Red Barons Update
WOW, another fun and amazing game last Saturday! The VUSA Tigers came out strong and scored three quick goals on us but once we got our defense clicking, we dominated the rest of the game. Great job guys for playing so hard, not giving up, and remembering the things we've been working on in practice! We were even down two players, with only one sub.
Games this Saturday - We were scheduled for a double-header but it looks like the VUSA Dynamite will have too many kids out to field a team and had to
cancel.
This is the game that was scheduled for 10:30am this Saturday morning. We're trying to get this game rescheduled for another day but that might not happen. I'll keep you posted!
We are still scheduled to play the CW Explosion at 1:30pm on Saturday, at Helen Baller, and we'll be the Home Team (white jerseys). We'll need a parent volunteer to ref the game. Any volunteers?
Memorial Day Tournament - There is a tournament coming up on Memorial Day Weekend. I talked with a couple of the parents about this at the Practice on Tuesday and they were interested. I'm working on getting more details and will give you more information, as I get it, but please let me know if you're interested and available that weekend.
Skills - We've been working pretty hard on defense, basic dribbling skills and protecting the ball at practice. At this age (5 & 6 years old) developing personal dribbling skills is the number 1 priority. I do introduce more of the game to them (positioning, passing, etc.) in small doses but try to keep the focus on ball handling. This is what's recommended by the league and it's associated curriculum. Also, I've talked to professional coaches and they all seem to say the same thing, "Have them dribble, dribble, dribble! Give me a player who knows the basics and has great ball handling skills and I can teach them the rest of the game. Give me a player who knows the game but can't dribble and I can't do much with them."
On that note - I'd like to suggest that the kids practice their dribbling and ball handling skills at home, whenever possible. A few minutes each day can make a HUGE difference and the kids will love it! Especially if a parent or sibling is willing to play with them!
Coaching - As you may have heard, I'm planning on coaching again in the Fall. I think we've got 4 boys comitted so far but if your son would like to play with us again in the Fall and hasn't notified me, please let me know ASAP. I need to know how many slots we'll have open because I have two kids wanting to play with us, who haven't played with us before.
Thanks everyone,
Ben Yung
360-904-6380
