporting Iowa (in Omaha)
Sun Nov 7 @ Gretna Elite Academy (NE)
Although competition is regional, it’s still not easy to travel AND perform well.
My Kingdom for a Goalkeeper!
Though we have a number of athletes who can give a good account of themselves in net, we don’t have a dedicated/trained goalkeeper (see ISO of GK) in place.
And Your Name Is…?
Adding to our challenge is the fact that 1/3 of the players on this team are new to the club. I’m not really sure how this roster change percentage compares with other teams in our league, but it seems a bit on the high side at this level.
With all that’s ahead of us, it’s not an easy task to get the team prepared.
In my experience a team is only as strong on the field as they are off the field. And this team strength is bolstered by a cohesive parent unit.
So in an effort to 1) get a jump on training with some team chalk talks and video analysis, and 2) start building relationships and bonds among the players and parents, we hosted a couple pre-season get togethers.
In the early ‘90s, the Thunder went undefeated in our first 2 or 3 seasons - as an amateur team mainly playing professional teams. Yes, we had some very good players. But to this day, I attribute that early success to the fact that that team was a bunch of brothers off the field. We had grown up together/playing each other. We hung out together. We played for each other.
This is what I try to bring to the girls. A sense of playing for something bigger than just yourself. You are part of a culture here. Part of a family that cares about you. Mistakes are OK. Your teammates are here to help when you’re down, just like in turn you’ll be lending a helping hand when someone else is down.
Because…we tiiiiight.
