With the outside weather being very wet and football pitches being waterlogged, numbers were back to normal after a slow start last week. We kept the girls moving as much as possible to keep them warm, as it was once again it was freezing in the sports hall! Also managed to get some pictures of the U16s in action…just please don’t tell them!

This week’s session was based on splitting the court into 2 halves from D to D. The teams had to always keep 2 players on each side of the central line. The line extended to the edge of both D’s and after that, there were no restrictions on play. At first players were very worried about stepping over the line and their play reflected this. But over time the realised it was just a tool to help them keep their width and depth on the court. We progressed to the player with the ball could cross the central line, and a team mate then had to go the other way, to keep the balance, and then we started to see some good play. Not an easy session but lots of learning and good ideas from the players.

Click the image below to download this weeks session plan

Notable Players of the Session

1st Session – Ivy A – we can’t believe this is the same shy young lady who sat on her dad’s lap for the first couple of session, what a change! She is scoring goals, answering questions, and generally being fab!

2nd Session – Maja M – probably one of the most improved so far this season, very physical but also now starting to think about what she is doing, great to watch and one to keep an eye on!

3rd Hour – Ami S – another player who now starting to shine, she looks the players we always thought she was and now plays with so much confidence, brilliant to watch and coach.

4th Hour – Keira L – we have always liked this young lady and today reminded us why – powerful, clever, skilful, pretty much the full package, one the ladies are keeping a close eye on!

Final thoughts of a coach –The club was excited with the news of the new Futsal Youth Cup. With sponsorship of Pokémon coming to an end, the national youth tournament has been taken over by Futsal England, which can only be good for the competition. There were some radical changes, the U10s and U12s being held centrally across 8 venues throughout the UK, the U14s being pretty much like last season, and the U16s playing a full stop clock 40-minute game. The U16s can’t wait, and we will have a full squad available for whoever we play. Personally, I think this is the correct way forward, especially if we want to encourage girls into playing in the National Futsal Series. At Bootham we have no problems encouraging players to come and train with the ladies, so let’s hope the tournaments live up to all they promise, I for one can’t wait…

The last few weeks have been a roll-a-coaster of ladies training and matches, academy training and matches, paperwork, video and photo editing, social media writing, grant applications and chasing players and parents for money – something that never stops…It is in moments like these that an angel sometimes appears, and this month mine has been Jo Block. Off her own back, she has organised, printed, sourced, and generally sorted out a Christmas Club Raffle to help raise money to treat the players this year. I have done nothing except send a few messages. I know people don’t realise how much work she has put in but from me it is a very heart felt thank you for just being awesome!

Next week we are taking our U13, U14s and U15s to play in the brand-new West Riding Girls Futsal League, near Leeds. We will be playing teams we have never seen before so we have no idea what to expect. I am not a coach that wants to win at all costs, everyone will get equal playing time, we will use these games as development for players and see what we need to work on as a club. Huge thank you to Connor for organising this, it is very much appreciated.

Coach Chris