Welcome to Bullwinkle's Corner - a place where coaches, players, and parents can express their own opinions on what's going on in our soccer world. However, only positive ideas will be allowed in this "corner of cyberspace". Hey, I definitely subscribe to the "glass is half full" perspective.
Anyway, if you want to sound off, please email me your thoughts. Just click the "email me" tab at the top (right margin) of this website and fire away. I've started the ball rolling with several of my own opinions shown below.
Hopefully, this will not be a coach's soliloquy. Let's hear it from the bold and brave and have fun.
Regards,
Steve Houseman
P.S. For those who are too young to remember the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, take a short soccer break and click some R & B Highlights .
The Ref - One Pair of Eyes with a Heart of Gold
The referee is one of the most unappreciated human beings on planet earth. I have refereed many soccer games and enjoy it for the following reasons:
1. I like kids and it gives me a chance to work with them from different perspective besides coaching.
2. The referee has the best seat in the house to view the game and feel the excitement - much better than the parents or coaches.
3. It gives me a chance to defuse tension that sometimes exists before, during and after the game. I often praise, sympathize, and tease the kids in an attempt to foster good sportsmanship.
I believe that most referees volunteer for the same reasons or equally good ones. Therefore, it's troublesome when coaches, parents, and players show any disrespect to these on-the-field policemen. These men/women are truly good cops.
That doesn't mean they won't make unintentional bad calls. After all, they only have one pair of eyes competing with hundreds of eyes around and on the field. The ref's decision can only be made from his/her viewpoint - sometimes they don't have the best angle - c'est la vie.
Traditionally after a match, the competing teams line up and shake hands. During this procession, I encourage all our MYSL teams to include the referee with a much deserved "thank you"!!!
In summary, everybody likes to win including yours truly. I just want to remind all (including myself) to keep everything in its proper perspective. How we play the game (effort, behavior, etc.) is more important than wins and losses. Ultimately, the success of this season will be measured by how much we've learned; how many friends we've made; and how much fun we’ve had ---- that’s always been the MYSL bottom line.
Video Clip - "Welcome to the (Real) World"
Many parents and players think that soccer is a marginal contact sport and that most bumping/pushing should get a prompt whistle from the ref - especially in girl's soccer. On the contrary, soccer is a very physical sport and if you don't "stand your ground" you'll get "pushed around". Click here
to watch highlights of a "scrappy" girls club match. Enjoy the music as well as the action.
A Couple of MYSL Player Axioms
- "THE REF IS ALWAYS RIGHT" - If necessary, let your coach question a call - not you.
- "PLAY HARD BUT CLEAN" - Always play like it's a tie score. If an opponent is playing "dirty" (e.g. pushing, grabbing, trash talking), channel your anger into extra effort, not retaliation.
by Steve Houseman
Learning vs. Winning
- You can learn from your mistakes.
- You can learn from the good play of your opponents (e.g. "They did a lot of wall passes to beat us. Maybe we should learn to do that too.").
- Playing a tough opponent sharpens your technique (skills).
- It can accelerate the learning process by "playing up" rather than "playing down".
In Summary - Putting a higher priority on learning (vs. winning) sometimes sacrifices short term results but the long term improvement is definitely worth it. It takes pressure off the player and puts it on player development. Just look what it did for my golf swing!!!
“Failing to succeed” is a phrase that can have 2 completely different meanings depending on your point of view. The obvious interpretation is falling short of your goal - losing rather than winning – a glass ½ empty perspective.
One of the 3 MYSL objectives during a season (Main Page) is to put players on an accelerated learning curve of technical and tactical development. To us, “failing to succeed” means making mistakes (failing) and is a necessary part of becoming a good soccer player. Remember when you learned to ride a bike? Once those training wheels came off, you learned at 100 mph - ouch! No pain/no gain. Therefore, don’t be afraid of taking a short term hit to better yourself (and the team). Here are some examples you are faced with now.
- If the ball is on your left foot (weak foot), take a shot rather than wasting time transferring it to your right foot (strong foot). This good habit will eventually pay off for you and the team - BIG TIME.
- If there is no forward passing option in your defensive end, pass the ball back to your goalie. There's a nightmarish fear of scoring against your own team, BUT JUST DO IT!!! Good teams use their keeper - bad teams don't.
- Don’t blast the ball down the field when challenged by an opponent. Instead, control the ball by dribbling or passing it to a teammate. If you lose it – so what? Chances are the ball would have gone to the other team anyway with that aimless "school yard boot”. Remember - SOCCER IS A GAME OF KEEPAWAY, NOT KICKBALL.
In Summary
Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. It’s an acceptable and necessary part of learning –especially on this club team. No matter how big the game, don’t operate in the “safe mode” --- even in the every day game of life.
by Steve Houseman