Couple of thoughts for today.

View from the sidelines
This section is dedicated to my editorial comments. Some parents may not like it. If you are easily offended by any of my earlier posts I suggest you stop reading now. Proceed at your own risk but don't go slamming me on any forum later, I warned you!

A parent came up to me during the LOSC game and said; "There just another team". You know I had to think about it for a moment but it really brought the entire fall season into perspective. He's right; LOSC IS just another team. A team we had no business tying Saturday. Did Sodium play well? Yeah. Did they bring their "A" game? Not even close. Frankly, I believe their isn't a team in this years bracket that can compete with us with the exception of maybe OR Rush. We went to Eagle Crest and saw the best they had. Was it a good hard fought game? Sure. Again, was Sodium firing on all cylinders? Not so much.
Here is a prime example; In both the Sherwood and LOSC games at the final whistle the fans/parents for both Sherwood and LOSC cheered. The Sodium players, coaches, fans and parents were pissed. We are not happy walking away with a tie. As Tom mentioned at post-game, we haven't played our "A" game since Regionals in Burlington, WA in July where we beat the Washington State Champion and several outstanding teams. Any of those teams would plow through this bracket like a hot knife through butter. Then why aren't we?

I have a couple thoughts;

A) I think Sodium doesn't give themselves enough credit.
Now, I'm not saying we need to be cocky but look at everything you've accomplished since the U11 State Championship! Give yourself more credit. You're a great team if you keep working hard, stay focused you will again be the State Champion. IF YOU KEEP WORKING HARD AND STAY FOCUSED.

B) Sodium gives their opponent too much respect.
I will never say to overlook an opponent. I will never underestimate the opposition. But a prime example is Saturday against LOSC. ooooo, Big bad Lake Oswego. Come on ladies. You proved it on the field, they are just another team we should have put away 3-0. You proved it. Same with FC or Keizer. Big deal. If you enter the game with the mindset that you are going to go out and dominate, you will. That you are going to take all the hard work and sacrifice and take it out on your opponent. That you are not going to be satisfied until we are up 5-0 and the final whistle blows. YOU WILL! It's a place mentally we haven't gotten too yet. But you will.

C) Killer instinct.
Sodium doesn't go for the throat. Let me give you an example you can relate too; Like Edward Cullen going for a meal. The animal he pursues is 3 times his size. The only way he knows he can win [or feed I guess] is if he goes for the big vein in the throat, and he does. And he hangs on and grips tighter and harder until the animal gives up and rolls over dead. Sodium, you need to approach each game like that. [Kinda gross but you get the point.] If you score, you need to see how fast you can score again! If MAC puts in a goal, what do you think her thoughts are? "Oh, I'd like someone else to score next." NO WAY! She's thinking how she can score again, AND AGAIN! That's what I'm talking about. From the opening whistle, don't let these teams think they ever have a chance. Once you score, or beat your mark, do it AGAIN, and AGAIN, and AGAIN until they want to quit. Let me go back in time for a moment to make a point. Our school paper in high school interviewed the baddest players on the football team for an article. The article was titled "What it takes to win, a players perspective." [Or something similar]. It outlined the physical and mental state a player gets into before a game. Let me paraphrase from my fading memory from that article; ["...on gameday I go through the same rituals. I eat the same food, wear the same clothes and listen to the same music. The mental preparation started the day before, but in the morning, all I can think about is the game. I go through classes and try to concentrate, no way. I see my teammates in the hall, they are oblivious, they are rehearsing plays and assignments. By lunch time the adrenalin is starting to flow but I keep it in check, I don't want to burn out. At this point I have gone over my assignments and everything my opponent is going to throw at me a thousand times. I am ready. I switch my focus to them, my enemy. I start to think about why they are here. They are here to beat us, and that pisses me off. I think of how I am going to dominate the player across from me. By days end I am fired up. I head to the locker room and get dressed. Again, ritual. I wear the same shirt underneath my pads, same wrist bands & gloves and listen to the same songs on my headphones. I am entering the zone. My hatred is really building now and I can see them in my minds eye. We group to take the field for warm ups. I am beginning to shake as the adrenalin builds. I am ready. I see my teammates as we prepare for battle. They too are in the zone. Some have tears in their eyes. We can't wait to take the field. After warm ups we are on the sidelines and all I can see is red. All I can see is the enemy across the field. All I can see is hate. We kick off and they have the ball, my turn to inflict pain and I am so ready. The first play is a sweep and I fill from my strong safety position and knock the crap out of the running back. It feels good because when I crushed him, I heard the air rush out of his lungs. I stand over him and look into his face mask at his wide eyes. "I own you" I tell him, and he knows it..."] Anyway, the story continues. A little much for 13 year old girls I agree but the point remains, we need to get after teams from whistle to whistle and never let up.
D) Finish.
Yes, the LOSC keeper is all world, I agree. She will be the best we face now and for years to come. But what about Sherwood's keeper? Or Rush? We need to make every shot count. And if you miss one? Who cares! Get angry and say the next ones going in! And then start working on getting it. Keep shooting! The hardest thing for us on the sidelines is to watch you girls work very hard for an opportunity and then shoot it right at the keeper! AAAGGGHHH! LOL! I know, we aren't in the game. All I can say is keep shooting because this curse happens to Sodium, and every other team, every year. We'll work it out and then watch the avalanche begin!

E) First to the ball/win it in the air.
I watched the LOSC team do some amazing things on the field Saturday. When the ball was heading towards a Sodium player they would jump or step in front and win the ball. They did it at nearly every position. They beat us their because we weren't moving towards the ball with the attitude of winning it. We were waiting for it to come to us. As a coach we call it being REactive instead of PROactive. We can't wait for the ball to get to us at this level. We need to approach it and win it. Period. Extreme did a great job of that and it kept them in the game. Sodium also needs to use their heads, literally. We need to win every ball in the air. We have been doing this well but only at about 50%. If we can get closer to 85 or 90%, we can create more scoring opportunities.

F) I will say that Sodium pushed up and when the ball was cleared to mid-field, we were on it. That is the first time in a while we have seen that happen. Whether it was our defenders pushing up or our mids hanging back slightly, it seemed that we were there to keep the pressure on. Awesome job.

Anyway, just some things to think about as we approach this afternoons game.

With umbrella's in hand the Sodium faithful yell: GO SODIUM!!