SGV Pistons debuted at the one-day Danielle Mosher Memorial Soccer Tournament in Torrance, California on Saturday, June 9, 2007. We featured two randomly selected teams – Pistons Team 1 and, you guessed it, Pistons Team 2. I’d made the decision to have a player manage each team as part of the SGV Pistons goal of developing from among the players, coaches who would present smart soccer. Sarah T had Team 1 and Laura had Team 2. I assured both team coordinators of my support all the way.

 

It was gorgeous soccer weather as SGV Pistons Team 1 kicked off with some smooth ball movement on the tough pitch. In the very 2^nd minute, Amanda received the ball at the top of the box from Jenny on the left. Executing a neat step over to fake out her challenger, she neatly found Sarah T to the right. Sarah settled the ball and blasted a carpet scorcher to the inside of the far post – low ball all the way into the goal. Check out the video on Youtube.

 

The opposition came right back with a header off a kick-in (replacement for throw-in). Stephanie’s cat-like reflex came to the rescue as she deflected the header. The ball careened off the underside of the crossbar and Stephanie was there to cover up the bounce.

 

They tied it up when we turned the ball over on what I considered needless dribbling on defence. The ensuing assault on our goal was blocked out of bounds for a kick-in. There again, we committed the unpardonable error of not recovering fast with a mindset of jealously guarding our property. The opposition made a quick restart and a blasted shot on our goal created a melee which resulted in the goal.

 

At half-time, I briefly advised our Team 1 to hold their structure more and be more prompt in ball distribution. I then went over to the other field to support our Team 2. A review of the video of the 2^nd half of Team 1’s game showed a lot of heart on our team’s part. They obviously delivered on my idea of coached soccer by attentively and selfllessly creating tons of chances. Strangely reminiscent of our quarter-finals in Bakersfield, we could not finish begging chances.

 

Team 1 won the next game but dropped the last two to lose even the Consolation Bracket - we dropped the final game 2-4 after going up 2-0. I believe that Team 1 was certainly not weaker than Team 2. Some players opined that Team 1 had tougher oppositions. I didn’t buy into that as a factor. Another school of thought was there was no vocal leadership on Team 1. I think “vocality” is overrated where players have a common understanding of what their team is about. I feared that while there was good chemistry among the players as some members of the team hailed the selection as a group that plays together, there appeared to hang over the team a strong pong of discomfort with the discipline mandated by the style of SGV Pistons. A player walking ahead while I was given her instructions and the whole team opting to not come together for half-time briefing particularly in their final game (with the game tied 2-2) hardly made for the nature of discipline that I personally think would bring out the best in a team with which I work. Humility, as a major cornerstone of this program, can only benefit the players as much as the team.

 

On the other field, Team 2 was up at half-time 2-0 and went on to finish their first game 4-1. In their 2^nd game, they went up 1-0, fell behind 1-2, and powered to a 4-2 victory to lead the division.

 

Team 2's composure was tested in the semi against Turbo. We’d gone up 1-0 after a hard-fought opening 6 minutes. Then, Brigit curled a beautiful kick-in that Diana deflected into the net with a glancing header (check the video on YouTube). The ref failed to see the deflection and disallowed the goal. Diana and her colleagues were understandably incensed and didn’t even heed my pleas to pay attention to the game as the other team had restarted and we were totally out of position. Good thing they turned the ball over and right away, we got the goal back on Kristen R's hard-fought challenge.

 

Do NOT argue calls, folks. I've said it a million times. It hardly ever changes anything. It distracts you. It saps your energy unduly. Recover promptly and be ready for another opportunity that’s bound to be presented.

 

Turbo, with their big, and surprisingly agile players, tied it up 2-2 in the second half. We won 3-2 to advance into the final where we beat Rampage 2-0. (Pictured left are the champs!)

 

Great job, everyone. I especially applaud Sarah T and Laura who managed our two teams. I’m sure everyone came away from this experience with some lessons learnt to make us collectively better going forward.

 

In spite of some really vicious challenges, and even mindlessly violent ankle hackings, we're grateful to return home with no significant injury.