This was the last coaching session of the season, with the presentation evening coming up on Thursday and then next Sunday a fun day! It has been another record-breaking season, with two age groups winning their first ever trophies, something we are all extremely proud of. We will look back at what we have done, revisit some of the session, listen to the feedback and start again for our 8th season!

Today we continued the work on transitions. In this game if you dribbled the ball across the halfway line, you could attack either goal. This introduced the idea of a negative transition, when you are out of possession and outnumbered. We saw some great thinking, with players assessing which way they might go and some even better defending to stop the attackers from scoring.

Notable Player of the Sessions

1st Session – Imogen B – I think it is safe to say she had a fantastic day today! She really enjoyed playing against the coaches and worked her socks off, running all over the court – top job Imogen and very well played!

2nd Session – Amie S – This young lady has improved so much this season. She has the understanding of where to be on the court, how she can influence games and had a goal in her as well. Can’t wait to see what next season brings!

3rd Session – Hannah B – Not only did she dump Coach Chris in the floor with a fantastic tackle, she showed she is so close to making that transition to the ladies team. Physical, determined, very vocal and looks the futsal player we all hoped she would be!

Final thoughts of a coach – I used to look forward to my summer off, my time away from coaching. After nearly 11 months of constant coaching, any coach will tell you they need a break to recharge the batteries, refocus and go again at 100%. With the introduction of the ladies’ team two seasons ago, this now doesn’t happen…if I’m lucky I get 2 weeks off before the ladies start pre-season…

Look, I am not complaining, but players and parents and especially outsiders from the club have no comprehension of the work we undertake, for free, to assist our players as coaches. As it is I am sat here on a Friday morning planning the girls Sunday session and writing this review. I am not looking for sympathy, just letting people know…

We have invited the U15s to have a taste with the ladies’ team in pre-season and I am delighted to say more than we anticipated have taken us up on this offer. It is a huge step to go from U16s to open age, playing against some very seasoned and extremely talented ladies, and anything we can do to help bridge this gap is a must from the club.

Thursday sees our annual prizes given evening – something I look forward to each year. When we started we had 3 awards; we are now pushing nearly 20 with just under 80 trophies to hand out. I can’t wait so check back later next week for a review of who won what!

Coach Chris