U13 2012

The boys left their best showing for the last day. We asked them to play hard and they did. This is more like our team! Thank you!

It doesn't matter if you win or lose - as long as you play hard.

Do these pictures look familiar?




To the parents


Noah's dance:

To the wonderful call-ups, who made our participation possible: THANK YOU.



 Thank you very much for bringing your son to this tournament. Our boys played their best match today, playing hard and supporting each other on defense, something they had been lacking.

MVP for the tournament: Shar. Fantastic runs yesterday and fantastic goal keeping today. Dylan, Monti, Noah, Peter (U12), were playing very hard and well, and running a lot for the team today as well.

A huge thank you to our call-ups, Monti, Peter, and Nathan, who made our participation possible.

As usual, the tournament was a great learning experience for all. For the players, if they don't prepare for a match and play hard 100%, they cannot win. Also, beautiful playing by the Attack team.

It was great to see them smiling at the end.

Our matches will be a lot tougher from now on as other teams aim at beating us, the number one ranked team. We will still focus on improving their ball skills (and fitness).

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Two very close matches decided by 1 goal. V also had the prettiest goal of the day for sure.

Vs Storm; A very good 2nd half by our boys, and they almost tied the game in the last minute. Two early quality goals by the other team beating our defenders on the run, a very fast striker, no support from our mids to our defense. Some of our midfielders are leaving the defense to fend for themselves and are not sprinting back, this has been going on for the last couple of weeks now.

It's not all about winning, the are all still smiling and having fun after a loss:

However, this dreadful food killed the team in the 2nd match.





Jorge's post-game talk:

Vs CUSC: It was hot, lunch was too late, and the food for most was heavy and portions too large. Some were complaining of stomach pain. It was difficult to find players who were not sluggish. We tried a few things and switched players around and tried to find players who could play and run hard.

Team fitness is also not what it used to be. As mentioned previously, the other teams have clearly caught up.

Wake up call!

Our call-ups get good playing time because they are call-ups and made the effort and a huge favor to join us. Remember a week ago we only had 12 players.

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A new PB (personal best) today: 55:20, a time which includes two walking water breaks, beating the 2012 10K Ottawa Race Weekend time. The coach loves hot and humid weather, it's great for fitness and to lose weight: 4Kg lost since February, when there were some extra pounds gained after Xmas.

Today the 10k was on a beautiful river course, all the way to the NSC light house, great weather, no wind.

A few of the players and I started running in February focusing on the ORW 10K at the end of May. After this was achieved (with a great showing by the boys), our goal now is 15Km. This has proven an illusive goal as we need to increase the distance by 10% every week, and we must do a short run in the middle of the week, a process we follow rigorously to avoid injury. These short runs are actually the difficult ones to do by the players and the coach who are busy with soccer and other activities.

Our top priority  is not getting injured. Last week  knees were acting up, they were iced for 5 days and the problem went away, back in top shape. The only minor injury is a small annoying high ilotibial sprain which comes on and off.

15K will be achieved soon!

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Gustavo wanted to make a time-lapse video of the sunrise today, so we woke up at 4:40AM and went to a location on the river. It was a most beautiful spectacle, well-worth it, stunning scenery and colors.

That's Parliament on the background, and a couple of loons in the middle:
The lonely and patient life of a videographer.
Mother duck and her little golden newborns ones have us a private show. Click to enlarge.

Video 1 (Watch full-screen in HD (if your computer is powerful enough).



Time-lapse video of actual sun rise (suns appears around 1:30). Watch full screen in HD! It is worth it.

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Corinthians wins the 2012 Libertadores Cup, the toughest inter-club tournament that exists (IMO). Matches in places like Argentina, Paraguai are like wars.

Emerson: a striker is always ready to score, always ready to pounce, was the star of the match.

I have been in this Stadium (Pacaembu, Sao Paulo), many times, great memories. I watched my first professional soccer match here when I was 11.

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It was a beautiful night, but a very difficult match against a tough team with very tough (and big) players who won most of the balls. Once again the boys found a way to overcome adversity and a 1-0 deficit on a gift given to the other team. On tough matches these gifts cannot happen - all the other team needs to do is close itself up at the back and it's game over.

The opponents were attacking en force on our left flank in the 1st half, with our left midfield giving little support. We changed positions on the 2nd half to deal with that. Other notes:

• Our gk had some good saves in the 2nd half
• A very bad call from the referee to which our striker did not say a word back. Good job by V.
• The opponents were swearing, ours were not.
• Noah had a very good 2nd half
• Great playing by the three call-ups with Massimo and Peter playing defense (getting used to our other players), and a beauty by Monti, who also almost scored on a beautiful free kick.
• A spectacular pass by Francois for V to score the 2nd goal. Won the ball, looked and quickly passed a sweet precise ball for V to score. Keep your head up players, always be aware of where each of your teammates is.
• Great playing by Adamo - as always-  and also Stefano on top of the box in the 2nd half.

Remember: this is not a war to win at all costs. WE PLAY FAIR. That is the spirit of the game. Let the opponents do all the ugly things they want. We don't do it.

Play fair and play hard. Then the coaches and the parents will be proud of you.




Current standings:

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Players and parents know that I really insist on fitness and running, an aerobic activity. Our running, with a few bright exceptions, has been quite disappointing lately given that these kids are in competitive soccer. Now they are on vacation and still very few go for the weekly runs that the coach asks them to do. (wonder if they expect other players to pick up the slack?)

An article was published today by the Montreal Gazette on this subject. Some excerpts below. The article starts with a comparison with what people know well in Canada: hockey.

"Unlike hockey, [..] soccer players rarely leave the pitch during regulation play. Their shifts can last 45 minutes, versus 30 seconds for the average hockey player, and don’t require an intensity that demands quick substitutions for a fresh pair of legs.

But that doesn’t mean soccer players don’t measure up when it comes to fitness. Soccer players are in good shape. They need aerobic endurance, explosive speed and the ability to change direction and pace multiple times during a game. What they don’t need in comparison to hockey players is the kind of size necessary to throw and receive a bodycheck.

By contrast, soccer players are leaner and spend more time honing their aerobic endurance versus the anaerobic power needed in hockey. Soccer games last 90 minutes with no scheduled time out and only a short break between periods, which means players spend more time in dynamic play than hockey players do.

[...] For years, soccer data was compiled using theoretical models, but recently tools like computers and GPS units have provided a more accurate assessment of what happens during game play including collecting data on how much territory soccer players cover and the average speed they maintain while on the pitch.

[...] the best European professional players cover a distance of eight to 12 kilometres per game, with three per cent more distance covered in the second half of the game compared with the first. From 1,000 to 1,400 ball touches are made during the average match, which, when combined with changes in direction and speed, are the hallmark of what Europeans call “the beautiful game.”

As any hockey fan can attest, soccer’s speed of play is vastly different from what takes place on an ice surface that is small in comparison to the expansiveness of a soccer pitch. Only one to three per cent of a soccer match is played at top speed.

Sixty-two per cent of the total distance covered during a soccer game is spent standing, walking or jogging, with only 1.5 to 2.5 kilometres spent sprinting. On average, high-intensity sprints occur every 90 seconds and last from two to four seconds.

Time with the ball is relatively short, with only 1.2 to 2.4 kilometres per game spent by players moving the ball and the average possession lasting 18 to 170 seconds.

With so little time spent with the ball, soccer players spend most of the 90 minutes of match play travelling up and down the field creating offence or responding to the tactics of the opposition, which is where fitness plays a major role. Soccer players need superior aerobic fitness to stay competitive for a full game.

Because of the different roles each position entails, the need for speed and endurance differs between players. Midfielders cover the most distance over the course of the game (11,770 metres), which measures almost three per cent more than forwards (11,337) and seven per cent more than the defensive squad (10,932).

When it comes to speed, forwards rack up the most distance spent sprinting, double that of the midfielders, which suggests that forwards should work on developing their explosive speed and midfielders spend more time improving their aerobic endurance.

Data like this allow coaches and trainers to model their training programs accordingly, making sure that players train according to the specific needs of their sport and position. It’s also interesting for soccer fans and parents who follow the game from the sidelines.

Soccer may not be in our blood the way hockey is, but with more than a million players registered with Soccer Canada, it’s the nation’s most-played sport."

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Please arrive by 10:20AM for warm-up. Parking can be a challenge.

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Soccer 3X week, running, tennis, biking 32 Km: one fit player.

Soccer is one of the best possible exercises; cross-training is even better.

And then the rain came!

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The real reason why the City of Ottawa banned smoking on sports fields:

Can you say 1-2-3?

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An 11Km run this morning for François in a gorgeous new course on a picture perfect, temperature/wind perfect day.

The arboretum is great for the knees as you can run on gravel, the Canal then the Rideau river, then the canal back to Dows lake were beautiful.

Gustavo did a 32Km bike ride from the west end, to down town, then to the same place, and back west.

While there we met about 15 teenage runners from the Lion's club and their coach. This was at 9:20AM, and the teens were running hard, a joy to see. That coach must have something special to inspire teens to get out of bed and work so hard. Just great to see. My daughter is already signing up!

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Parliament Hill July 1 2012:

CF18s and Snowbirds:

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