[M.D. Holloway]

Yup but its U8, U9 is next year. The word that is pounded in their heads is pass, pass, pass. A pass is as good as a goal at this age. Its truly is amazing, we play a passing game and every team will swarm our girl with the ball. I tell them to use the field and trap soundly. A girl will take 3 to 10 seconds to get anywhere near ya. Thats plenty of time to trap, look, decide and kick. I can't tell you how often we would do that and wouldn't you know, that is the reason we won so many times. That and following a kick into the goal and playing 'Girl-Up' which is covering an opponant on throw-ins and goal kicks.

Just a few basic things repeated and repeated and repeated and before you know it goals are scored. They start understanding that if you do kick back to your keeper, plays can be set up - wings to the ends, midfielders going high post, forward taking it up. The defenders know to pull up to draw offsides they also get instruction from the bossy keeper not to block vision or 'mess with her vectors!'.

I do have the biggest mouth on the fields but the only thing you will hear me boom is "Nice Work!", "Well Played!", "Girl-Up!", "Your the Best!". I am never negative (some of the coaches can be). If a mistakes is made, during a break I will get down on my knee and look up at a player and ask her what she thought went wrong then I will offer a solution but rarely do I have to - they know they just didn't do it right. No one is perfect and they only have 8 years of life in them. I expect very little if anything. I just don't like it when any girl doesn't try. Its not fair to the game or her commitment to the team. I always say let me know if you want to sit out a quarter - I have never had a girl want that in fact they pout when they have to sit out for someone else to play. If thats as bad as it gets I'll take it.