Memoirs of a Roadie

Capt'n Dan

Having earned Man of the Match, DanDan started the away game against Studley Juniors A as Team Captain. In fact he also got the first touch of the game, kicking off with Joel. Unfortunately the opposing team weren't able to field a full 7-man squad, so we graciously agreed to also play with 6 men. It meant the dynamics of the team changed a little, they still played a good game and got stuck in. Kane and Charlie really coming alive this week and both made some great plays up the field. Joel and DanDan covered the goal, and despite a good attempt, DanDan narrowly missed getting his second ever goal for the team. Still Joel made sure we were 0-1 up against the home team at half time, but delivering a nice solid goal.

As we had a 9-man strong team, Helen and Gaz had a challenger to be fair and give everyone a chance to play. It meant DanDan came off for the second half. He'd played a good match and had we have play with 7-men he might just have been able to play the full match. Still, the team continued their drive. However, it did mean that Charlie was getting more and more tired, so got subbed, followed by Sharpy. Jack, normally a great little defender, came on for Sharpy and found himself as an attacker. It was a great choice for him, as following a pass up the right winger, he took the ball up and shot on goal, which would have gone in, but Joel helped to tap it in and just make sure. Joel scored his hat-trick and and took us 1-3 up, with Studley having scored earlier in the second half.

Practice Goalie

The team is definitely coming on leaps and bounds, and it's great to see them finally understanding and implementing all the skills they have been learning in practice. I think it also helped being there early (we were there a good 20 minutes before the home team) and had a good practice session. The whole team are now working together and it's getting easier to see some of the strengths and team dynamics. With DanDan making such a good impression in goal last, it's been reassuring for the team to know they have a substitute goalie should anything happen to Ross. It also means that during practice, the team can practice with DanDan in goal and Ross can practice specific goalie skills.

It's going to be interesting to see them in action in a year or so's time when the match points are actually scored in the league. In the age group they currently play in, the leagues are arbitarily chosen, and not really based on how many games you won or lost. Now that they seem to be playing better and better together, it'll be good to see their efforts rewarded.

I managed to take quite a few decent action shots at this weeks game. At last weeks match I made the mistake of not zooming in close enough. I didn't get any decent goal saving or goal scoring shots, but I'm getting better. I've been greatly surprised at how well the full zoom shots have come out. Mind you in daylight, and using the Sports setting, I do stand a better chance than in a darkened pub with 2 par cans on the band :)