Two Over the Ball
It’s been a while since I wrote about the u14 girls’ soccer team. That’s not only because I’m trying to be less creepy, but because it was the off-season. Now we’re fully back, fit, and tinkering with things.
One of things we’re tinkering with are set pieces: corners, goal kicks, and free kicks. Last year we had our strongest foot take every dead ball. It was tidy, but too coach-directed, and we didn’t get enough outcomes. The kick-taker felt a lot of pressure, you could tell others tuned out, and the other team absolutely knew what was about to happen.
So this year it’s two over the ball.
After the whistle blows and the ball gets placed, two players are to be jogging over to take the kick. They scan together, assess the situation, and talk through what to do. This is meant to be unnerving to the other team (optionality!), but also confidence-inducing in ours. Because hopefully this process ends with them just giving each other a look and then executing.
For example, we were walking through all of this at a practice the other day when one of them asked “What are we supposed to do when the ball is here?”
“I dunno,” I said “Read it. You guys are good enough now to figure it out.”
That elicited a quick shared glance and my experience is that a quick shared glance does more than any big plan.
Having a partner means you don’t freeze. You get a live check on a bad idea and confidence to pull the trigger on a good one. Nerves go down; accountability and execution go up. Two over the ball is magic.
– Tim
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