FCArmstrong

There is winning and learning. There is no such thing as winning and losing. We as a team are faced with three main challenges.

• US Soccer’s issue with FREE soccer vs Pay to Play Soccer
• WPIAL Sections that are based on census data vs competition data
• building a community of soccer that develops age appropriately without gaps.

I’m in year three of trying to change the soccer culture and build a soccer community here in Armstrong, Clarion and Indiana counties. I was lucky enough to grow up in a soccer community that allowed me to develop consistently from age 6 through college. I was lucky enough to have friends that would play pick up after school on the tennis courts and go to the riverside pitch in Dunlevy to play every Sunday with the men rain, sun, snow, mud, whatever. We’d just show up and play before getting ravioli at the
Garibaldi Club. I was lucky enough to start my first week of soccer camp with all of our graduates who were playing at local colleges help with training. As a freshman I entered a program that had a senior all state goalkeeper, a sophmore learning GK and another freshman to train with every day. We were our own training team. We also all played other positions in the field to continually work on reading them game and optimizing our technical abilities. I’d train one day a week with a team in Washington PA, play on Saturday–two days a week with my club travel team, play on Sunday when I entered HS. We’d find gym time or open field time every Friday and Sunday. We didn’t need adults we just let the game teach us as we tried things out.

There is a reason at the Women’s World Cup most squads carried 3 goalkeepers on their rosters. In our two losses 75% of our goals were given up because we could not initiate our own attack when our goalkeepers made a save and we needed to distribute the ball to our 2, 4, 8, 9, 11. We’ve given up a number of balls as our developing goalkeepers work on their physical execution of distribution techniques. I was reviewing the GK developmental guidelines again this morning and realized the only way to change it is by playing more, trying new things, recreating touches and with this group less thinking.

Today’s Play 1

Practice will build from the GK Play 1.

Play 2 will be everybody working to maximize GK touches and distribution.

Thanks again to our 9 who is willing to play wherever to help the team.

Thanks again to our IR who has been willing to vocally support our GKs.

Hydrate- Hydrate- Hydrate