Consistency Edition

First of all, I would like to thank the Enfield Soccer Club for the Enfield Soccer Day at the UCONN Huskies. Several ESC teams were invited to watch the UCONN Women’s team play LaSalle and participate in the match in unique ways. Some players walked out onto the field with the college teams at the start of the match, others ran the sidelines with soccer balls and our team was able to scrimmage briefly on the pitch with members of the ESC Girls U12 Dynamite. What a tremendous experience for all of the players and coaches involved! We were also thrilled to witness a dramatic, double overtime win for the Huskies. Through consistent, tireless effort – the Huskies were able to earn the win.  

One of the toughest things to achieve as a coach and a player is consistency - performing at your best, contest after contest, against different opponents. If you watch soccer on TV sometimes you’ll hear the announcers (usually in a thick British accent) remark that one team is “asking lots of questions” of another. It simply means testing, challenging the other team. They are probing, looking for weaknesses. One of the reasons we try to schedule our “friendly” matches against teams we don’t normally play is that these teams will ask us questions…new questions…questions the girls haven’t had to answer before. Familiarity breeds laziness.

This past Friday, the Crushers had a “friendly” with the U13 Girls from East Longmeadow (a team they had never faced). The challenge for them is to play their very best, even though they have no idea what their opponent is bringing to the table. The first half was a “feeling out” process…many new questions being asked and problems to solve. They seemed a bit out of sorts for a while in the first half and then things came together. Although the Crushers played a very strong second half, they had to settle for a draw (0-0). While they were disappointed not to come away with a win, what they didn’t know is that East Longmeadow has scored 30 goals so far this season and allowed only 1. This team was no pushover and the Crushers responded with a strong effort. Could they play well against a completely unknown opponent? Clearly they could. Questions were asked, questions were answered.

On Sunday, the girls played their second league game vs. Bristol. It was clear from the outset that Bristol is still struggling to find their stride and the Crushers jumped out to an early lead. Playing a game like this asks the team some different questions. Can you stay focused when faced with a weaker team? Can you execute well, playing your best even when you are not being challenged aggressively? We constantly preach to our girls to give their best effort at all times, not to play “as good as” they think they need to so they can win. Playing to your competition’s level is very dangerous. The girls responded to these questions with a resounding “yes”. They did what they should do against a weaker opponent – they executed well and controlled every aspect of the game. More questions, more answers.