Liking It Better
Jul. 5th, 2012 12:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thisnewdayLast Friday, Jason played his first outdoor soccer game for the Portland Timbers at the Family Sports Center near Baldwinsville. It's quite a drive for us, from the east side of the city, but his former Eastwood team had played two 11-week indoor sessions there during the winter, so we know the routine.
This is the first summer that they've offered this program, and we were told at registration that team composition would depend on enrollment. As it turns out, he's playing on a 12-and-under, co-ed team. So at nine years old he's one of the youngest and smallest players on the team, but he's still one of the two or three best.
In his opening game he played mostly midfield, scoring two goals while compiling a half-dozen assists. He defended well, had a few take-aways, and, among his assists, made several long, accurate passes, lofting the ball from his midfield position, over the crowd of opposing defenders, to his forward who scored.
In general, the level of play seems better, which is what we were hoping for. But it's not so much that the individual skills are better as the fact that they're more consistent, team-wide. In other words, when the coach has to make a substitution, he's able to put in players with skills very close to the level of those he's taking out. And, in their first game at least, the result was a 13-1 blow-out.
Now, we're not looking for that every week. In fact I wasn't looking for that, or expecting it, in ANY given week. But it does speak to the issue of his former "inclusive" team trying to compete, week after frustrating week, with teams of a more average composition. After the game Jason's comment was, "I really wanted to stay with my friends, but I really like this better."
Which really IS what we were looking for...
LPK
LiveJournal
7.5.2012 (a)
This is the first summer that they've offered this program, and we were told at registration that team composition would depend on enrollment. As it turns out, he's playing on a 12-and-under, co-ed team. So at nine years old he's one of the youngest and smallest players on the team, but he's still one of the two or three best.
In his opening game he played mostly midfield, scoring two goals while compiling a half-dozen assists. He defended well, had a few take-aways, and, among his assists, made several long, accurate passes, lofting the ball from his midfield position, over the crowd of opposing defenders, to his forward who scored.
In general, the level of play seems better, which is what we were hoping for. But it's not so much that the individual skills are better as the fact that they're more consistent, team-wide. In other words, when the coach has to make a substitution, he's able to put in players with skills very close to the level of those he's taking out. And, in their first game at least, the result was a 13-1 blow-out.
Now, we're not looking for that every week. In fact I wasn't looking for that, or expecting it, in ANY given week. But it does speak to the issue of his former "inclusive" team trying to compete, week after frustrating week, with teams of a more average composition. After the game Jason's comment was, "I really wanted to stay with my friends, but I really like this better."
Which really IS what we were looking for...
LPK
LiveJournal
7.5.2012 (a)
