Game Afterthoughts

Back from my self imposed hiatus, the purpose was for clearing my mind in order to write from a neutral perspective. Let me express my sincerest of gratitude to all those who actually read the blog...it became quite evident to me in your questions as to why you had not seen any post about the Umbro Cup Tournament. Exert from Mother's Day Gift post, "There were a few obvious errors that I know will be addressed and rectified by the coaching staff".  Yes!! The boys had won three games on the go and all indications appears that the team is in full swing but in my observation there were little areas of adjustments needed. An opposing team with a good coach would be able to exploit those small flaws as was done in games at the Umbro Tournament except Woodbridge Strikers only registered one lost. Firstly, let me address the issue that the boys themselves need to remedy and that is " Lack of Communication". Because there's no meaningful in game talk to say for...

The game against Burlington FC could be viewed in so many different ways, for example they played poorly, Woodbridge Strikers were superior or Strikers simply outplayed them. All these Analogy have the potential of being correct. The last competitive meeting against Burlington according to my blog post reference that they parked the bus but still succumbed to a 4:0 defeat. This time around in all honesty they tried,  showed bravery in crossing over into Woodbridge Strikers half with intentions of scoring. When FC Barcelona dominance is visible enough for even the blind to see no one make mention that opposition is "Not Good" but rather FC Barcelona is "GREAT". Therefore I will not diminish how great Woodbridge Strikers played by saying Burlington isn't a good team. So I will just paraphrase (some of) the Burlington parents comments. That our boys played with superior quality. Ball control is very good. Knows how to rotate the play and not force the attack....

Today's game was about great execution from training ground onto the actual playing field. Woodbridge Strikers got off to a dream start with in form striker Tremaine capitalizing on some indecision between the North Mississauga keeper and defense resulting in Strikers going up 1:0 very early. Jordan had to be substituted early in the first quarter suffering from, "Birthday Boy" effects. The opponents came with a drilled game plan to clog up the middle of the field and play on the counter attack. They were having some success from doing so and kept Strikers interchanging passes amongst defenders and not bold enough to bring the central midfielders into play even when they showed. It payed dividends for North Mississauga when they pounced on a loose ball and mounted a quick counter to score which tied up the game. With changes to begin the second quarter Strikers maintained the high pressure at specific time under the instructions of  Head Coach Julian. Our boys continu...

The message was sent out in a very convincingly loud manner to the rest of the teams Woodbridge Strikers will be playing against this season in the OPDL league. However, lets not get carried away or ahead of ourselves that Strikers are going to play like they did today or better in every game. That's not the point at this juncture... the boys played the first game away from home and they simply mesmerized their opponents, Ottawa TFC in all areas of the game. Not knowing what to expect from the starting line comprising of a new goalie and central defender in a competitive game alongside the rumours that Ottawa TFC were going to beat Woodbridge Strikers. The new players announced to the rest of parents the reason they were selected by the coaching staff to join this team. Contribution came from all eighteen players when they entered the game of play. Dreson was outstanding between the post and made three very classy, but timely saves especially in the first quarter t...

Thursday was the final training day before kickoff of Season 2 in OPDL for our 05 Boys (Woodbridge Strikers). On Thursday the boys went through the intricacies of arrival before game and all the expectations as it relates to preparation for game with the coaches and manager in an in-class session Afterwards they went through game plays visually on screen and discussion on the formation that will be employed in the game. Players role and positioning was emphasized upon. Upon completion of the classroom theory the boys and coaches made their way to the field for  implementation. Barring the cold weather conditions that had everyone still in winter jackets and the boys practicing in their sweat pants didn't prevent the slick two touch passes and hard low driven shots. Just to back track about the friendly game Tuesday against the 04 girls, if that is a true indication of how the team is going to operate then we as parents/supporters are in for a delightful season. However, there ...