Connect with old and new teammates, find game

San Jose soccer connection

For any "Blue Blast" team members playing soccer these days... check out this forum for finding games, teams, players etc. at FC SanJose - San Jose, California soccer connection.

A local San Jose soccer connection and a way to get some time on the pitch and have fun. Check it out and see if you can scare up some game.

Coach says! :-)


- Coach Eric

Blue Blast Banner [post by Ian]

Where is our banner?!? Well word on the street is the other ppl in the ayso league in California were so jealous of our banner that they stole it in the middle of the night. Another story is that the renegades thought that because they were sooo good that they should have a good banner so they stole ours, put their names on it, and crossed out the name blue blast and wrote renegades on it. These, are, of course, false but really ... Where is our banner?

The Giants of Manzanita

Manzanita's team was big, but the Blue Blast were exceptionally tough, determined, and showed excellent skill. (A shame we didn't get a picture of the REALLY big players...)

Late October Practices: 15 minutes earlier

Team,

Our practices for the last two weeks in October will be 15 minutes earlier than before, at the same locations.

Mondays: McAuliffe
Wednesdays: Miller

We will end 15 minutes earlier as well.

Goaaals! Some ideas from MLS

Here's how the guys in the MLS were scoring goals this week.

MLS Goals of the Week

Windows Media videos

Real Salt Lake - a volley off a long pass

FC Dallas - loose ball bullet shot

LA Galaxy - deflected pass - fast break and a chip into the goal

DC United - headed in off a cross

DC United - nutmeg and dribbles into range - low diagonal shot in

Who do we play? [Schedule]

Missing from the schedule above is which team we play on what date. Since some of the team have been asking, here is the scoop.

Our next game is with our friends and rivals the Gray Foxes. We'll scrimmage them Wednesday, then play them for keeps on Saturday.

The week after that we'll get our first game against the Green Panthers. Here's the schedule by team:

10/8/2005	Gray Foxes
10/15/2005	Green Panthers
10/22/2005	(Monterey) Manzanita
10/29/2005	Green Panthers
11/5/2005	Red Renegades
11/12/2005	(Saratoga) Fugitives

That's Foul!

"They get a direct kick when I didn't even do anything?!"

Direct kicks can be awarded even though there was no deliberate contact.
FIFA Laws of the Game says in part:

A direct free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player... tackles an opponent to gain possession of the ball, making contact with the opponent before touching the ball.

So even if your foot accidently hits your opponents shin guard before it gets the ball, a direct kick can be awarded, and the other team may score directly from that kick.
We need to honor the game, and that includes its rules. For us that means playing the ball, no WWF wrestling, no secret shoves. We shall play fast and clean.

So don't give the other team a direct kick (and a potential shot on goal if its on your defending half) by running "afoul" of the Laws...

FIFA LAW 12 - Fouls and Misconduct

A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following six offences in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:

• kicks or attempts to kick an opponent


• trips or attempts to trip an opponent


• jumps at an opponent


• charges an opponent


• strikes or attempts to strike an opponent


• pushes an opponent

A direct free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following four offences:

• tackles an opponent to gain possession of the ball, making contact with the opponent before touching the ball


• holds an opponent


• spits at an opponent


• handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area).

A direct free kick is taken from where the offence occurred.

[Get your kicks] That Last Step

All other things equal, shooting hard is good and worth working on.

What are those other things?

• The shot has to be on target


• The shot should happen right away


• The shot should be low, not up high where they are easier to catch

On a hard instep shot, we want to lock our ankle so that our toes are pointed, connect the middle of the ball with the laces of our shoe, and step right through the ball, landing on our kicking leg.

Want more power? Here's another tip for firing the ball harder into the net:

The last step with the plant foot should be a big step, a bigger step.

If you are shooting with the right foot, you want to make the last step with your left leg a long one, stretching out and planting the left foot up along or even ahead of the ball. This will put your right foot farther behind your body.

Then whip that right leg forward and connect.


Goaaaal !

P.S. Scrimmage against the Gray Foxes today!

Today's Fortune Cookie - & Ball Control ("Mastery")

Today's Fortune Cookie:

If we can only learn a little bit at a time, but we never stop learning, eventually we will become true Masters. The key is making the effort to keep learning, and believing - knowing - that anything is possible for you. It is!

Here is a "Coerver Soccer" movie demonstrating some very trick ball handling.

Imagine: if you can control the ball this well, how hard will it be for an opponent to take the ball away?


- Coach

Wednesday Scrimmages Starting this Week

Team,

Starting this Wednesday we will meet at Miller School at our usual practice time to scrimmage another U14 team.

So on Wednesdays come to Miller - bring your jersey and be ready to play soccer!


- Coach

Game 3 Positions

Position assignments for Game 3

Who feels like attacking this Saturday?


It should be a fun game!

Those kicking techniques

Monday we tried some specific kicking techniques, and I think maybe we all agree now that there are different kicks for different situations.

We tried:

Lofting the ball with backspin to send it over the defenders, using a angled approach, wider stance, and a little bit of a "slice" underneath the ball.

Striking the ball, putting our weight straight through it, which makes the ball go low and hard into the net, not over it. Sometimes we got this right, letting our bodies go forward, our weight coming completely off the support leg, and landing on the kicking leg.

These techniques are not terribly easy, and take a little time to learn, but they are more weapons to put in your soccer arsenal. Play around with them and see what you can do.

The kicks are demonstrated very nicely in the video "Soccer Secrets & Fitness with Mia Hamm - Intermediate". You can find this video tape at your local library. Skip the boring parts and just watch their techniques - especially the Slo-Mo where you can see how professional soccer players really kick the ball.

Have fun!

Game 2 Positions

A request was made that I provide the positions in other than Excel format - the positions are posted at the following link in HTML format: Game 2 Positions

Still shopping?

I came across a number of nice soccer balls on sale. Gee, you'd think I was a soccer ball salesman.

Things you might like in a soccer ball are a polyurethane cover ("PU"), hand stitching, 4 layers of lining, and either a latex (soft, good touch) or butyl (retains air longer) bladder.

Special bonus features might include a carbon-latex bladder, which is soft but holds air longer than straight latex, and good looks.

32 panels is the standard and those balls stay round well, whereas MLS uses balls with only 18 panels and those balls curve more easily in the air - great for those "banana" kicks from the corner.

At EastBay I found:

• Diadora Calcio Soccer Ball for $7.99 (32 panel, hand-stiched ball with a PU cover and a butyl bladder)

• Puma MLS Replica Team Soccer Ball for $17.99 (Polyurethane cover, six-wing latex bladder, and MLS team logo -- the Earthquakes!)

• Nike Geo Vector II Soccer Ball for $19.99 (Hand-stitched PU casing, carbon latex six-wing bladder, AirBloc II valve system offers superior air retention. Nike Geo Balanced Technology delivers precise roundness for superior flight and play.)

• Nike T90 Hi-Vis 250 Soccer Ball for $24.99 (high visbility yellow! 32-panel, hand-stitched polyurethane casing, carbon latex six-wing bladder with AirBloc II valve system)

At the AYSO Store I found:

• SCORE Club Ball for $8.95 (Soft touch foamed PU/PVC composite 2 tone silver cover. 4 ply linings, high quality butyl bladder. 1 year warranty for shape and stitching.)

• SCORE Kids Zone Ball for $10.00 (32 panel hand stitched. Premium high quality PU. Soft touch for better control. Multi-layer synthetic lining.)
  

All these balls come in a full "Size 5".

Not all soccer balls are quite the same, but they all do great things when at a player's feet.

It is amazing to think you can procure an X-Box replacement for only eight bucks (uh-oh, I'm risking mutiny, I fear!)

P.S. Anybody got the "Scissors" move wired? [Scissors movie]

See you Saturday!

Coach

Analyze this!

Poll about what is going on in this picture to come tommorrow - tune back in!

Scrimmage on Wednesday, Sept. 14th!

Meet at Miller at 5:45 in blue jerseys.

Same time as usual, 5:45-7:00 PM, just a different field.

We will play the Gray Foxes, another U14 team.

Hoo-yah!

Game 1 - Top secret game plan

Team, please read our top secret game plan here:

TOP SECRET GAME PLAN

See you at the pitch!


Coach Eric

New Soccer Balls!

All team members need a Number 5 (full size) soccer ball to bring to practice as well as to practice with at home. Players who leave their soccer ball at home risk having to pretend they have a soccer ball during practice. I have a couple soccer balls for emergencies - but only a couple (and there are 14 boys on the team).

Soccer balls are widely available and range in price from less than $10 to over $100. A $10 ball is fine as the most important thing about a soccer ball is having it at the player's feet as much as possible. Target and "Play it Again Sports" in San Jose carry inexpensive soccer balls.

Soccer balls are also available online (though that would not be much help for today's practice!) The online stores below carry a variety of good soccer balls. The young players I've coached have found Nike to make excellent soccer balls, and those are the ones I prefer (they vary from training quality to World Cup Match quality, but they all have a nice touch and seem to really fly).

AYSO Store

Eastbay

World Soccer Shop

Yahoo Shopping: Soccer Balls

Goal Kick Soccer

Big Soccer Shop

New Horizons Soccer

Nikys Sports

Posting game pictures, notices, schedules

The coach will be using this blog to post notices and schedules so that the players and parents have an easy site to look up information, no matter where they are.

It would be great to post some action pictures as well, all are invited.

"Coach" Eric