The Pipeline 2007 Girls Black are having a good year.

They were finalists at the February APC Premier Cup Girls 2019 Spring Showcase with wins over NJ STALLIONS WAYNE UTD 07 NPL and STA 2007G.

The team started the Spring EDP with two-one wins over BETHESDA SC ACADEMY WHITE 07 and OLD LINE FC 07 PRIDE BLACK on consecutive weekends.

President’s Cup

These performances foreshadowed the Maryland President’s Cup.

The first week-end the Pipeline team defeated SAC PREMIER WHITE 07 two-one on Saturday and drew BALTIMORE UNION SC GIRLS ELITE 07 nil-nil on Sunday.

The second weekend the girls defeated Maryland United Red II by a score of one-nil on Saturday. This victory placed them atop their bracket and into the semifinals on Sunday.

The girls lost to LTSC 2007 (PURPLE) in a hard-fought game one-two in the semifinals.

This game also served as an EDP game. The loss left Pipeline and LTSC tied atop their EDP bracket with two wins and one loss.

Back to EDP Play

Yesterday May 4^th, Pipeline girls defeated TRI-COUNTY SC TRIUMPH 2007 by a score of two-nil.  They stayed tied atop their bracket with three wins and one loss.

The fall 2018 EDP season saw the Pipeline girls winning two, drawing one, and losing six games. Already the girls have bested the fall record.

Today, the girls met BALTIMORE UNION SC GIRLS ELITE 07 in an EDP match. The teams met in President’s Cup three weeks ago, and I am confident each wanted more than a nil-nil result.

It drizzled during pregame warmup but stopped as the game began. Union scored first on a high shot that bounced into a corner. Pipeline evened the score with a shot that caught the goalkeeper leaning the wrong way.

The girls scored again on a set piece. Pipeline’s Eight volleyed a corner kick passed Union’s goalkeeper as the half ended.

The second half saw a flurry of scoring. Union scored their second goal to even the score when Pipeline’s goalkeeper mishandled a high shot. Union followed with another shot to the near post that scooted by our goalie. Union led three-two.

Five minutes to go, the coach asked his starters to get two goals. Moments later the forward slammed a corner kick into the goal bringing the score to three-all. Less than a minute to go, the forward found a crease in Union’s defense to score seconds before the final whistle. Final score: Pipeline four, Union three.

Bracket standings

The team sits atop the bracket with twelve points with five of nine games completed. Regardless of how the next games go, the team has shown tremendous growth since only drawing one game in each of the fall tournaments, the Spirit United Kickoff Classic and the Keystone Cup 2018.

Tryouts

Tryouts are this month. Players will be competing for roster places on Pipeline’s teams. Check the Pipeline’s website for dates and times.

Wish Good Luck

The 2007 girls are playing hard and showing improvement with each game. Use the attached comment form to wish them good luck as they finish the EDP season and prepare for the FC DELCO Players Cup.

August 2016, I joined my son-in-law coaching the Pipeline 2008 Boys Gold team. Since I have assisted him with the Pipeline 2008 Boys Red, 2007 Girls Red, and the 2007 Girls Black. But, my mentor is taking a hiatus, and I will take one also.

I agreed to assist Coach Brad because I was looking for an activity to fill my retirement years. I haven’t regretted accepting his offer.

Mentoring a novice coach

A novice coach should have a knowledgeable mentor to guide him/her. I feel I had one of the best. I have learned about developing young players, ages 8-12, and building a team.

The Pipeline Soccer Club conducts tryouts in May. The coaches test players and make offers. Players end up on teams reflective of their skills shown. Then, the club places the teams into leagues and tournaments based on their tier within the club.

Training requirements

Regardless of the tier, players have similar training requirements. They need to increase their technical skills and to understand positional and game play. Players need fitness. They need the confidence to compete at a high level. The coach should address these needs through training and game management.

I feel my mentor works to meet these needs for every team he coached. Some coaches develop fitness by having the players run laps or sprints. His philosophy is fitness will improve as the player works with the ball. Using precious training time to run players is unnecessary with designed drills. Dribbling, 1v1, 1v2, 2v2, 3v3 drills, and scrimmages build technical skills while contributing to fitness.

Training game play

Positional play is key to game play. Teaching positional play requires more than technical drills. The coach must place players in game-like situations. Scrimmages are a great skill builder as players can exercise skills in a competitive environment. Divide the players into groups, give them a ball, give them a goal (score, consecutive number of passes, etc.), and let them play. Address skill, positional, and team play during the scrimmage. I understand the value of ending training sessions with a scrimmage.

Confidence

Confidence is something that a coach can assist with but not instill. A good coach will be quick to compliment good technical play in training and games. He/she will be as quick to point out how a player could do it better.

Playing in quality tournaments can affect confidence. Success is good for confidence while losing can be bad. Bad if the coach allows it to get hold of the players and team. The Pipeline 2008 Boys Gold team’s Labor Day tournament saw them on the wrong side of a 10-43 goal differential. However, the coach kept the things they did well at the tournament before them as they trained twice a week. The team competed hard and was a finalist at the Columbus Day tournament. Boys lacking confidence would never have seen such growth.

Communicating

A coach must be a communicator. Good communications with players and parents are as important as good training. The coach should preface the drills with explanations of what the player must do and its value. Then he reinforces with timely corrections.

Aside from the coach, the people who most affect a player’s confidence are their parents and grandparents. They can remind the player of things they are doing well or they can keep the player’s shortcomings foremost in the child’s mind. The coach should keep parents aware of their child’s progress. Winning games is the goal, but the emphasis should be on player development.

Tell me what you think makes a good coach. I look forward to learning your thoughts.