Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

It sounds like the other coach did this to get everyone off their game and focused on nonsense and it worked no matter how lame of a move it was.

I wouldn’t say it worked. Soccer can be a cruel sport. I’ve played in many games when I was younger where my team outshot and out performed the opposing team but lost because of bad luck.

A break away or lucky shot that goes in against 20 well crafted plays can be shut down by a stellar defensive move by a keeper or defender. This is the nature of the sport. You can have momentum the whole game and out shoot a team 20-1 and still lose. The best team does not always win. Realizing this is not easy.

I wouldn’t do a damn thing differently so no I don’t think the coach’s attempt to fuck with us was successful. We played better than I expected or could ever have hoped. Yeah sure he upset our parents but we didn’t lose because of the shit the coach said. Sometimes the better team loses. Besides you can always learn more from a loss than you can from a win.

I played on a decent youth soccer team in the late 70s, if you can imagine.

Our goalie was girl, but one of the best in the league. I was the main defense in a 4-3-4.

We had so many kids who would go on to be great High School athletes in the sport in the early to mid 80s.

Our Championship game was against a much better team from the local Air Force Base (McGuire AFB NJ).

Pretty sure those boys were a bit older...

We lost 2-1.

But I can still remember our coach telling us how proud he was of how hard we worked.

It has been +40 years...I can still picture that moment.

stickman428:

I came across this pic and immediately thought of you and the two of your threads I read on the topic.

I have some interesting news to report on this situation. My assistant coach and three players parents all individually followed up with the big wigs at the YMCA via email and expressed their anger over that coaches behavior. It went all the way up to the top. The coach in question was strangely absent from the sidelines for our last game against each other.

Interestingly enough for the last few weeks when that team has played a game either before or after us their usual coach has not been in attendance. The team’s replacement coach went out of his way to find me and appear friendly both before and after our game.

I’m so proud of my girls. They fell behind one goal in the first half but managed to score in the second half and tie a team that has stomped everyone else.

All in all it was a surprising season. At first it seemed like most of my best players aged up to the next age level but the players we retained all improved and our new players turned out to be a DRASTIC improvement over the players we lost!

The highlight of the season for me came in the last game. There are two identical twin girls on our team playing soccer for the first time. With only a hand full of minutes left in our final game I put them in at forward and they fricking blew my mind.

I try very hard to make sure everyone has equal playing time regardless of skill. My most aggressive offensive players were gassed so I put the twins in at forward. I thought we might lose the momentum we had BUT they shocked me. Not only did we maintain momentum but both girls had drives down the field and one came INCREDIBLY close to scoring a goal.

I’m sure our parents would like to have seen their kids win more than just one game this season but truth be told their progress has been incredible. A couple hard fought losses a win and two ties against VERY good teams is in my eyes a positive season. My girls are making progress and I’m having an absolute blast teaching them how to play one of the most fun and beautiful sports on this planet.

Stickman, you're doing God's work. Bless you and coaches like you everywhere!

Loswsmith, Thank you for the kind words. This was my second year coaching this team. Overall the experience has been great, I’ve had a lot of fun watching the team progress and have been fortunate to get to watch some incredibly close soccer games. Our last game was against a very good team, who have all played together for years, so it was just amazing to witness my team come back and tie the game.


I can’t wait for the spring and another season with my team! We managed to build one of the most solid defenses in our age group. My focus next year is going to be on our offense, dribbling skills and playing position better. There were some times where they would all heard together and chase the ball but I definitively saw some improvement this season with that issue.

I work with a guy that became the local HS's swim coach while his kids were there. He grew up swimming competitively and had coached before many years ago. His kids have all graduated and he comes into work at the end of the swim season talking about giving up coaching, but he loves the kids and knows what a positive influence he can be in their lives. So every year before swim season I ask him if he's coaching again and every year he always says yes.

Good on you for doing what you do.

Great job by you and your team. Sounds like you handled it very well.
I wished the ref would of told the other coach to pound sand when he said what he said.

Congrats on a great effort. Surely the girls were proud of their effort and desire to compete as hard as they could. That speaks volumes about your entire team. Including the coaching staff.