Our team philosophy will be player development. Emphasis will be given to those that want to develop, especially for next year's high school team/s. For players leaving high school and looking to develop in order to be better for the next level, emphasis will also be high. For players looking to make this their last soccer experience, we will celebrate with you, but put our energy into those looking to improve. Matches will be used for "match pace" training and will specifically determine how we spend our training time to develop those that want to improve. I personally am not impressed or depressed by match results. You will get better individually and as a team if you train. Soccer has a long rich history and future and we have a short time to develop and experience what it takes to play at a higher level. Practices will be designed to maximize our time. Some players will be arriving from other high school sports. Please make every attempt to attend all practices and matches. If you cannot, please communicate as early as possible for the sake of the rest of the team and organizational purposes. We will be able to use U16 players as sub players if we know of an absence well enough in advance.
Referees are to be genuinely respected even after bad calls. We will play and conduct ourselves with composure regardless of external conditions both in matches and in training.
Our fitness training will be limited to ten minutes per practice and focus only on first step and footwork quickness. Our other areas of emphasis will be continued technique development, effective defensive pressure-cover-and communication, and improving possession by playing away from pressure. If we can do those things markedly better by the end of the season, I will consider our time well spent. Although we have made some progress over the winter, our matches will show us where we still need work (win or loose:).