Three games, lost two and tied one. Last game was competative, but the other two… not so much. And I hate Hickory Park barbeque, though there was a fabulous smoke ring.

X had her moments of inspiration, her assist in the first game was a beautiful thru ball which Lexi finished well, but her team wasn’t. There were 7 girls out on the field, but only 3 of them

After a long day of soccer, the Black Dragon is good for dinner.

were actually playing for the same team. Most of them were freelancing. Yes, they were trying to help the team, but when your forward takes a goal kick, you know the end result won’t actually work. Some of the kids had regressed to where their toe was the only thing they could use, or they spent enormous amounts of energy to move the ball to their right foot.

It’s OK.

It’s was the first time they had played on a large field in 3 months and I think there are some things we can use to grow. The thing is, most of the training will have to work on the thing between their ears. They’ll need to start to realize how to play soccer without the ball. Next season should be fun.

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On Saturday, X has her first tournament not in the local Des Moines area. Ok, it’s in Ames, but still. There is a snow storm predicted on Friday which may make it fun driving. We may have to spend the night there. She only wants a hotel with a pool.

Oh, wait. Yes, there will be soccer. She’ll play games in the ISU football practice bubble and in all likelihood, we’ll loose all of them. But that is ok. She is just 9. It’s not about winning. It’s about growing as a player.

I’m her coach. I’ll grow as well. My kid is coachable, but some of the kids she plays with are not. Thus, some of her team will play as a team, and other parts will play for as they have always played.

“If I get the ball near my touchline and then run 60 yards and try to score. Those other people in the same color jersey are just distractions. Just like the other team..”

It’s a combo which will add up to failure on the win side, but the kids will have fun and learn stuff.

What shall we learn?

That is the magic question. I’m going to try and get X to think that she needs to try and make her self a better player by trying different things. It should be interesting. The Olympics for her are still 8 years off.

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