Saturdays quick note

Back to practice early this morning and 30 minutes of video review was not the best way to get the day going after being up late watching the game again last night.  On the field we definitely had some tired legs but I liked the fact that even the guys who played a full 90 minutes wanted to do a little extra today to get ready for tomorrow.  A little warm up and stretching and then we were into a small sided game to get the players some sharpness for tomorrow.

Tomorrow we play Fordham who had a good result Friday night away from home tying with Charlotte 0-0.  At least the past 3 seasons they have been one of the best teams in the Conference and finished Co Regular Season Champions with us all last year with a 7-2 conference record.  It will be another battle and as a team we have to get going early and compete individually and as a group all oll over the field.  Kick off is at 1pm at Mount Vernon Campus.

After practice it was long day recruiting for me locally for some VA State Cup games.  Some entertaining games with all the passion that is associated with Cup Knockout tournaments.  Good chatting with some coaches I know and haven’t seen for a while but by the end of the day I was looking forward to going home.

Magic Moment of the Day

Walking through the door at the end of a long day

Post Game - At least Wales won

Not a good day at the office.  Probably one of the most disappointing losses of my entire time here at GW.  Unfortunately we were once again unable to start the same back four in consecutive games and knowing yesterday we would be missing Sousa and with Shaban already out we were rocked when we lost Sandland to a freak injury before the game and JP in warm up.  The versatile Holleran moved position again and found himself at left back and Farrell made his college debut in goal.  Despite the scoreline and conceding 4 goals Farrell can still hold his head high as I thought he was one of few positives to come out of the game.  That says it all with our GK conceding 4 goals and playing great and highlights some of the shambolic team defending that cost us goals today.

With us back on the field Sunday it gives us little time to prepare and for us it more like repair as we try and get guys fit.  Like most games I try and get the positives out of losses but today the honest fact is we did not work hard enough and too many players went missing when we needed them most.  Again it was a case of creating chances but not scoring in the second half and giving goals away from areas we had spoken about before the game.

For Coach Farrell of LaSalle whom I happen to like and have for many years it was his 200th career win so again congratulations on achieving that milestone.  We had a good chat afterwards and I like the way he put the 200 wins in perspective "it just shows that you've been doing this a long time"  Probably made it even more special as his son a freshman scored the opening goal for him.

The small bit of good news for me today was that Wales beat Scotland 2-1 in a world cup qualifier and despite having a long shot to actually qualify its a win that stopped a 4 game losing streak.

Magic Moment of the Day
Wales 2 - Scotland 1

Clash of the Tartans and Pre Game

With todays practice focusing on sharpness and final preparations for the game tomorrow we started the day in the locker room talking over some formation and general tendencies of how we think LaSalle will line up.  Gotta be careful how much you rely on scouting reports as college teams can change their line ups from game to game.  Still, I think there is always information you can use and share with the players so after 20 mins we were out on the field.

After a warm up and some light ball work we were ready to get into a 6v6 tournament.  With the teams selected by injured players Scott and Shaban the teams were announced and each team was given a Head Coach consisting of Abdul Shaban Wenger, Alejandro Almodovar Di Matteo, and Matty Scott Pardew.  The guys were certainly sharp and began with a great strike and goal from Abaie after just 7 seconds on the clock.  That certainly set the tempo for the games ahead and the players responded with a great 45 minutes of soccer.  Almodovar Di Matteo came out on top after his team went 4-0 followed by Pardew and Wenger who struggled to get his team going.

Tomorrow we play Lasalle 3pm at Mount Vernon.  Having played only one game in the A10 so far LaSalle find themselves on the same number of points as us after they overcame Fordham in OT last Friday.  They will have had 2 extra days of rest and with an overall record of 7-2-2 they have shown so far that they are a tough team to beat and very capable of getting results.  Its a rematch of last years A10 semi final game which went into overtime and don't expect anything different this time around as I feel its going to be a very close encounter.  As always for our home games you can follow the live stats online or watch the live stream online if you cannot get to the Vern.

Have to mention its a great day for soccer tomorrow with World Cup qualifiers taking place in all continents and most importantly the highly anticipated Clash of the Tartans Wales v Scotland played in Cardiff.  Both teams are struggling for form so don't expect a classic here but the result could see the end of either managers reign, end either teams hope of qualification and let one nation have the bragging rights until they meet again later in qualifying.  Go On The Welsh!!!

Magic Moment of the Day
Irizarry nutmegs, classic

Family Shout Outs

Apologies to my millions, maybe just a handful, of my blog readers for the past couple of days silence and no updated news from GW.  I have to make the excuse that I have been extremely busy and whilst I enjoy writing the blog at the end of the day at home late at night I have been finding myself putting Cerys to bed and falling to sleep also.  NOT today, a cup of coffee after a very late lunch/early dinner has given me the energy to stay awake beyond 10.30pm so lets hope I have something exciting to tell you?

After the split weekend in opening A10 play we were off from practice on Monday for a much needed rest and treatment day for the players.  Coach Irizarry and I reviewed the video from the weekend and the disappointment of losing is helped by getting a night to absorb what you think happened on Sunday and then seeing there were many positives from the loss that we will take to practice this week. Then it was a rainy night in Rockville to watch a High School game as we look for the next GW Colonials.  At this point I would like to thank my wife Liz for understanding my mood swings and putting up with me during the season.

With 2 days down of practice this week the group have looked refreshed and despite what is a busy academic time for the guys the energy and enthusiasm has not diminished on the practice field.  News today that Shaban will need a face mask to possibly play this weekend after a confirmed nose fracture has me thinking of Phantom of the Opera and the possibility that he will sing the national anthem before the games this weekend donned in face mask and GW cloak.

I believe that you have to push yourself as a coach to make sure that each practice is a little bit different.  Even when addressing the same themes/topics there has to be some part that is new and engaging and keeps the session from becoming routine and mundane for the players. (not sure if thats the correct use of mundane here but I'm going with it)  Its a challenge that I take into every session and planning becomes stealing and using others ideas that I have watched to put my own spin on and make it better.  I can feel the players enjoying practice and thats the best part of my job.

Before I end the blog I want to share the words of my good friend Ian Jones who I know stole this from someone else "Trying is looking good while failing, those that win never say they tried, but those that failed do"

Magic Moment of the Past Few Days
Dylans laughter and not knowing why he's laughing