Saturday, September 14, 2013

Game Day Comments

After waking up to another treat of live premier league soccer it was off to Mount Vernon for our home opener.  The DC weather certainly cooperated and it was the perfect day for a game.   It was great to be playing at home in front of a good crowd.  Many thanks to the GW student athletes who came out to support the lads and all the other families and supporters who made it a great day all round.  Special thank you to the U8 boys from Bethesda soccer club for coming and playing at halftime and cheering the players on.  Also to Cerys Jones my number one fan.

After losing to VMI last season and with it being our home opener that should have been enough of an incentive to make sure we started the game strong and quickly dictated the tempo that we wanted to play at.  It was under five minutes when after good pressure on the VMI back line we were able to force a turnover by Ranalli and he continued to goal to coolly slide the ball past the oncoming VMI Gk.  The perfect start to the game and one that not only gave us the belief that we could score more but set the tone of how we wanted to play and pressure the opposition.  A couple of half chances and we were well on top but still not able to get that second goal.  With McQuitty entering the game he made an immediate impact, winning a long ball from JP and flicking it into the path of Ranalli who again kept his composure to make it 2-0 and it would stay that way until half time.  A good first half performance but at 2-0 we knew the job was only half done and we needed to keep pressing for that third goal to give us a cushion that we would be able to kill the game off.

The second half started much like the first with the players hustling the VMI players and forcing turnovers but also we were not able to keep possession better and moved the ball quicker.  A great move saw the ball eventually find Farhan Khan in the 18 yard box who coolly beat the last defender  and sweetly struck his left foot shot into the upper ninety.  3-0 and one more would definitely allow me to relax a little for the first time this season on the sideline.  It wasnt  long in coming, another flowing move down the right hand side and who else to finish it off but our senior captain Ranalli.  A hatrick for Ranalli and an assist on Khan's goal game him 7 points for the day which already has surpassed his total from last year.  A great team performance all round and another shut out for our defensive unit.  As the game wore on we were able to make some changes and rest guys that had some minor injury worries more for a precaution knowing we play again on Wednesday.

Overall a great day for the players and certainly one of my most enjoyable coaching moments.  Its been a busy week Birthday greetings to Coach Irizarry, JP and Abdul who all celebrated being 21 this week (Coach Irizarry is slightly older but he's as fit as a 21 year old) and tomorrow its practice followed by our GW Student Athlete retreat on the national mall.

As always you can visit www.GWsports.com for highlights, box scores and game reports.

Raise High Moment of the Day
The Hatrick from Tyler Ranalli   

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Sun Block / Goals Galore

Today was another scorching day in DC and a double coat of the sunblock for the third day running in this heatwave for what has seemed even hotter than when we were in preseason.  The forecast for the game Saturday is much cooler and even as I was driving home today a heavy storm had hit the city.  It was dark at 5pm due to the heavy rain clouds waiting to open and when they did I was caught driving with little visibility due to the heavy rain and it was a challenging ride home.

On to practice and with the game on Saturday it was a chance to work the guys at a fairly high workload knowing tomorrow would be a lighter session.  Wanting to work on some areas from the games this past weekend we went straight into a 11v11 set up after our technical warmup.  It was a good session for the repetition of plays that we needed to work on and also a chance for our guys to open their lungs and play full speed going to goal.  Both teams scored a wonderful goal one from Higgins after great build up and McQuitty who created the goal for himself after latching onto a long ball and dispatching it into the net.

We finished with some shooting and from what I saw it was a day that Heine definitely had his shooting boots on as he scored goal after goal showing a range of finishing that was superb but unfortunately still wasn't enough for his team to win the overall competition.  It was great to see so many guys staying behind post practice to hit some extras balls and work with the staff on individual pieces of the game and I hope they are rewarded this weekend in the game.  For me I almost broke some part of my body as I ran onto a cross from Forrest only to come down on another ball that was on the field and took a tumble.  Not sure if I was in shock afterwards that it happened or whether I was shocked I hadn't hurt anything.  Either way I'm lucky it turned out okay and another reminder that I'm not as sprightly as I used to be.

Raise High Moment of the Day
Apologies if I missed any other contenders for goal of the session but Garret Heine did bend one into the top corner to win the round for his team

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

USA World Cup / Beep Test

After a day of following scores from various World Cup Qualifying games all over the world I was looking forward to sitting down last night and watching the USA v Mexico match that could have and did ensure the USA would be going to a 7th successive World Cup Finals.  Its seems that my allegiance to Wales, my home country, is forever being tested as they lost games to Macedonia and Serbia in the last 6 days which probably will see them place bottom of their qualifying group.  The country I have lived in the past 18 years (wow its been that long) qualifies with ease over and over.  Some say the USA qualify through a much easier route but either way if I can make the trip to Brazil for the finals I gotta support some team that I have a connection with.  (I think I will have to win the lottery to go to the Finals in Brazil but we can all dream)

Today's session was started with a fitness test to see how far we have come in terms of increased fitness levels and to make sure that the players who have not been playing significant minutes are not losing any of the aerobic base they had at the start of the season.  I am pleased to say that everyone did well and some players, Grevelink in particular was outstanding.

Onto the session a much shorter session with the ball due to the test but a brief technical exercise followed by some 2v2 work would ensure we got some much needed touches on the ball and created a competitive environment at the end to get everybody going game speed.  Some nice goals, saves and battles made the end of the session fun to watch.  After the field session it was on to the gym for our lifting session.

Tomorrow we will be back on the field preparing for VMI on Saturday our home opener.  Having lost last season to VMI we will be looking to avenge that loss but more importantly build on our performances so far this season as we look to get a little better game by game. 

Raise High Moment of the Day
This past weekend we visited the Freedom Tower in NYC and today we take a moment to pay tribute to the victims of 9/11.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Recovery Day

After getting back to campus late last night I found it difficult getting up this morning  The players were up early as they started the day with a team breakfast at the smith center.  For some it was onto class before practice for the rest it was a chance to hang with the team and other GW student athletes and then up to the Vern for a 10 am start.

Our Monday meetings before we get on the field are usually a brief recap of the game followed by some general housekeeping items and events for the week ahead.  Getting onto the field today there were no balls needed as the players were put through our version of the FIFA11+ warmup and then into a 15 minute run.  Again, for the players who played significant minutes it was a very light jog to flush the body and the other players a quicker pace to get the lungs open and stretch the legs out.  After the run it was into the gym for a lifting session with Dan The Man where the players were pushing hard working on their explosive strength and power.

After practice it was time to catch up on some emails and phone calls after being on the road for 4 days and plan the week ahead with a day off tomorrow and 3 practice sessions before our next game. This evening i was lucky enough to do a session for a 10 year old girls recreation team.  I forgot how much girls can talk at this age and being their first session of the season they were rather excited which added to the chaos.  I did get to see my old under 9 boys travel team practice a little only theyre  now 11 and it seems 11 inches taller.  How quickly time goes, I can remember taking senior Abdul Shaban as a 14 year old to Germany with the Virginia Olympic development team and coaching PhillipMcQuitty  when he was about 3 feet smaller with the ODP program,

Anyways its a day off practice tomorrow for the lads and a video review day for me.

Raise High Moment of the Day
Happy Birthday to Coach Daniel Irizarry

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Game Day Blog

With todays game being at 4pm we were able to rest up after breakfast and we ate our pregame meal at 12.30pm before leaving at 2.15pm for the field.  After FRiodays game we were without Andri Alexandersson having played everygame last year I nicknamed him Wolverine because of his ability to heal quickly but unfortunately this time it was just too much.  With Jonny Forrest also picking up a knock we would make a few changes to the starting line up and for some guys their chance to start and impress.

Unfortunately after a positive start to the game where we had 2 very good chances to take the lead, a header cleared off the line and another blocked shot both opportunities from Ranalli we would concede a goal after approx 15 minutes.  We spoke about a long ball over the top but unfortunately we were not able to deal with it properly and found ourselves a goal down.  Despite having possession and playing quite well with the ball we were just a little off our game especially defensively and getting tight to players not giving them time to play which has been a strength of ours this season.  Not sure if we were still thinking about NYC or we had some tired legs from Friday but  despite not playing that well we still created some good opportunities to score goals.  1-0 Half Time

Having not really imposed our style and tempo on the game in the first half it was encouraging to see how we started the second.  Instantly pressing the ball and forcing turnovers we camped out in their half but we couldn't find that breakthrough goal.  Struggling to connect that final pass, cross, shot in the final third and letting set play opportunities go away through poor service we pushed and pushed for that equalizer but it was one of those days.  Farhan Khan who drove the team on in the second half shot inches wide in the final minutes and a close offside call denied another opportunity.  All was in vain as the final whistle blew and our road trip would end in defeat.  All credit to them they got their goal and defended their lead stoically.

With the bus ride home we'll hopefully get back before midnight but before we put on a movie we were treated to a short performance on the bus with Eddie Painter on the Guitar and Jopus Grevelink on vocals which eased the pain a little from today's result.  The guys are up early tomorrow for our first training table breakfast at the Smith Center and then off to practice.  Probably a lighter session on the field but I know Dan will have them buzzing in the gym for our lifting session.

Raise High Moment of the Day
Simon and Garfunkel, I mean Painter and Grevelink.  Nice job by the guys could become a bus trip tradition.