spring training

Janelle: She, like a couple other players, was playing other than her normal position on Sat. I would expect that some situations arose during the scrimmage that she hadn’t seen as a midfielder and she didn’t know how to react, and Smith was addressing that. Agreed, probably a bit short on confidence in the new position. After the scrimmage she corralled Smith and asked him some additional questions. Aiming to get better.

Keelin: I don’t recall ever hearing her call for the punt. I’ll have to pay closer attention to the sounds rather than just the visual. I have no problem hearing Kelsey or Hailee directing traffic.

Kelsey: Any word on how she is doing?

Elli: Fellow sitting near me made the same observation of Elli. She is now passing the ball rather than running in to a crowd and losing it as was often the case last year.

Our three of our US U20s: Does the obvious improvement come from physical maturing, self confidence, competition with other U20s, feedback from national coaches? Probably a bit of all, but as several have noted, their improved and intense play is quite noticeable.

On a personal note: This is an open forum. Many of us chip in with our opinions and observations. No one censors our comments, although I expect there are limits as to what would be allowed. That said, a couple of recent posts hit me pretty hard. I felt they were a bit derogatory of some of the players. It is one thing to point out an area in which a player is deficient. I see that as constructive criticism: if the player can improve in that area, they will be a better player. Even if they make the improvement, they may not be as good as player A or player B, but they would still be a better player. But to comment that some players don’t have the skills or temperament or physical capabilities, well I didn’t feel comfortable reading that. I may not disagree, but it still feels uncomfortable to read. The coaches saw enough good in all of them to ask to come play for UP. Admittedly not all have continued to improve, certainly not all at the same rate, and maybe some are near the upper limit of their abilities. But I feel that all of the young women are giving their best effort. And I would hate if a player or her friends or family googled their name and encountered some of our less salutatory comments. Now I step off the soap box.

UPWSR - I've only seen one spring exhibition match, but your comment on Elli I wholeheartedly agree with. She wasn't holding the ball too long, as many of us complained last season. She not only is a great passer, but when she makes a run, then cuts into the middle to look for an open player to pass to, she looks awfully dangerous. When she runs it all the way down the line, she seems to always get behind the defenders and then can either make a cross in front of the goal, or cut in and give herself a decent shot at a goal.

She and Michelle attacking together in the offensive third must be a terrible sight for an opponent's defenders and GK.

I don't lay claim to be a tactics expert but I do have my opinion. Look at Marta (subject of considerable discourse on this forum She is considered at least among the top three women players in the world. I have watched her play and she simply does what she wants with defenders; one two or even three and she holds the ball. I contend that kind of confidence comes from taking players on the dribble under match play conditions. Therefore, even though it gets frustrating sometimes watching a particular player lose posession when they could have sliped it off early. I respect a player's need to learn from situations and play fearlessly.

The only other tactic I would like to see some change in this year is players taking shots further out to prevent the opposition from bunkering. Of course I love to watch posession feet to feet. However, I think using space is also vital and we all know we have the speed all over the field to run on. As I watch the college game get more professional, we do not want other teams to "get our number" on how we play. My motto has always been take what they give you then take some more.