Kites and Wizards are flying
3 min read
The Kites kicked off Saturdays back to back 7v7 games. With a couple of players missing we went in with one sub. I spoke to the boys before the game and laid out how i expect us to play. I want to see them being brave on the ball and always looking to try and beat an opponent and keep the ball rather than instantly pass. This goes from the defenders to the striker. I want them to develop as individuals and as a team. We spoke about how improtant it is to create goals aswell as score them. The boys played some very good football in the first half and were comfortable with the ball from back to front. We progressed the ball up he pitch well and took our chances with some very good strikes.
At half tme we spoke about defending from corners and free kicks, i explained that we wont count goals conceeded from corners as its not a part of developing footballers and is something they will learn more about when they progress through the age groups. The boys then started to try and work different angles from corners and played the ball rather blast it at the box. Its fantastic to see them soak this up and try something new. It really does bode well for their future development.
We switched formations a couple of times over the game and rotated positions giving players a different opportunity to try different things in different areas of the pitch. They are aware there will be much more of that over the coming weeks. For players who are comforatble trying this out it will give them the chance to take part in different areas of the build up play. Our goalkeepers distribution was fabulous always looking to play the ball out from goal kicks and finding the pass. Our defenders were willing and able to progress the ball by dribbling, passing and running with the ball into the opposition half, again a fantastic sign of footballing development. At the end of the games the boys picked their own Man of The Match. It was good to see the nominations spread around with three players sharing the vote.
The Wizards played Sproston in the 1130 KO. Coach Andy Bullen added.
“We welcomed Sprowston Lions to Hockering today for a friendly. For the 1st time in ages we had something called a substitute which allowed me to rotate the players giving them that little break, they’ll tell you and me they dont want to come off but today showed the value of rotation, especially after last week where no rotation was our only downfall.
We spoke before the match about the importance of our first touch and Moving the ball around, short passing and moving and knowing when to go longer”.
“I’d go as far as to say today was probably our best performance to date. Winning the ball all over the pitch, first to the ball 90% of the time and really coming together as a team”.
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