Sideline Fan State Cup

News from the sideline. Observations from the competitive world of  girls youth soccer.  WEEK 2  February 2010 

What an experience we had this past weekend watching our daughter play in the State Cup. A first!

Going into the weekend games the girls knew that they were in a tough bracket and they would be playing some teams ranked the best in the state. A  situation where their coach didn't try to set their expectations to win but to play their best and get the feel for the experience. By the last game of the weekend the team was finding their groove and playing forward to get shots on goal.

Now there are some who believe that you go in to win. With our coach the idea taking a young team that had just migrated to Silver into the rarified air of Premier and Gold to give the girls a likely chance of losing wasn't much of a concern.  He had confidence that the playing time would develop their field skills and this experience would gain an advantage when the players met their peers in other matches.

Just observing the transformation of our girls into the hard tackeling, fast driving,  never quitting players was pretty awesome.  They played well against opponents who had some breathtaking skills and well practiced plays. For the most part the team kept their focus on capitalizing on each possesion of the ball and for moments what became apparent was that if these girls succeed with the lessons learned when they meet these teams again there won't be any losers.

For a sideline fan my favorite moment was hearing a player who had just come off for a rest say to the coach she was feeling good and ready to go back in and play.  Proof of a living breathing energizer bunny.

Now we have a short break for retooling. The last game of the Cup Series is Saturday.  I am glad we are heading into warmer weather!