Moving Up and the Willingness to Lead
May. 21st, 2012 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thisnewdayOn Saturday morning, after 7 AM team pictures, Jason's Eastwood Youth Soccer team played to another 2-2 tie. Jason scored his team's first goal, playing forward in the first half, but opened the second half as sweeper, the defender who plays the area in front of the goalie.
Although his dad was a little unhappy with that, the strategy worked because our weakness on defense has been that we've frequently allowed the other team's offense to get behind the sweeper position and go one-on-one with our goalie for the relatively easy scoring opportunity. In the sweeper position, Jason was able to execute several take-aways that kept the other team away from our goal.
Additionally, with his speed, he was able to move up the field to give his teammates another passing option near the opponents' goal while still being able to get back and defend if the other team attempted a break-away.
But the best part was that, from his sweeper position, Jason was able to coach his less-experienced teammates at maintaining their positions on the field, especially during transition phases of the game. And it's that understanding of the game, along with his willingness to lead, that will make him increasingly valuable as he moves up to the next level.
Hopefully, we'll be laying the groundwork for that this summer. On Saturday, after dropping him off at his mom's, I drove out to the Family Sports Center, where he played his indoor soccer this past winter, and signed him up for 8 weeks of outdoor soccer which will begin after school ends and continue through the summer.
My hope is that, by the time it's over, he'll have gotten the attention of one of the club teams that operate out of the Sports Center and be invited to play at a more elite level over the next winter. Anyway, that's the plan. Having sat through the hundreds of hours required for our youngest daughter to compete as a team gymnast, I know that after the papers are signed and the money is down the rest is up to Jason.
LPK
LiveJournal
5.21.2012 (a)
Although his dad was a little unhappy with that, the strategy worked because our weakness on defense has been that we've frequently allowed the other team's offense to get behind the sweeper position and go one-on-one with our goalie for the relatively easy scoring opportunity. In the sweeper position, Jason was able to execute several take-aways that kept the other team away from our goal.
Additionally, with his speed, he was able to move up the field to give his teammates another passing option near the opponents' goal while still being able to get back and defend if the other team attempted a break-away.
But the best part was that, from his sweeper position, Jason was able to coach his less-experienced teammates at maintaining their positions on the field, especially during transition phases of the game. And it's that understanding of the game, along with his willingness to lead, that will make him increasingly valuable as he moves up to the next level.
Hopefully, we'll be laying the groundwork for that this summer. On Saturday, after dropping him off at his mom's, I drove out to the Family Sports Center, where he played his indoor soccer this past winter, and signed him up for 8 weeks of outdoor soccer which will begin after school ends and continue through the summer.
My hope is that, by the time it's over, he'll have gotten the attention of one of the club teams that operate out of the Sports Center and be invited to play at a more elite level over the next winter. Anyway, that's the plan. Having sat through the hundreds of hours required for our youngest daughter to compete as a team gymnast, I know that after the papers are signed and the money is down the rest is up to Jason.
LPK
LiveJournal
5.21.2012 (a)
