What month are we in as it flippin’ cold in the sport hall this morning! Oh well at least the players created lots of heat with their on-fire futsal…sorry, couldn’t help myself! I really enjoyed this morning and at times we just stepped back from coaching and watched the players, hugely satisfying!

We started with a normal game but if a player gave the ball away through a pass or shot, then they had to run and touch the oppositions’ goal. This created an overload, for a short time, for the other team to try and exploit. We asked the players to think about how they could use this overload, what were the decisions they had to make and why? We worked hard to make sure one player got to the 2nd post quickly, and why this was so effective. We saw some fantastic transitional play with players really thinking about using the court and finding their teammates early, so good to watch. We loved the way the players sent on their recovery runs did so at full speed with real commitment to get back and help their teammates, amazing to watch.

Notable Players of the Session

1st Session – Raya S – In the last month or so Raya has really found her confidence and today she was on fire! The best part was looking for a pass to the 2nd post when most players would have shot from a illy angle, amazing to watch and top job Raya!

2nd Session –Jean P – There could only be one winner in this group today, hat trick heroin Jean! She scored right foot and left foot goals and was in the right place at the right time, every time, great to watch and fab play from Jean!

3rd Hour – Heidi J – Futsal is very hard for goalkeepers and today she made save after save after save, with loads being 1v1s, where she has improved massively. She has really worked on her passing and first touch, and today was a great all-round performance, top job Heidi!

4th Hour – Eleanor C – this young lady has it all, she covers the court so well, great first touch and passing, can finish and not scared of a tackle. She has not been playing futsal for long but if she carries on this rate of development, the ladies will surely be coming knocking soon!

Final thoughts of a coach – over the last few weeks I have been putting together an awards list for the end of season presentation evening in a month’s time. I have been reading online the various thoughts about giving away a trophy for ‘just turning up’, and why this is not a good idea.

OK, here is my 10p worth – by the time we get to the presentation evening, the players will have given up 32 Sunday mornings to come and play futsal. That is a fantastic commitment to a club that is not in a league and hardly plays any competitive matches – the least we can do is reward them with a small token of our appreciation for this dedication. I asked several of the players, at various age groups if they wanted a trophy, some sweets or something else and pretty much all wanted the trophy. It’s OK for the adults to say don’t give them a trophy, but ask the players what they want, and act on their answers.

One young lady told me she has every year’s trophy she has been awarded by the club lined up on her shelf at home. She knows she is not the best player and will never win the player of the year or age group award but these trophies reminder she never gave in and kept coming back. She told me she is proud of how she has improved over the previous 5 years, and she knows the club cares and values her support. Can’t say it any better than that…

Coach Chris