I apologize for posting this. I went back and watched by team from a game last year. I remember we didn't play very well. But OH MY GOD. If I see them playing like this again, I need to quit coaching. Because whatever I've been trying to teach them wasn't working. Not about to post it because to call it "kickball" would be a disservice to the sport of kickball. As I was watching my game, a few other videos were on the screen to click on. ECNL games. Tournament championship games. What is supposed to be high level soccer for 14 year olds and below. It was all pretty bad. The girls just got a little bigger and a little faster as you went "up" in the level. A little bit better skill, but the passing, moving and connecting was god awful.
Don't be too hard on yourself. My 06 A-team boys are really good. I remember one practice this winter, we asked them "what style they wanted to play?" They said "possession." After about 5 minutes I stopped play. Told them that did not look like any type of possession soccer I had ever seen. We restarted and it was much better. Some times it's not our methods, but rather we just have to hold their feet to the fire and demand they play as they are taught and expected. Games and tournaments are tough because the pressure to get results is on, so they revert to risk-averse play. Non-kickball is tough to achieve because when the first pass is a clearance, for example, then everything tends to fall apart. The receiver struggles to get the ball down, the support isn't there. Then you're playing in a state of constant chaos. Too often, as most of our teams aren't super deep, the tendency is to put the best ball handlers in midfield—makes sense. But should they be in the back 4 so the build up starts correctly?
@elessar78 That was a good short explanation of the problem. With adults or kids (11 a side), I usually identify the 3 best players and put 1 in each of the lines in the center where they can lead their respective line. If I only had 2 good players, they would go in a CB and CM position. If I had a fourth good player, I would make the player a CB or halfback. The problem with putting the best players all in the same line is that: you don't maximize the potential leadership, and the support off the ball (in terms of the best players) lacks depth. Regardless of how many good players you have (3, 4, 5 or 11), you want to place them so that they can support each other and maximize their control of the game. Putting them all in the same line is no better than putting them all on one flank. I have had success in making strong players out of the weaker ones. I don't expect the weakest players to overtake the best in ball skills, but they will improve faster. Teaching everyone how to support off the ball makes the players on the ball (which your system should make the best players most of the time) more effective. In short I don't believe in hiding weak players. I teach them how to play and set them up for success. One time in an adult match we put the 4 best players in back of a 433. The substitution pattern was by line: 3 forwards came out 3 backs went in and mids became fowards and 3 backs became mids. It was someone elses idea, and it worked suprisingly well. The opponent never adapted to our pattern. But our players were used to playing multiple positions and had played together for years.
As a referee (which I am), I would call that every time for the simple reason that if I didn't, I would lose control of the game very quickly. I was an AR for a U16 game where a center allowed shoulder charges like this over and over. Midway through the 3rd quarter we almost had to terminate the game because he had lost control. Girls quit playing the ball and start seeking out other players to put a shoulder in to because that was the standard he had set. I don't like the idea that is sometimes repeated that if we keep our arms in close to our body, suddenly all charges are legal. I simply don't believe that is the case. In this case, this girl tracked the other player, saw her coming in and used her body to send her to the turf. I didn't watch any of the video prior to the play in questions, so I can't speak to anything else going on. My rule of thumb is that if a charge is initiated towards the ball I give more leeway. If the direction of the charge is away from the ball (as it was in this case) I will always look at it more critically. I would have whistled this as a simple careless charge and award DFK to the red team.
@Cactus837, yes, thank you for your response. My daughter opted to play soccer with her HS this year. She's on JV and has played a couple of games. I've yet to see the physicality that I saw from that rec plus team. That being said, the varsity team has much larger girls and it is more physical. My daughter was told by the coaches that her skill level was up to the varsity, but the girls in front of her are bigger and stronger. For her safety, I'm glad she's on JV