soccerfanatic
Active member
Okay, I feel I have been silent long enough, hoping the coaching staff could figure out some of the problems this year’s soccer team is facing. I am not certain whether these are issues the coach is missing, or if the coach stresses these in practice and the team just does not follow directions, but it appears something is horribly wrong with this the way this team is performing. I recognize that my reasoning may be off, that I may not have the full picture, etc. But I would also be interested to hear if anyone else either agrees or disagrees with my diagnosis, or has any other suggestions that I might be missing. I still have complete confidence in the coaching staff; I just thought I would offer my two cents worth (and perhaps that is all it is worth.) Hence, what follows is my list of the top seven coaching issues that should be considered by someone… any one.
Issue #1: One of the basic fundamentals any team must master is spreading the field. Little kids have a tendency to bunch up and swarm around the ball. At the college level, spreading the field should be automatic. In reviewing several game films, I have noted that the Bengals tend to play all collapsed to one side of the field or the other. In watching a game film of the Colorado College game, I noted that for nearly 40% the game, the entire Bengal offense or defense was either on the left or right side of the field (with no one covering the opposite side.) However, at the same time, there was always at least one CC player on the weak side ready and waiting for her teammates to switch the field. When they did switch the field, the entire Bengal team would vacate their positions and move to the new side of the field. Not only are we leaving attackers wide open on the switch, when the Bengal midfield receives the ball, their only option is to put the ball into traffic with high probability of losing the pass. The team needs to learn the basic fundamentals of using the entire field to their advantage. Passing becomes easier, more options exist, and the entire game opens up.
Issue #2: Similar to Issue #1, the offense is not taking advantage of whatever ground the defense gives them. The offense should never allow the defenders to be waiting 20-30 yards up field for a through ball. We need at least one (preferably two) aggressive forwards who stay right on the defensive line, ready to break forward at any instant on a potential through ball. Too many of our forwards are playing with a defensive mindset. I can count multiple times per game when even the forwards are close the defensive third of the field. If a forward needs to fall back to defend against a defender who has taken an offensive position, some midfielder needs to slip temporarily into the forward osition. With the possible exception of the corner kick or other set play, most of our offense needs to be up field. Even on the set play, at least one or two forwards should be ready to move into an attacking position with a quick release or long ball. If it is too exhausting to be pushing the defense constantly, we have some great reserves. Substitute often and keep fresh legs up front. If a player is slowing down or falling back to a less demanding defensive role, rip them out of the game and put in a fresh, rested player.
Issue #3: The third related offensive point is that the offense needs to trust their defense. Miller, Henage and Hough have been extremely effective in the back. When all three of them are playing defense, the team has only been giving up about one goal every 70 minutes. With one out due to injury or penalty, the team has been giving up one goal every 15 minutes. With a little more offense, we can easily win the league giving up an average of no more than 1.3 goals per game. The coach has used a very effective strategy late in several of the close games. She would pull out one defender and add an additional offensive player. This move invariably fires up the offense, leading to many of Coach Gibson’s comments about how the team finally played up to their potential during the final minutes of the game. Never, in any of these instances, did the three-man defense allow a score. Perhaps it is time to make a permanent move to three defenders.
Issue #4: These players act like they are afraid to shoot. They need to be ready to pull the trigger without worrying about the consequences. There are only two players on this team averaging more than one shot per game: midfielders Quigley and Hoffstetter, neither of which has yet to score. Most of the quality shots should be coming out of the forwards. Lauren Ryan, the leading scorer, has a total or 11 shots in 11 games with three goals. Other than Ryan, you could add up every shot by every other midfielder and forward (all 9 of them,) and it will still be less than Quigley and Hoffstetter combined. If our forwards are afraid to shoot, they probably should not be playing forward. Right now, the team is being out shot by an average of 9 shots per game (19 shots against for every 10 shots taken.) We will never have a chance unless this stat is turned around.
Issue #5: This team needs more emphasis on set plays. A huge percentage of points in any level of soccer are scored off of set plays. Our most effective weapon this year has been the long throw-ins by Hansen and Munro. Early in the season, these seemed to catch our opponents off guard. They have become less effective as the year has worn on. The team needs to know where to go for corner kicks, free kicks and deep throw-ins. We seem to bunch everyone in the box on these with little or no spacing. Every player needs a position. Who is coming in for the header? Who is setting screens? Who is waiting outside for the cleared ball? It is unlikely that with 8 players being marked by 8 defenders all going up with the keeper for a header inside the box that any ball will get through. Leave a couple of players with strong foot skills just outside the box (which also holds out defenders) to pick up the loose balls. Leave one player out at about 30 yards for the cleared ball. Leave one player with a strong leg for the short pass who can take a better angle shot on goal. Have the players learn three or four set plays and call the play before the free kick.
Issue #6: For the past two years, I have seen Hoffstetter take almost every offensive free kick for this team. These kicks can be one of a team’s most powerful weapons. We should know; we have given up goals on them before. Over the past two years, Hoffstetter has scored exactly zero goals. Almost every kick has either been high or wide, or into the wall. One of two things needs to happen. If Hoffstetter is going to continue to take these shots, she needs to have extensive practice time devoted to hitting these shots. There is no doubt that she has the leg strength to be effective at these shots, but she needs practice at getting the shots around the wall and into the corner of the net. With enough practice, she could confidently step up and nail a few of these for goals. Alternatively, someone else should be taking these shots. I know of three girls on the team who have experience as the designated free kick player and who can at bend those shots around walls and into the goal. One player had five game winning goals off of free kicks in high school, nailing the coffin corners of the goal with a high degree of accuracy, and I am sure there are others with that ability.
Issue #7: I have saved the most important issue for last. This team needs to find the fun in soccer. These players are all here because they absolutely love the game. They are talented, energetic and enthusiastic. Lately, they have been dragging. Last year, when the team hit a scoring slump, all of the intense pressure brought to bear by both the coaching staff and the players did absolutely nothing to turn the trend around. The tighter the pressure got to score, the worst the team did. With the extreme pressure to reclaim the conference title, the team went through the first six conference games only scoring 3 goals, the lowest in the league by far. This culminated in a disheartening and devastating loss to a weak Eastern Washington team. Finally, shut out of the conference championship, the Bengals came out in the season finale against a strong Weber State team and gave them a 2-0 shellacking, dominating the game. The difference… winning no longer mattered; they were playing for fun. This year, the team began to fall apart at the Air Force game. They had great fun with Northwest Nazarene and played an enthusiastic battle, beating a tough Utah State team. They won the Air Force game, but only after Coach ran them through the meat grinder for a miserable first half. Since then, this team has played flat, with only the occasional bursts of energy and enthusiasm. By and large, it appears that the team has been playing depressed and scared. I don’t think this team has much self-esteem left, and I think they believe the coach has absolutely no confidence in this team.
Early in the season, Coach Gibson praised this team as the most talented team she has ever coached. There is not a single player on the roster who does not have the ability to be a starter… not only for the Bengals, but for any team in the conference. Our starters have the ability to be all-stars. Every player on the bench has the ability to turn a game around every time they step on the field. These girls should be loving every minute of the game and cheering each other on to victory. These girls should be showing the community how fun it is to be on the field. They should be setting the example for all the little future soccer players in Pocatello. Let’s learn to have fun again. I long to return to those enthusiastic free-for-all hugging matches that happen when the team scores a goal in a crucial moment of the game. I long to once again hear the squeals of delight, smiles, and cheers… the victory lap and fight song. Let’s recapture the Bengal pride.
We need to learn from our losses. They do not have the power to destroy us unless we let them destroy us. We can use these losses to make us stronger, better, faster. Let’s see what we can learn from the past, then put the past where it belongs…
Thank you, Ross, for your undying faith in this team. Thank you fans for your support. Let’s cheer this team on as they go undefeated through the Big Sky and show what they are made of in the NCAA tournament. This is still the year.
Issue #1: One of the basic fundamentals any team must master is spreading the field. Little kids have a tendency to bunch up and swarm around the ball. At the college level, spreading the field should be automatic. In reviewing several game films, I have noted that the Bengals tend to play all collapsed to one side of the field or the other. In watching a game film of the Colorado College game, I noted that for nearly 40% the game, the entire Bengal offense or defense was either on the left or right side of the field (with no one covering the opposite side.) However, at the same time, there was always at least one CC player on the weak side ready and waiting for her teammates to switch the field. When they did switch the field, the entire Bengal team would vacate their positions and move to the new side of the field. Not only are we leaving attackers wide open on the switch, when the Bengal midfield receives the ball, their only option is to put the ball into traffic with high probability of losing the pass. The team needs to learn the basic fundamentals of using the entire field to their advantage. Passing becomes easier, more options exist, and the entire game opens up.
Issue #2: Similar to Issue #1, the offense is not taking advantage of whatever ground the defense gives them. The offense should never allow the defenders to be waiting 20-30 yards up field for a through ball. We need at least one (preferably two) aggressive forwards who stay right on the defensive line, ready to break forward at any instant on a potential through ball. Too many of our forwards are playing with a defensive mindset. I can count multiple times per game when even the forwards are close the defensive third of the field. If a forward needs to fall back to defend against a defender who has taken an offensive position, some midfielder needs to slip temporarily into the forward osition. With the possible exception of the corner kick or other set play, most of our offense needs to be up field. Even on the set play, at least one or two forwards should be ready to move into an attacking position with a quick release or long ball. If it is too exhausting to be pushing the defense constantly, we have some great reserves. Substitute often and keep fresh legs up front. If a player is slowing down or falling back to a less demanding defensive role, rip them out of the game and put in a fresh, rested player.
Issue #3: The third related offensive point is that the offense needs to trust their defense. Miller, Henage and Hough have been extremely effective in the back. When all three of them are playing defense, the team has only been giving up about one goal every 70 minutes. With one out due to injury or penalty, the team has been giving up one goal every 15 minutes. With a little more offense, we can easily win the league giving up an average of no more than 1.3 goals per game. The coach has used a very effective strategy late in several of the close games. She would pull out one defender and add an additional offensive player. This move invariably fires up the offense, leading to many of Coach Gibson’s comments about how the team finally played up to their potential during the final minutes of the game. Never, in any of these instances, did the three-man defense allow a score. Perhaps it is time to make a permanent move to three defenders.
Issue #4: These players act like they are afraid to shoot. They need to be ready to pull the trigger without worrying about the consequences. There are only two players on this team averaging more than one shot per game: midfielders Quigley and Hoffstetter, neither of which has yet to score. Most of the quality shots should be coming out of the forwards. Lauren Ryan, the leading scorer, has a total or 11 shots in 11 games with three goals. Other than Ryan, you could add up every shot by every other midfielder and forward (all 9 of them,) and it will still be less than Quigley and Hoffstetter combined. If our forwards are afraid to shoot, they probably should not be playing forward. Right now, the team is being out shot by an average of 9 shots per game (19 shots against for every 10 shots taken.) We will never have a chance unless this stat is turned around.
Issue #5: This team needs more emphasis on set plays. A huge percentage of points in any level of soccer are scored off of set plays. Our most effective weapon this year has been the long throw-ins by Hansen and Munro. Early in the season, these seemed to catch our opponents off guard. They have become less effective as the year has worn on. The team needs to know where to go for corner kicks, free kicks and deep throw-ins. We seem to bunch everyone in the box on these with little or no spacing. Every player needs a position. Who is coming in for the header? Who is setting screens? Who is waiting outside for the cleared ball? It is unlikely that with 8 players being marked by 8 defenders all going up with the keeper for a header inside the box that any ball will get through. Leave a couple of players with strong foot skills just outside the box (which also holds out defenders) to pick up the loose balls. Leave one player out at about 30 yards for the cleared ball. Leave one player with a strong leg for the short pass who can take a better angle shot on goal. Have the players learn three or four set plays and call the play before the free kick.
Issue #6: For the past two years, I have seen Hoffstetter take almost every offensive free kick for this team. These kicks can be one of a team’s most powerful weapons. We should know; we have given up goals on them before. Over the past two years, Hoffstetter has scored exactly zero goals. Almost every kick has either been high or wide, or into the wall. One of two things needs to happen. If Hoffstetter is going to continue to take these shots, she needs to have extensive practice time devoted to hitting these shots. There is no doubt that she has the leg strength to be effective at these shots, but she needs practice at getting the shots around the wall and into the corner of the net. With enough practice, she could confidently step up and nail a few of these for goals. Alternatively, someone else should be taking these shots. I know of three girls on the team who have experience as the designated free kick player and who can at bend those shots around walls and into the goal. One player had five game winning goals off of free kicks in high school, nailing the coffin corners of the goal with a high degree of accuracy, and I am sure there are others with that ability.
Issue #7: I have saved the most important issue for last. This team needs to find the fun in soccer. These players are all here because they absolutely love the game. They are talented, energetic and enthusiastic. Lately, they have been dragging. Last year, when the team hit a scoring slump, all of the intense pressure brought to bear by both the coaching staff and the players did absolutely nothing to turn the trend around. The tighter the pressure got to score, the worst the team did. With the extreme pressure to reclaim the conference title, the team went through the first six conference games only scoring 3 goals, the lowest in the league by far. This culminated in a disheartening and devastating loss to a weak Eastern Washington team. Finally, shut out of the conference championship, the Bengals came out in the season finale against a strong Weber State team and gave them a 2-0 shellacking, dominating the game. The difference… winning no longer mattered; they were playing for fun. This year, the team began to fall apart at the Air Force game. They had great fun with Northwest Nazarene and played an enthusiastic battle, beating a tough Utah State team. They won the Air Force game, but only after Coach ran them through the meat grinder for a miserable first half. Since then, this team has played flat, with only the occasional bursts of energy and enthusiasm. By and large, it appears that the team has been playing depressed and scared. I don’t think this team has much self-esteem left, and I think they believe the coach has absolutely no confidence in this team.
Early in the season, Coach Gibson praised this team as the most talented team she has ever coached. There is not a single player on the roster who does not have the ability to be a starter… not only for the Bengals, but for any team in the conference. Our starters have the ability to be all-stars. Every player on the bench has the ability to turn a game around every time they step on the field. These girls should be loving every minute of the game and cheering each other on to victory. These girls should be showing the community how fun it is to be on the field. They should be setting the example for all the little future soccer players in Pocatello. Let’s learn to have fun again. I long to return to those enthusiastic free-for-all hugging matches that happen when the team scores a goal in a crucial moment of the game. I long to once again hear the squeals of delight, smiles, and cheers… the victory lap and fight song. Let’s recapture the Bengal pride.
We need to learn from our losses. They do not have the power to destroy us unless we let them destroy us. We can use these losses to make us stronger, better, faster. Let’s see what we can learn from the past, then put the past where it belongs…
Thank you, Ross, for your undying faith in this team. Thank you fans for your support. Let’s cheer this team on as they go undefeated through the Big Sky and show what they are made of in the NCAA tournament. This is still the year.
