How to: Dribbling

Another great instructional quick hit video. This time on dribbling:

Fall 2008 Jaguars Scrimmage Photos

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Devils keep rolling in Jaguars scrimmage

The Devils returned to the field where it all started on Saturday afternoon in a friendly scrimmage with the CV Jaguars, a Group A team from the Delgado Tier 3 pool. It was only last spring when the Devils defeated the Jaguars in their first game as an organized competitive team, winning 2-0 against the same Jaguars. That would be the only game the Jaguars lost during the spring season, which elevated them to Group A.

This time, the game was an opportunity for both teams to stay focused during a long break in between regular league games. The Devils turned in another strong performance, in the modified contest, which featured three 25-minute running periods.

The Devils coaching staff also used it as an opportunity to rotate the girls through all positions. This provided everyone with a chance to show their stuff in areas they don’t normally play.

After a scoreless initial period, the rotations began to open things up. Marlene would break the ice with a breakaway goal three minutes in. Shivani setup the goal with a pretty lead pass from the right mid position. Drawing a defender away from the center full spot, she feathered a pass up the slot to Marlene, who slipped a shot past the Jaguars goaltender.

With the confidence of that early goal, the Devils began to press more on offense. Another breakaway chance was thwarted four minutes later when a whistle sounded on a neighboring field just as Courtney slipped past two Jaguars defenders at the top of the box. Thinking play had been whistled dead, all three players slowed down. When the referee indicated that play was still live, the goaltender cleared the ball to safety.

Courtney would exact some revenge with two minutes to play in the period. After the Devls defense pushed the ball up the right sideline, Courtney streaked up the line, then drew the goaltender out to defend the right side of the net. Displaying great patience, Courtney then sent a crossing shot that slipped inside the left post for the 2-0 lead.

Ruhi, Christene, Karsyn, Lindsay and Jessica teamed up to anchor a stingy defense which allowed few scoring chances.

The Jaguars would score in the 3rd period on a break after Karsyn misread the line a Jaguar forward was taking.

The momentum could have easily shifted back to the Jaguars, but Audrey, Kelly and Ruhi kept the ball in the Jaguars zone for a stretch of about 4 minutes with great ball handling near the right corner. This setup multiple corner opportunities, and several Jaguar goal kicks.

Marlene would push the Devils lead back to two goals by sending in a shot from 45-feet that tucked just inside the left post.

The scrimmage ended as a success, keeping the Devils momentum rolling and building on the girls confidence

The day was capped off with a couple notables. Each player presented a Jaguars player with a treat bag after the game as a thank you for hosting the scrimmage. Special thanks to Judy C. the Devils Team Manager for arranging the gifts. Karsyn also celebrated her 9th birthday with a round of cupcakes, that were in the words of her brother Ryan, “jy-nan-tic”!

Jaguars Scrimmage Update

Details regarding a scrimmage against the CV Jaguars Blue on Saturday (10/25) are still being worked out. If it does happen, it looks as if the event will take place on Saturday afternoon at a CV field.

More details will be posted once they become available.

10/18/08 Game Recap (2-1 Win)

The Devils got back into the win column on Saturday with a tightly contested 2-1 road win over Real Salinas GFC at the Constitution Soccer Complex. Coming off one of the best games of the season, the Devils had to renew their focus in order to come away with the victory.

Things didn’t quite start the way they had planned, falling behind early. Playing off a throw in from the left corner, a Real Salinas forward traversed through the Devils defense before putting a shot past Audrey for the 1-0 lead.

The speed of the Real Salinas forwards had the Devils on their heels, but the defense buckled down and kept the opposition off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.

The Devils would knot things up at 1-1 after Christene powered a shot past the Real Salinas goaltender. The play started with a long booming shot attempt from Marlene from midfield that drifted toward the left corner. Christene gathered the ball in and worked the ball around two defenders before pumping a shot that was partially blocked by the goaltender. The shot had enough velocity to find the back of the net.

The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 entering the break.

Anchored by solid defense that consistently shut down attempt to drive the ball up the middle of the field, the Devils preserved the tie and set themselves up for the opportunity to win.

That opportunity would surface on a pretty play that evolved with some very unselfish play.

Audrey would setup the game winner by carrying the ball up field, drawing two defenders to her. With a gap opening in the Real Salinas defense, she slipped a pass to the center forward spot, where Christene was perfectly positioned. All that remained was Christene’s deposit into the net with a shot from 20 yards.

The victory propelled the Devils into 2nd place in the Delgado Class 3 standings, just 2 points behind the West Valley Surefire.

Positives from the Game--

Resilience: The girls once again overcame a deficit, which is a testament to their composure. They’ve shown consistently this season that an early deficit is not something that will rattle them.

Energy: The effort in the 2nd half of the game was very impressive. They came on strong, and were rewarded with a goal. They also pressed the other team’s offense, which prevented many scoring chances by the opposition.

Defensive Teamwork: Real Salinas had several quick forwards that worked the ball well. That became moot because of the team defense the girls played, consistently stopping drives down the middle of the field. An honorable mention to Ruhi for her defensive play. Jessica, Karsyn, and Maanasa all stepped up their defensive game to control a very fast opponent.

Areas of Development--

Marking: The midfielders were consistently pulling back to mark the other teams forwards leaving the other teams midfielders open for attack. The girls also got caught double marking opposing players on the line, which resulted in unmarked opponents in the center of the field.

Understanding Switches: Real Salinas provided a great example of how positional switching can work to your advantage. The girls need to find their marks quickly in order to prevent easy opportunities to strike by the opposition.

Capitalizing on the Advantage: While it’s been a focus in practice, the girls need to recognize the advantage of indirect kicks when they are within shooting range. Confusion on one sequence prevented the Devils from capitalizing on a prime scoring opportunity. This will continue to be addressed in practice. The need for quick and decisive action when we are given the advantage will be stressed.

SASC Fun Day

For those that stayed to partake in some of the SASC Fun Day festivities after team pictures were taken on Sunday, you may have seen a couple of very un-dry coaches after their stint in the dunk tank. After Coach Sonya and Coach Brad took dips in the tank, it begs the question, where was Coach VK???

Checkout the [ PHOTOS | SLIDESHOW ] of some of the happenings.

Fall 2008 Game 5 Photos

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10/12/08 Game Recap (1-1 Tie)

What a difference a day makes. Coming off a frustrating tie to the SASC Blades on Saturday, the Devils played what may have been their best game of the season on Sunday in San Jose. Facing off against the West Valley Surefire (arguably the best opponent in the league), the Devils came within minutes of laying claim to the best record in the standings, but still battled to a 1-1 tie.

So the question remains, who is the best team in the division? The Devils performance on Sunday certainly makes them worthy of consideration.

The effects of the illnesses that plagued the Devils all week seemed to be as far behind them as the 6-1 drubbing that the Surefire handed the Devils during their pre-season scrimmage back in September.

The Devils played true to the game plan the coaches drew up for the match, sticking to positional play and getting a strong performance from the backs. The Surefire are loaded with big shooters, but the Devils defense prevented any big shots by stepping up and taking away the initiative.

Ruhi once again played a huge part in shutting down the opposing offense. Shivani, Lindsay, Jessica and Karsyn also rotated on the back line to help suppress the Surefire.

Neither team dominated on the offensive side of the ball in the first half, so the chess match would be decided in the second stanza.

Consistently using the mids to move the ball to the forwards, the Devils kept the ball away from the Surefire forwards, which contributed heavily to the low scoring game.

The Devils capitalized on a huge opportunity at the 40 minute mark, when Maanasa sent a high arching shot from 50 feet out that landed in front of the Surefire goaltender, then hopped over on a trajectory over her head. The goaltender got a hand on the ball to slow it down, but it continued to head toward the net, trickling over for the goal.

With time winding down, the Surefire moved the ball into the Devils zone and created their own scoring opportunity with a corner kick. Almost identical to the Devils goal against the Blades a day earlier, the Surefire punted the ball into the box, where a wild scrum ended with a shot that found its way into the goal.

With less than three minutes to play, Surefire had one more golden opportunity to steal the win, when the ball landed even with the right post and nothing but daylight between a Surefire shooter and the goal. With the inevitable go ahead goal sitting perched for the shot, Jessica came flying across the field and cleared it to safety along the left sideline. You could feel the air pressure return to normal as the 15 or so parents in attendance exhaled after the close call.

Positive Takeaways from the Game—

A+ for Effort: The team’s tie the day before could have easily affected the way the Devils came out on Sunday, but they continue to demonstrate how resilient they are. The effort was fantastic up and down the lineup.

Physicality: The Devils are not a physically domineering team, but they played with more emphasis on contact against a team that can kill you with speed and sure footed shooters. That resulted in fewer turnovers for the Devils and fewer scoring opportunities for the opposition.

Stick to the Plan: The girls continue to stay with the general game philosophy that is being worked on in practice. The more trust they establish in that plan and each other, the better they will become at anticipating where their teammates will be. This is a work in progress, but it was fun to see it in action against a very strong opponent.

Practical Application: There were two situational drills that the girls have been working on in practice the last two weeks. 1) quick set ups for direct & indirect kicks and 2) establishing a defensive wall when facing a direct or indirect kick. It was great to see both put into action on Sunday. There was a Devils direct kick that just missed finding the back of the net. There was also a defensive situation that delayed (by design) the opposition from getting a kick shot on goal.

Areas of Improvement—

Vision: We had several situations where there were opportunities to pass to teammates that were wide open, but the blinders prevented the ball handlers from seeing those chances develop. This was especially true of the forwards who were holding the ball and allowing the opposing defense to collapse on them. That leaves the other forwards wide open.

Too Much Initiative: Each player has strengths, but also specific positional assignments. Playing with too much initiative can negatively impact the overall objective. As an example, if players that should be moving up field on an out-of-bounds play decides to take the throw in because they are closest to the ball, it eliminates one prime target for the trailing teammate who should be taking the throw. Another example is taking a corner kick, when there is a stronger foot in the vicinity. We recognize that it’s fun to take a corner kick from time to time, but if you increase the chances of scoring by deferring to a bigger foot on the field, the player should recognize that.

Fall 2008 Game 4 Photos

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10/11/08 Game Recap (1-1 Tie)

Facing their sister team the SASC Blades for the first time in league competition, sickness and injury left the Devils at less than 100% on Saturday. Throw in a player absence, the cards were already stacked against the Devils, but they battled back from a 1-0 deficit to tie the Blades 1-1 at the Sunnyvale Soccer Complex.

With one bout of bronchitis, a case of the stomach flu, an eye infection and one player gone for the weekend, the Devils still turned in a yeoman’s effort to salvage a point in the standings.

Playing with initiative in the first ten minutes of the game, the Devils generated several scoring chances, only to be stifled by the Blades defense. Courtney came inches from an early 1-0 lead when she rang a 25-foot shot off the crossbar.

Ball control and a steady game plan kept the ball in the Blades zone for several minutes. With the rash of medical maladies inflicting the roster, the tide began to turn midway through the half.

Former Devil Akayla put the Blades up 1-0 after intercepting a goal kick that fell short of its mark. Racing into the box from the right wing, she fired a shot rocketed to the upper left corner.

The start of the 2nd half was still controlled by the Blades who kept a steady dose of shots targeted on the Devils goal.

With a dwindling clock, the Devils began to play with more urgency late in the game. The play began to lean in the direction of the Blades net, and the Devils would soon capitalize.

First, Kelly missed on a chance from the top of the box that sailed wide left, but the Devils persistence kept the ball deep. After a Blade cleared the ball behind her own end line, the Devils had a chance on a corner kick.

Marlene took the corner and misfired on a shot that fell short, but was again cleared by a Blades defender. This setup a second chance from the corner, and this time Marlene would get a big foot on the ball.

The ball sailed toward the box, and a pin-balled between three or four players before landing on Christene’s boot. With a true shot, the ball found the back of the net to knot the game at 1-1.

Positive Takeaways from the Game—

Team Work: A couple girls stepped up during practice this week to emphasize the importance of playing as a team. It was a pretty impressive display from a group of kids that are more mature than we sometimes give them credit.

Dedication: Given all the medical issues that the team faced, everyone was there to provide support as a team. The weather was not that great, but everyone showed their commitment to the team.

No Quit: Even down a goal, the girls stayed persistent, and that paid off for them late in the game. Trailing in the game also setup an opportunity for them to have to fight to get back in the game.

Areas of Improvement—

Psychology: As can be expected from 8 & 9 year old kids, past experiences play too big a role in what lies ahead. This was certainly the case leading up to this game. The scrimmage against the Blades earlier this season planted a seed that evolved into something bigger than it should have. The coaching staff also needed to downplay the relevance of the opponent in order to counter any doubts that had sprouted leading up to the game.

Missed Opportunities: As can happen from time to time, the rec player resurfaces and attention to fundamentals can slip. Finding a passing target is something that could have been better in this game. Emphasis on moving the ball to a teammate in order to retain possession is an important fundamental that we need to build on.

District II Cup Jamboree

This is an early reminder that the Devils will be participating in the District II Cup Jamboree on December 6 & 7. This is the tournament that we will be co-hosting with the Blades. The tournament is tentatively scheduled for the Sunnyvale Soccer Complex. More details to come as they become available.

There are currently 24 U10 girls teams entered to play in this year's jamboree. You cann see all entries at the D2 website

How to: Shooting

Found this cool instructional video on shooting from Graspr.com