Infinity '99 Girls...Vegas baby, VEGAS!

While we were driving home from our first out of state tournament to Las Vegas we asked our daughter Maddie what the best part of the trip was for her. We expected answers like seeing grandma and grandpa, visiting the M&M store, swimming, the team party, or any of the fun glittery things you can do in Vegas. But she immediately answered, “Playing soccer!”

It has been quite an adventure for our young team. We started out trying to go to a tournament at the beginning of December. That tournament was cancelled so we decided to go to one over Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. Along the way we had many lifelong memories. We cleaned the Spectrum twice, cleaned a neighbor’s yard, sold concessions at a men’s indoor tournament, and hosted a U10/11 boys-girls tournament.

The tournament we hosted was a fast, furious, and fun event! Some of the girls played 9 games in one day. They were able to play together and then play with other teams. It was great fun to watch them play so hard against some very tough boys’ teams and then join them to play with them at other times. It was a fun soccer community building activity.

We also scrimmaged many different teams throughout Cache Valley to prepare. Thanks to Crossfire, Bobcats, Infinity U10 boy’s premier, and Hot Shots for willingly come help us prepare by giving us very challenging scrimmages. We got to see different styles of play and coaching which helped us to prepare.


When we left for Vegas we didn’t know what to expect. We were both excited and nervous. But all that preparation paid off. Our first game on Friday night we won 11-0. We went to a Round Table Pizza after the game to celebrate. Take a look on the back wall and you’ll now see an Infinity practice jersey with all the girls’ signatures pinned to the wall! Then on Saturday we had two games that we won 6-1 and the 3-0. After that game we had a well deserved pool party. It was very hard for the girls to wait that long to finally go swimming. Sunday was a free day where many girls went to the M&M store, Red Rock State Park, or just played at the arcade! Then on Monday we had a morning game that we won 11-0. WE WERE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! We played extremely hard and never gave up! We ended up taking second place. Yes, we lost the game in PK’s but the smiles on the girls’ faces in the end reminded us if you all had fun then you all WON!!!

All of the games were great fun. We had four guest players play with us. All of the girls played terrific and got along great. The sportsmanship that Coach Doney instilled in us earned a complement from the tournament staff. Each girl who traveled on our Infinity SC girls 99 is a better player for having gone to the tournament. We can’t wait for the next one!!!

Coping with Mistakes: Teaching Tolerance

by Tony DiCicco, Thursday, May 22, 2008 1:00 PM ET

Tolerance is important not only between and among teammates but also for individual players personally. Ideally, this tolerance starts at the top with the coach.

Players make mistakes, some of them physical and some mental. It's the job of a coach to point out those mistakes, to help each player recognize the error and then, more important, provide the tools to correct it. It's also the job of the coach to make it clear that if a player makes a mistake, it's not the end of the world.

It's equally vital to coach players when they've been successful. In fact, the most enlightened coaches spend more time congratulating successes than correcting mistakes.

Over the years I've had players who, when they made a mistake, were clearly much harder on themselves than they would have been on a teammate who'd made the same mistake. These players take themselves down emotionally and tear themselves up mentally. Frankly, I was like that too. But what you have to understand is that if you're a member of a team, you have the responsibility to keep your own performance up.

If you tear yourself down or beat yourself up, you're not only hurting your own performance but also the collective performance of the team.

It is crucial to teach your players to have tolerance for their own performance and a realistic understanding that no one's perfect. Obviously, this isn't easy for most of us. To facilitate the process you can encourage your players to begin to build key words or phrases that will get them back on focus.

SHIFTING FOCUS FROM PAST. As a goalkeeper I used to say to myself when I'd make a mistake in a game, "OK, that was a bad play, but you're going to need to come up with a big play to win this game." So immediately, instead of focusing on the bad play I'd just made, I started focusing on that big play in order to reshape my mental approach. I didn't know when I was going to make it, but I knew that when I got the opportunity, it was going to be a big play that would turn the game around. In essence, my focus shifted from the past to the present because I needed to be ready now, in the moment.

Besides teaching self-tolerance, a coach must insist that his or her players are tolerant of their teammates. You cannot have a successful team if you have players who, when somebody makes a mistake, point fingers at their teammate or exhibit body language that says, "What the hell is this person doing?"

This kind of behavior definitely does not help performance. Instead, you need leaders and teammates who will actively support each other and boost the team's competitive edge through their understanding of competitive dynamics.

The best example I've seen of this occurred during the quarterfinals of the 1999 World Cup. We were playing Germany, one of the best teams in the world, and in the first five minutes of the game, Brandi Chastain kicked the ball into our own goal (essentially scoring a goal for Germany). She was in shock. At that point Carla Overbeck came up to her and said, "Brandi, we've got 85 minutes left to go. We'll get the goal back. But we need you in the game. Let's play."

This snapped Brandi back into the moment. The fairy-tale ending is that Brandi actually ended up scoring the tying goal in the second half of that World Cup quarterfinal. I don't think she would have scored that goal without the support and tolerance of her teammates for a very unfortunate mistake at a very crucial point in the game.

TRUST. On a personal level, an individual has to be pretty courageous to stay in there physically and emotionally to turn things around. It's not an easy thing to do when a player's confidence is in the gutter.

Some can do it consistently, but other players can only do it occasionally. I think it's the coach's job to try and facilitate the likelihood of that happening. You have to trust your players, trust that they can turn things around, trust that they can overcome their mistakes, and believe that they will be successful.

If you must take a player out of the game, and sometimes you will, then you've got to build up that player's confidence as soon as possible. In essence, you've got to rebuild her self-esteem. Players need to know that your coaching decisions are performance related and not personal.

Colleen has some great advice for helping players to do that. She would tell the players, "Look, let's get past it now. Let's focus on the plays you know you can make and have made so well and so often in the past. Let's play in the moment and deal with the mistakes later."

(Excerpted from "Catch Them Being Good: Everything You Need to Know to Successfully Coach Girls" by Tony DiCicco, Colleen Hacker & Charles Salzberg courtesy of Penguin Books.)

Tony DiCicco coached the U.S. women's national team to the 1996 Olympic Gold Medal and the 1999 Women's World Cup title. DiCicco, founder and director of SoccerPlus Camps , will be the Boston Breakers head coach when the club begins play in April of 2009 in the new women's professional soccer league. He is currently coach of the U.S. U-20 women's national team.

Girls & Boys: Taking Gender Into Account

by Emily Cohen, Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 6:30 PM ET

My daughter comes bursting through the door after soccer practice and exclaims, "Mom! We had so much fun! Maya and Natalie and I got to be on the same team!" "Did you win?" I ask. She replies, "I have no idea."

What a difference that is from when my son comes home from practice or, even more so, from a game. He can recite every well-executed play and missed opportunity in excruciating detail. But when I ask whether his best friend was on his team for the scrimmage, he replies, "No, but who cares? My team won!"
In a nutshell, these two scenarios capture the essence of how boys and girls approach sports differently. Of course, there are always exceptions -- the supercompetitive girl, the boy who would rather sit on the bench and chat with his buddy than be on the playing field -- but, in general, most of the coaches and parents I talked with agreed: For girls, the social interaction and the experience of being on a team with friends is No. 1. And for boys, it's much more about the end result.

So how can coaches apply this conventional wisdom to improve their coaching -- and get the best out of their players, whether they be girls or boys? Here's what I heard from a few longtime coaches who have successfully coached both genders, from elementary through high school.

Work with not against the innate gender differences

Girls are more concerned about having their friends on their team rather than winning. Sure, they like to win, but it's more important if they do so while playing with their friends. As one longtime coach told me, "I've never had to tell the boys to stop holding hands during practice, but I have had to ask them to quit jumping on each other or wrestling."

Given this, when you divvy up your team for squads, make sure you put at least two girls who are buddies together from the get-go, and you'll avoid the whining about who's on whose team later on. Boys -- because they're concerned more with winning -- won't worry about friendships on the team, but will worry about "fairness" or the "evenness" of the teams athletically.

Encourage the natural strengths and develop the weaknesses of each gender

Girls are experiential and process-oriented. You'll see that girls work just as hard as -- or even harder than -- the boys, but the girls care more about the overall effort than simply counting the numbers in the win and loss columns. With girls, if you spend time talking about their improvements, they'll work even harder and you'll quickly see a direct correlation to the overall win/loss record.

On the other hand, boys are much more results-oriented. It's not that they can't be focused on the journey, it's just that their DNA is geared toward winning and losing. With boys, you need to guide them to put effort into improving skills and getting something out of the experience -- encouraging them to understand that the journey, not just the number of Ws, is the reward.

Resolve problems collaboratively for girls, one-on-one for boys

Girls and boys approach problem-solving differently. Because of this, when you have an issue with a specific player -- or there's a problem with the team dynamic -- you should take gender into account.

With girls, yelling simply doesn't work. Coaches who approach girls as they would boys find this out the hard way. When you are upset with the attitude or effort of your female players, the best way to handle it is with a team meeting. Start by asking them what they think the problem is. Nine times out of 10, the girls will have already pinpointed the problem and have several solutions to propose. Girls work things out collaboratively -- as a team. It might be painful, but the results you see in the end will be worth it.

In contrast, boys need to be listened to and heard. If a boy on your team is acting out or needs help focusing, you should address it with the player, one-on-one, clear the air, and move on. You might have to get the boy's attention by raising your voice and making an example of him in front of his peers, but once you do, and you clearly explain your expectations, you should be on your way to a better team dynamic.

(Emily Cohen is a freelance writer living in Berkeley, Calif. She is the mother of a son, 12, and a daughter, 9, who both play multiple sports. She has been a team manager for her children's soccer, baseball and softball teams.)

Practicing Solo: The 720 Challenge

by Brandi Chastain, Thursday, May 8, 2008 7:30 PM ET

It's amazing how much more technical and organized soccer training is now. When I was growing up, we practiced twice a week (three times when I got older) and played one game on the weekend, unless there was a tournament, and I didn't start playing in tournaments until I was 11.

Today, with year-round soccer (which I didn't play until I was nearly in college), there are an incredible number of games being played. Too many in my opinion (but that's another story).

Children in sports are often overly organized. Informal play gives them the opportunity to be independent, creative, and self-motivated. They dictate the place, the time, the rules, and the structure - or lack of it. When I was young, aside from formal practice, I was out on my front lawn everyday, juggling or kicking a ball. I'd play with the neighborhood kids or my brother.

He and I often took it into the house, playing 1 v 1 in our hallway, which couldn't have been more than three feet wide. (Of course, that would drive our mother crazy.)

That said, these casual skill sessions don't have to last for hours - even 15 minutes a day of juggling or footwork can be a significant addition when compounded over time. Mix it up with friends, or play a little by yourself.

What's important is that you develop the habit, and put the fun into it, the way we did with the National Team. We played informal games and created challenges against one another all the time. The rewards are simple, but satisfying, like the losers serving the winners lunch and busing their trays in the cafeteria of the Home Depot Center, buying coffee or smoothies, or hitting the ground for push-ups and sit-ups while the winners gloat.

Going for '720'

Try this ultimate challenge. It's called 720, and here's why. Using these 12 ball-juggling surfaces (laces/instep of both feet, outside of the feet, inside of the feet, thighs, chest, shoulders, head - click here for a video showing the 12 surfaces) and keeping the ball up in the air, use as many of those surfaces as you can in 60 seconds. Multiply the number of surfaces you successfully use (at least once), by the number of seconds you keep the ball up.

Your maximum scored would be 12 x 60 = 720.


Excerpted from "It's Not About the Bra: How to Play Hard, Play Fair, and Put the Fun Back into Competitive Sports" By Brandi Chastain with Gloria Averbuch courtesy of HarperCollins.

Brandi Chastain made 192 appearances and scored 30 goals for the U.S. women's national team in 1988-2004. She won two Women's World Cups (1991 & 1999) and two Olympic gold medals (1996 & 2004).

A letter to the parents of Infinity SC '93 & '92 Girls

U16 & U17 Parents,

When I met with the U17 girls in October I defined mandatory to them. When I meet with the U16's on Tuesday I will define mandatory to them as well. Parents, I would like to explain to you my definition.

I have strict rules when it comes to training. For example: Show up 5 minutes late, miss half of a game. Leave 5 minutes early, miss half a game. Miss a training session without a valid reason (not excuse) don't dress for the next game. My big expectation is that the girls communicate with me prior to any absences or if they are going to be running late (communication goes a VERY long way with me). That being said, I only follow those rules when we are in regular season (March- May) and even then, I let the players approach me if one of their teammates is not following the rules. Only then do I enforce the rules. This is the players team, not my team. If the players are o.k. with letting their teammates slide, well that is up to them. It is their duty to ask me to enforce the rules if they feel it is necessary. I don't show up to training with an attendance clipboard and mark a player absent or tardy.

I have expressed that the training sessions during January and February are "mandatory." I want everyone to know that if they miss a session that they are not going to be cut, or sat or frowned upon. However, with the Mayors Cup (in Las Vegas) only five weeks away, I have to provide an opportunity for the girls to be prepared to compete and learn the system of play. If the teams were younger I would be o.k. with the soccer that they are playing on the indoor surface and rent out the USA indoor arena and play small sided games for training. But these young ladies need to be prepared to play 70-90 minute matches twice a day and you can't properly simulate that with the small field experience alone. The Stan Laub Training Center (SLTC) that we are currently using over the next 5 weeks is the only full sized indoor field in the local community. As much as I do not like using Friday and Saturday nights to train teenage girls, this is the only time we were offered to use it. The new a.d. and new football coach at USU have really changed the availability at the SLTC, therefore limiting it to weekends in the month of January and February. I apologize for any inconveniences that this may cause, but I am confident that when we hit the parks in Vegas that we will be better prepared because of our time in the SLTC.

A philosophy of mine... I am focused on the long term development of each player and providing opportunities for these players to showcase their abilities to their families, friends, teammates, college coaches, the world. However, I strongly believe that it is ultimately the player that makes herself great. The player must stay fit and keep her touch even in the worst of winters to be at her peak. The players job is to have the tools to perform the technical abilities necessary to execute the tactics provided by the coach. I will provide an avenue for them to be successful by developing a defensive and offensive strategy, teach it to them and expect them to execute it. The players ultimately win and lose games. Winning is fun and I am extremely competitive, but my playing days are over. The girls have to want to win and make sacrifices on the training field, on their own and during match play to win. As the U17 girls found out when they were in California, if they do not play team soccer and stick to a plan they will be exploited badly when they play quality teams. They also learned that they can hang with some of the best teams. If these two teams play united, with a purpose and allow themselves to play out of their comfort zones they will find themselves as powerful of a team as Cache Valley (and Utah for that matter) has ever seen. The player has to win the game, the coach has to provide a system in which they are prepared to win.

Now that you understand my philosophy. When we go to Las Vegas, the focus will be defensive team shape and fast counter attacking. It is as simple as that. When they get these two aspects down we will work on possessing the ball, changing the point of attack and work on unbalancing runs in to the offensive half and third of the field. I expect to have success in Las Vegas, but we may make errors while trying to learn how to play in a system that is very new to the U16 girls and fairly new to the U17 girls.

I am very excited to have these two teams under my direction. I believe they will provide one another with competition in training, social comradery and ultimately demonstrate to the younger teams in our club and community what Infinity is all about. Both teams have impressed me so far and I expect that they will continue to impress me and everyone else they have the chance to meet on a soccer pitch and in life.

Thank you for allowing me to work with your daughters. This is a privilege and not a day goes by that I am not grateful for my opportunities to work with our youth.

-Ginn