SPARTANS CONTINUE TO IMPROVE

BLACKS NOTCH ANOTHER IN THE WIN COLUMN

Abe, Andrew M, Devon, Andrew B all score!

It was a mixed result for Coach Baron and his crew on both pitches last Sunday.

"I was very pleased with the results of both sides, despite the mistakes," Baron commented during the post game interview.

Yellow played very well, and seemed to be more organized as Baron took the field and dictated how he wanted his lads to play.

They went down by two early in the game, but managed to learn, adapt and stymie their opponents in the second half.

The main theme of the match was communication. With that in tow, the Yellows generated more chances on the opponent net, while limiting goals against them.

"The loss was unfortunate," said Baron,"but the lads were great on the pitch, and the game was a lot closer than the 3-1 score let on"

In the second game, the Blacks took an early 4-1 lead, squandered it, and then went ahead to stay.

It was their second win of the second half season, and it looked good.

"What I enjoyed about my Blacks, was that they talked on the field, moved about, and definitely were the better team. There were some anxious moments, but the 5-4 win really sparks joy. We deserve to win, and got the proper result."

With both teams on the grass this Sunday, the Baron hopes that it'll generate two wins.

"I would love to see that both teams notch one in the "W" column. And they can do it...it just takes adherence to the principles which I have instilled upon them.

STATS:
(Y) Issa (PK)

(B) Devon (A)
(B) Andrew M (G)
(B) Andrew B (A)
(B) Devon (G)
(B) Abe (G)
(B) Abe (A)
(B) Devon (G)
(B) Abe (GWA)
(B) Devon (GWG)

KEEPER:
(B) Leigh (W)

MAN OF THE MATCH:
(B) Andrew M
(Y) Ryan

WHAT CONSTITUTES A TEAM

BARON HAS SOME HARSH WORDS AFTER TWO BLOW OUTS

Soccer is like Chess...exploit weaknesses of position!

"We have some fine players on the pitch," commented Baron after some less than stellar performances last week." but for some reason, we just can't get it together. And that really stinks, since these lads deserve a better record than they have."

MODES OF IMPROVEMENT -- BARON STYLE

1. COMMUNICATION
If you're not talking to your team mates, the battle is already lost.

Telling people who to cover, where to position themselves, to get back into position, that there's a cherry picker, etc. That's how we do things.

We communicate with an effective style. Not with harsh words. Harsh words produce like responses.
We talk to each other to add information...to improve our position.

Next games, I want more info style communication.
If you're shy or unsure, please start practicing in front of the mirror.

2. FRUSTRATION
The team that is frustrated is playing a man down.

Frustration is like a disease. It infects, it is contagious, and before you know it the team falls apart.

Keep your angry words to yourself. Better yet, leave them in the trash can by the door and pick them up as you leave. I will NOT entertain this on my pitch.

Take this energy, turn it around, and make something productive out of it. Lead by example.

If someone screws up, I want words of encouragement...not words denoting shame. That player knows that they did something wrong. They feel badly. What you're doing is bringing a man's failure to light. Would you enjoy that treatment from a trusted team mate?

3. REMINDING YOU WE ARE A COUNTER ATTACK TEAM
There are a lot of teams in this league who have talent way above our own. And that's okay, because we've tied and beaten them.

Why?
Because we acted as a team!

A counter attack strategy has three main points:
a) we defend and break up attacks (this includes the midders coming back to destroy attacks upon us)
b) we give no opponent a free shot (always harass them...never give up)
c) we gain possession, and move it up the field for a shot at goal

CONCLUSION:
In our Spartan vs Spartan game, think about how a 7 man Black team, beat the 11 man Yellow team.

Black communicated effectively; they ensured that each man had information to do his job

They kept cool, even when Yellow scored two and were pressing with a superb attack.
In fact, words of encouragement was the way of the night.

They broke up Yellow's attacks; harassed the attackers, closed passes to Yellow players.
They denied clean and clear shots
Then they took possession and brought it up to score.

Guys...we can do this. Three simple steps.
My challenge to you as men is to accept these ideas, and use them to make the most of our last games.

STATS: (TWO WEEKS AGO)
(B) Mike A (A)
(B) Andrew M (G)
(B) Andrew M (G) - PK

(Y) Anders (A)
(Y) Jeremy (G)

MAN OF THE MATCH:
(B) Mike S
(Y) Aaron

STATS: (LAST GAME)
(Y) Shawn (A)
(Y) Ryan (G)

(B) Andrew B (A)
(B) Devon (G)
(B) Andrew B (G)
(B) Devon (G)

MAN OF THE MATCH:
(B) Leigh
(Y) Nelson