/frat/Woooo!/boy/ Today is the first day of league play. Our kids have had to play a year up in all the competitions we've been in and have held their own, but today we got to see how they really compare. We are playing against teams in our own age bracket for League play and I'm excited.
The team we played against is one we have a very real rivalry and in truth quite a bit of animosity. HC couldn't make it today so I got to run the show the way I wanted with no outside input. I wanted a balanced team so I started with
T/Keeper
S/RB Di/LB
Ba/ DM
LL/AM
Br/RF K/LF
The kids really played out of their socks. I can only remember 4 or 5 times the other team really threatened our goal. LL, Ba, K and Bi really have some nice passing movement. Br showed a bit more today and I have hope for him. Da used to be a VERY selfish player but has really stepped up to become a good team player with intelligent passing.
LL scored 2. One was a beautiful run when he picked the ball up at midfield and dribbled through the defenders. K kept pace with him and LL kept looking over waiting to pass but K, in his excitement was offside the whole way, so LL cut in and slammed the ball home. The other was set up by Da who made a great run then passed the ball out into space in front of LL. LL got there at the same time as the keeper and the ball popped into the air. LL put his back to the goal, blocking the keeper out and caught the ball as it came down with a beautiful volley that went straight over his head, over the keeper, and into the net. Unfortunately he sat out the last 15 minutes of the game after a nasty slide tackle from behind. He had the other player beat so the kid slid in on him, which is a foul, but then the kid rolled up the outside of his left leg causing his knee to buckle. He'll be fine but he's got a pretty nasty limp going.
Da scored 3 in his usual scrappy fashion. When the goal is in front of him the kid has a knack for muscling his way through.
K scored a nice left foot volley and made some really nice runs down the left which is important for his confidence.
Br plays as a very selfish forward but I put him in defensive midfield today and he did a good job in that role.
All in all the kids looked great. I was happy with their performance and they looked very happy with the result.