We travelled to West Hamilton after having 2 solid sessions this week.
We lost 5-2 and spent a lot of time in their end. They missed a lot of shots and we missed 2 penalty kicks, so it would not be fair to say "it would have been 5-4".
On a positive side, more players demonstrated a willingness and ability to be creative with the ball. I was happy with that and so was Coach Paul.
And we were very competitive once in the opponent's penalty area. That is something we directly addressed at training this week.
On a negative side, our inability/reluctance to get physical is causing us more problems.
In terms of denying shots and forward progress, we are still being impatient and over-committing while defending, as a team and individually. We are giving up a lot of open shots and unforced passes because of poor 1v1 defending, front to back.
In terms of possession, our boys are panicking when they know they will have to fight to maintain possession, causing some rushed/errant passing.
As for me, I stayed seated for most of the game, for once. I enjoyed the game more and saw a lot more than usual. I told Coach Paul last week I was sitting tonight. This is the first team where I've spent a lot of time standing and yakking during games. Not sure why, but I need to end that game-time strategy.
Coach Paul and I will continue to work to be positive and encouraging and help the boys find more game time comfort. When I say "work", that's an admission that it is easy to become frustrated at times. The boys give each other what they have. Our job is to help them discover they have more to give, they just need to find it.
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