Soccer Update-Game 10.09.09

Today we had a game at Chatham. We lost 4-1.

The weather was pretty wet today. It was misting when we got there, and we were so early that we had to hang out in the rain until the other team got out of class. It was sort of fun, especially because I went into one of the goals and tried to stop shots some of the girls were taking. I didn't go all out, and I didn't wear my gloves, in case Rachel needed them, if her gloves got too wet. I sort of forgot how much I like being in goal, even though I didn't save that many shots. After about 45 minutes of hanging out, sort of messing about with the balls while we waited for the other team, they finally came out and we started warming up. At one point when we were doing our stretching warm up, I fell. I'm not quite sure if I tripped, slipped, or if my ankle gave out, but it made me nervous, and I'm pretty sure Coach saw. At any rate, I didn't get to play in the game, and although I was sort of disappointed, I was also glad, because the field wasn't exactly smooth (there were a lot of little dents), and it was wet, and I had still only been to two practices.

Our biggest fault today was our lack of passion. Watching the game, it seemed like we were dragging our feet, and not coming to the ball as much as we have in other games. Another fault we have, and this isn't just from today, but something that's been going on every game, and that is playing the ball out of the air. It seems like we fell the need to play the ball with our feet only, and as Coach keeps pointing out, you lose approx. 80% of your game if you only play with your feet, including trapping the ball. I love headers, but I can't always get them to go where I want and I also need to work on trapping the ball with my chest and thighs.

Something positive I noticed about this game was that very few, if any balls were played straight to the goalie. We're really improving on playing balls to the outside, so that the forwards can take them at an angle, but we still need to work on looking for passes, and making them accurate.

I think that our game at P-town next Friday will go pretty well, and I think that I'll get to play. We have a full week of practice, and we've beaten P-town twice, by a large amount (5-0) both times. This is also really good for my schoolwork load because our Group 4 project has to be presented on the day of the P-town game, so I'll have time to work on that with my group, and not have to leave early for games. Strangely enough, the Group 4 project has helped with team bonding, because Kate and I are in the same group, and I feel like working together on the science project has helped us work better together in practice, and will in the upcoming games.

Soccer Update-Game 10.07.09

We had a game against Cape Cod Academy today, at our home field.

We lost 4-0.

I thought that we did really well in the first half, where they only scored 1 goal, and just got tired in the second half. The game was really interesting to watch. CCA has really excellent offense, especially one player. Coach Austin has had Kendra, the really good player, on his summer league team, so he had Heather, a sophomore, who is usually our awesome defensive mid-fielder, mark Kendra, just like we did when we played when we were little. This means that Heather basically had to follow Kendra all over the field, constantly defending her, and keeping her from getting shots on goal. Heather did an awesome job in the first half, but it seemed sort of like she got tired in the second half, because Kendra was able to get three shots on goal, two of which went in. But I still think the Heather did a really good job, especially because Kendra is such a great player, and she moves quickly and around a lot. It would be a lot of work to mark her, especially because she has good footwork, and can stop the ball and turn really quickly, and her teammates are really good at finding a way to pass to her. I think the whole team really expressed our gratitude for Heather, and told her what a good job she did, which really gave her a sense of pride and made her like a rallying point for the team.

Even though we lost, I think that our team worked really well together, but we really need to focus our passes, contain the ball more, and kick the ball into space, instead of trying to kick it past people, especially when those people are the opposing team, who have excellent footwork.

I think that this game however, has prepared us for our game at Chatham, because although they are a good team, they aren't as good as CCA, and if we play with passion, we should be able to beat them. Also I think that I will be able to play in the game on Friday, probably later in the game, because I will have been to a couple of practices, and my ankle should be stronger I certainly don't expect to play much, but if it goes well, I think I'll get a few minutes of playing time.

Soccer Update-Game 10.05.09

Today we had our first game against New Testament, because even though we were supposed to play them on September 30th, they postponed. We won 4-1.

I didn't play today. I passed a bit with one of the freshman, which was good bonding, because I hadn't warmed up with her before. I was able to pass a bit with my right foot, but I was only wearing an ace bandage on my ankle, so that hurt sometimes. Most of the time I worked on passing with my left foot, which has always been a big weakness for me. I found that the more I focused on aiming at Sara (my partner), by pointing my right foot where I wanted the ball to go, the more accurate my left-footed passes became. After a while, I didn't have to concentrate as much at aiming, because it was becoming a habit, and so I was able to pass more comfortably with my left foot. I'll consider this a new skill acquired! Especially because previously, my left-footed passes were all over the place so often that I never wanted to practice them, for fear of making my partner run all over the place, and believing I couldn't get any better.

The only downside to passing before the game is that it made my ankle pretty sore. It wasn't too bad, until we had to do our stretching warm-up, and it hurt to do high-knees and butt-kicks, because the landing was hard. So I didn't end up playing in the game, but it still felt really good to get my foot on the ball again, as I had been feeling pretty restless at practices and games because I couldn't get involved.

I think the team played pretty well. We're kicking almost no long balls to the goalie, and doing a spectacular job at passing back, especially the defenders passing back to Rachel, our goalie. Passing back is really helpful because it allows us to make more accurate passes, and generally control the ball better, and keep possession, because we can pass the ball back to someone facing forward, who can send the ball pretty far forward. I think the most important thing the team needs to work on is staying pushed up, so that not only can we get more off-side calls in our favor, but so that we put more pressure on the opposing team to play in less space, and they are therefore more likely to make mistakes. Coach discussed this with us a little bit on Friday after the game, and already I can see the team working on it, although sometimes, when the play gets going, some team members seem to forget this and drop too far back.

At this point, I know I won't be playing in the game on Wednesday, because I will have only participated in one practice in three weeks, and Cape Cod Academy is a tough team. I think I'll pass at the before the CCA game, but not try to warm up again, so that I don't hurt my ankle by accident, and so that I don't stretch my muscles out, just to not use them, and accidentlly pull something.

Soccer Update-Game 10.02.09

Friday October 2nd, 2009:

Today we had our first away game at Provincetown. We played pretty well, and won 5-0. I'm off the crutches, but yesterday was my first day off them, and as I haven't practiced in two weeks, I understand why Coach didn't play me.

I watched the game, and I noticed that we're kicking long shots, straight to the goalie, a LOT less. This is a big improvement, and helps the team gain more control and be on the offense a lot more than at the beginning of the season. However, we're still not looking and making passes as accurately as we should be; we're still just kicking the ball away, and hoping that someone on our team comes to receive it. This is something that I know I do, even in scrimmages at practice, so when we do things at practice involving passes, especially long passes, or in scrimmages, I'm going to focus on making the most accurate and best passes I can. I probably won't play in the game on Monday, against New Testament, for the same reasons I didn't play today. Hopefully though, I can play in our game at Chatham, next Friday, because I probably won't play in the game against Cape Cod Academy on Wednesday, because my skills are still not as advanced as a fair amount of my teammates, and we need to do well against CCA, because we're trying to win or tie as many games as possible so that we can go to the state tournament. Also, my lack of practice obviously hasn't really improved my skills, and I think it would almost foolish for Coach to play me after only one practice back from an injury, unless, we are winning by a lot of goals, or we are losing by a lot of goals.

Regarding the weight goal, my body percentage has leveled out to what it was before I sprained my ankle, and my weight has stayed the same. I think that using the crutches has built up some upper body strength, and that's why I still have a lower body percentage than I did at the beginning of the season.

I hope that on Monday, I'll at least be able to warm up at the beginning of the game, passing the ball and such, and maybe play, or at least, start working my ankle again.

Student Council Update

I created a ballot after todays student council meeting. Ms. Yalden will distribute the ballot in teacher mailboxes on Tuesday morning. The ballot look like this:
Themes for Spirit Week Days: Please Pick only 4:
- Things that end in “-er”
o Example: teacher, toaster
- Harry Potter
o Each class will be one of the four houses
- Favorite movie/book
o Pick a character
- Decade Day
o Each class will dress up from one decade
- Twin Day
o You and a partner will dress up as twin
- Formal Dress-up Day
o Formal wear
- Super hero
o Dress up as your favorite superhero, or make up your own!
- Pajama Day
o Roll out of bed, and wear your PJs to school!
- Mismatch Day
o Example: Polka-dots and stripes in one outfit
- Costume/Halloween Day
o Wear your Halloween costume to school!
- Zombie Invasion
o ‘Nuff said.
- Musician/Rock Band day
o Dress up as your favorite musician or group with other people, for a band.
- Sports Day
o Show support for your favorite sports team, or wear your own sports uniform!
Please Circle the 4 you like best!
Brought to you by your Sturgis Student Council.
www.scpssc0910.blogspot.com