Gov Cup Comments

Tournament Recap:

We go to these top level tournament to measure ourselves against top teams from around the region, test our individual skills, see if we have improved, what we have to work on, and learn some lessons that will only come from live game situations.

Tournaments are a very important part of your "soccer journey" if you have goals to play the game at a higher level and at college.

This was a very successful tournament in all aspects.

What We Learned:

We have certainly improved a lot individually, and as a team, since the pre-season Border Battle Tournament in Jefferson City.

We can be VERY competitive with top teams in our region, even when we are not at full strength.

We beat WFC Celtic who had made the final of local Champions Cup for D1 and D2 teams.

We held Kansas Wolves to one goal (when we played way below our potential). If we played them as we did Saturday we could easily have won. Wolves went on to win their semi-final before losing to Futura Juventus in the Championship game.

We held the Oklahoma State Cup winners Tulsa Thunder Greece to one goal and on another day at full strength could easily have turned the tables.

Top level players love to Guest Play with us. This says a lot for our team chemistry, how you support and encourage each other, and the character of players on our team. Nathan Lawson plans to dual roster with us next club season... What a talent to choose to join us. That's a huge commitment for someone prepared to travel all the way in from Hays to suit up with us.

Most of our players have the ability and have developed their skills enough to compete at this elite level of competition. Of course we all need to keep working to hone our skills to a much higher level.

We have come to expect a high level of play from many guys. We are not really surprised when Mooch steals the ball from a striker, or Derek makes a great save, or Ethan or Chandler or Luigi turn back an attack, or Zee, Jason or AJ make a great run, or Ty Goff megs an opponent, or Taylor Cook burns past someone and takes a wicked left shot... but from comments I heard they do impress folks who come to watch us play.

We are developing into a great team. No real flashy players with huge egos who try to hog the limelight and be the center of attention. Just plenty of guys who have become very solid reliable players we can all rely on. A REAL TEAM.

We are starting to control our own destiny on the field. Team Captains and key players are making decisions and adjustments in the field to adapt to the flow of the game and create opportunities. You are now old enough and mature enough as players to do this.

We are communicating much better on the field.

We keep our composure if we fall behind and don't get rattled by trash talk or questionable calls.

We have a few players who struggled at this level. This is not a negative or an insult. It is simply reality, and means that we need to provide the resources to help these guys develop their skills to a higher level.... if they want to make the commitment and put in the necessary work. These guys tried their hardest but were just a little bit out of their depth on the day.

Some of our guys who have worked through a tough start to the season are kicking in to top gear as a result of hard work, focus, enthusiasm, and being extremely patient with themselves. Two great examples... Drake and T Mc.

Drake had gone through a growth spurt that threw his co-ordination and timing off at the start of the season. This is very common for athletes in mid-teen years and can be VERY frustrating for the player. Frequently the harder they try and the more self-imposed pressure they apply, the tougher it is for the body to respond as they want it to. You just have to work hard, focus on the basics, be patient and not get too frustrated until your body and co-ordination catches up with itself. In our last league game, and at the tournament, we saw Drake getting back to top form. Great Work Drake.

Tyler McGough has not played as many seasons of competitive soccer as many of our guys. He showed huge potential on his high school soccer team but played basketball during the Winter. That's a great second sport, but it does not give us "touches on the ball" which are so important. At the start of the season we saw flashes of brilliance but quite a few times when things were not quite clicking. Now after hard work at practice and several league games he is hitting top form. Tyler's effort on defense during the tournament was outstanding. And his "yellow card penalty" late in the final game was a well timed "professional foul" to stop an attack that had three forwards wide open and would have most likely resulted in a goal for Tulsa. Way to go Tyler.

We have some Celtic guys pushing hard to move up to Liverpool. Kyle and Milan made great contributions this weekend when given the opportunity. This is a great sign for the future.

We learned that in tough games against top level teams it is frequently one missed assignment, or one minor breakdown that can lose a game.

We learned we have to play closer and more physical when the opponent has possession. One missed assignment leaves a player open and that often has a snowball effect and we end up playing chase-ball.

We learned we need to stay cool under pressure and direct our passes and not revert to "kick-ball" especially when we start to tire.

We must take our time setting up for penalties and corner kicks to allow everyone to get in place to play their role. Our goal against Celtic is a great example. We took time to make sure we were set. Drake's step-over made a few defenders bite and open a slot in the wall.. And Ty Goff's kick was perfectly placed.

We need to be creative and try a few new things occasionally to keep opponents guessing or catch them off guard. Our "rotations" up top during the Celtic game may not have been noticed by spectators but it really confused their defense a couple of times.

We learned when defending against penalties within scoring distance we again need to buy time to set up the wall and get everyone into position. By starting the wall close to the spot of the ball the ref will be forced to take the time to move you back (this allows the goalie to position the wall for best coverage and everyone not in the wall extra time to get in place and make sure opponents are covered). When the wall is set you can always do the "Brazilian shuffle" and all inch forward so the ref has to come in and move you back again the full 10 yards.

This was a great tournament for us. Maybe not quite the end results we all would have liked..... But a great effort. It was fun to watch from the sidelines. All players should be really proud of your efforts.