First Scrimmage and Training Session 8

We scrimmaged a Honduran men's team last night. We started well and scored first. Tud provided a nice goal by charging into the box through a couple of defenders and blasting one side netting. The Hondurans came back and scored 52 seconds later by pinging it through our midfield and cheekily poking it by our keeper. We subbed often and tested out a variety of players in different positions. We knocked the woodwork a few times throughout the game but the Hondurans familiarity with each other showed and they scored 4 times in the second half. All-in-all it was a positive experience though as it was our first time out on the pitch together as a team and we had some moments on the field where we looked very comfortable playing sharp, fast and creative. We may scrimmage the Honduran team again at the end of our training period. It will be a good gauge to play them again. They were fast, chippy and head good touches but I believe we will improve enough to beat them.

After the scrimmage there was a free for all to get food before everything closed. Our van failed (or won, depending on how you look at it) and we ended up at the waffle house.

Post Scrimmage Waffle House

Today we started practice with some touch drills on the ball and moved to 8 vs 8 with keepers. I decided to ice my hamstring while we played but was able to break out the go pro for a few minutes. Which ended up being long enough to get some decent footage around the goal mouth.

Dunn picking up the scraps back post

Shot over the bar, Ronnie had it covered

Save of the day by James

First Scrimmage (sort of)

Our scrimmage was cancelled due to a storm front, so we gathered in the BOQ's break room for a classroom session. We read some very insightful articles and had a followup discussion about the value of playing possession style soccer and how to mimic the top European clubs. The literature we discussed during our classroom session is listed below:

Top 10 Traits of an Arsenal/Barcelona Player
Interview with Xavi
The Mourinho Mystique: What makes "The Special One" so successful?

We also discussed our schedule for the remainder of this week and the early part of next week. There are several scrimmages on the horizon including a weekend trip to New Orleans to take on some college club teams. After our discussion, we watched the Best Goals of the 2010/2011 EPL season. An abridged version of the DVD is below. The number one goal was of course Rooney's bike.

Day 2 and 3, Training Sessions 3-5

Our 3rd, 4th and 5th training sessions were heavily focused on small sided possession games with some 11 vs 11 mixed in near the end of practices. We played played some progressive small sided games which focused on possessing the ball while thinking outside of the box. One drill entailed 2 teams of 5 each trying to posses a single soccer ball. There were 2 balls in play at all times. Each team started with their own ball and would have to decide on the fly how many players they were going use to keep the ball away from the other team and how many players they were going to use to try and steal the other teams ball. A team would receive a point whenever they possessed both balls in play.

Gearing up for practice on day 2

Another drill which imposed creative thinking, comprised 2 games of 6 vs 6 soccer being played simultaneously next to each other. Each player on each team had a number, 1-6. When the coach would call out a number or series of numbers. The corresponding players were required to immediately switch the field they were playing on. Thus forcing players to become immediately aware of a dynamic attacking or defending environment. 

Finishing practice in the rain on day 3

We also had a chance to work on some fun shooting drills during Tuesday night's training session. The weather has dropped in temperature a bit and we ended this morning's practice with some welcomed rain. Hopefully a storm doesn't brew tonight during our first scrimmage.

Day 1, Training Session 2

We started at 1900 tonight. We warmed up by doing some quick stepping around cones and short sprints and followed with 6 vs 2 keep away in a small box before moving into small sided 6 vs 6 with keepers. We finished up by playing 8 vs 8 with keepers. We alternated between using unlimited touches and 2 touches throughout our small sided games.

Leaving Practice

It was a perfect night to play soccer. Temperature was mid 70s with a light breeze. Although you can't see it from the picture, the pitch was all Bermuda grass making for very true play with no unpredictable bouncing. We can't wait to get back out tomorrow.

Day 1, Training Session 1

We had a team meeting at 0800.  Commander Ponseti (USCG), and Commander Wilson (USN), our coaches, laid down the guidelines for our training camp and went over our schedule for the first day. We jumped right into fitness during the morning before a night time session on the lighted training field.

We gathered around the track at 1000, did a 10 minute warm-up jog and stretched before proceeding right into the Cooper test. The Cooper test is a simple fitness test. Members are given 12 minutes to see how far they can run. The temperature was in the mid 90s coupled with some significant humidity. Accordingly, there were some grueling seconds near the end of our 12 minute expedition. In fact, when most of us were nearing our 6th lap, some instructors from the fitness center walked out to the track and raised a yellow flag signifying and amber heat advisory.

NAS Pensacola Track

After the Cooper test we put on our cleats and made our way to the center of the track. The coaches had set up cones at 40 and 80 yard intervals. We then proceeded to run timed sprints against each other for the next 30 minutes or so. The coaches recorded our times and took some notes. After capping off the session with a cool-down jog and some stretching we grabbed water and made plans for lunch.