How could you not be pulling for the USWNT after that run to the final? The breathtaking win against all odds vs. Brazil. The late dominant surge against France. My girls teams were talking about it all summer and were pumped for the final. I had encouraged them to watch every game they could – watching players off the ball, how they moved, how they reacted. I already had players getting their haircut like Abby – ponytails gone. We even had seen the USWNT beat Japan in a friendly in May when 80 of our parents and their daughters bought a block of tickets. Women’s soccer had people excited! And then heartbreak. The fairy tale ended.
While commentators will likely stop talking about the resurgence of women’s soccer, there’s no denying that World Cup had an impact. As coaches, we need to ensure we take advantage of that. So while it may have been easier to utilize the final as a coaching tool if the US had won, it still will serve as a valuable tool.
In the end, the overall coachable moment I’ll use with my players is sometimes you can play a very good match and still lose. I felt the US had the better performance. How many times could we hit the crossbar or the post? Shots on frame that always seem to hit the frame can be frustrating, but it showed we were shooting – a lot. All it took was one to edge in and the US takes home the trophy (or one defensive clear to not hammer into a teammate in the goal area). But they didn’t, and a very valuable lesson for kids can be that the score is NOT the only thing to focus on. If you come off the field, having played your heart out, attacked the goal often, played solid defense, and yet still find yourself a goal short, that’s OK. Hold your heads high knowing you left it all on the field. The US Women’s Team certainly did.
And you certainly have to give Japan credit for an amazing run in the tournament. As David Hirshey highlights on ESPN.com:
Sunday’s final was a fitting capstone to the best, most competitive Women’s World Cup ever played. As heartwarming a backstory as Japan brought into the tournament — team of destiny, looking to provide some joy to a country ravaged by the devastating tsunami and earthquake this past March — it wasn’t the global response to the tragedy that won the World Cup for the Japanese. No, it was a magnificent display of resilience and fortitude, long considered indigenous American traits, that helped them overcome two seemingly insurmountable leads during the taut, pulsating 120 minutes of open play. And then, when the Nadeshiko were faced with the daunting task of scoring from the spot against the world’s best goalkeeper, Hope Solo, they fell back on their greatest strength — technique.
In the end, as a coach, this was a great World Cup for my players to watch because it was exciting, instructive, and disappointing. I think much can be learned from it.
What coaching points do you plan to make with your players/teams?
August 22nd, 2011 at 4:13 pm
You mean better first half…US team to single-minded on offense. They either played the long ball or drifted and lifted. I saw several opportunities on counters to attach the goal, but we opted instead to drift to corner and lift it in (hoping Abby finished it). It got old.
August 30th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Actually, this is a tough one as I think it highlights playing the game versus winning the game. The USWMNT strengths are size and speed — they are built to pressure, keep the ball in the attacking zone, create free kicks, or runs down the wings with crosses to forwards who can outmuscle/jump the defenders. This is even more so given the relatively “clean” play on the women’s side (it was physical, but not dirty like you see on the men’s side).
It’s not the “beauty” of watching Barca surgically attack on the men’s side. Frankly, the USWNT did some great possession play, but it really gained them little tactically except to play into the Japanese strength. Note not only the first half, but right after the tying goal how switching back to longer balls created the free kick/red card.
So, the tough point is at the World Cup level, the score is the main thing (sorry, but there is no style points for playing a better possession game than you have previously). The women’s game is not the men’s game at this point and the advantage to winning remains with the speedier and more physical teams (look at the WC Winners until Japan). But at the youth level, score is not the main thing so I was more of the opinion not to draw general overall comparison points.
I took away more the coachable point as keep playing for the entire match the style that brings you success..and some individual lessons like giving away the corner and subsequent 2d goal due to poor marking or taking the higher percentage play of crossing/slotting – even if you are not quite sure your teammates are there — as opposed to near impossible angle shots.
And while we sometimes say label “kick and run” appropriately as poor tactical play, the ultimate purpose of the game of the game at the highest level is to win and you do that by scoring more goals. (Even at youth levels, I think scoring goals is an important objective, just not the added point of scoring more than your opponent). Playing an accurate through ball to an attacker making a well timed run is not “kick and run” even if it occurs after one pass as opposed to a dozen. Again, here’s where what we want to teach youth players – how to develop skills to play multiple styles — conflicts with what you want to do at the “adult” level, which is to use the style that fits your team strength and takes advantage of your opponents’ weaknesses.