SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer Coaching Philosophy

After reading in awe the scoring accomplishments of a couple players on scsoccer I did a little research on the matter. Whether a player scores 50 goals or 200 goals in a career has as much to do with a coaches philosophy as the player's talent. The top goal scorers play on teams that routinely beat teams by scores of 16-0, 14-0, 13-0 etc.. It's also not uncommon for them to win by 12-15 goals and turn around and lose 8-0 the next game. I try and look at what a player can accomplish against quality teams, that is the true measure of a top goal scorer. As far as a coaches philosophy, most have a policy of not allowing there team to score in the double digits, heck even CJ pulls his starters and keeps the score respectable. It's up to a coach to decide how many goals he want's his team to put on a weak opponent, some just like putting up more goals than others.

all coaches on every level have faced this, on both sides of the coin. i suggest that its a greater dilema for the winning coach who is trying to keep the team sharp for upcoming matches & playoffs.
for example, wando, I have no idea how champ keeps those girls sharp for the tough playoffs with her regular season schedule.... thats where her coaching experience comes in i guess.

I can vouch...she has no "second string"...just more starters waiting for their turn.

From my firsthand observation--the girls do the same buildup of quick passing, switching field, scoring from crosses/headers, etc.--patterns and skills that they would need to score against a top defense--even when the team they are playing might give up goals to an easier, more direct attack. They probably don't score as many as they would using pure speed and dribbling skills to ram it right down a weaker team's throat, but they stay sharp in the skills they need to work together and outmaneuver a strong team's defense.

Also..are we assumming every team they play are pushovers?
Is Wando the strongest team in the lowcountry? Yes..without a doubt but there is still creditable competition in 4A in the lowcountry..
Wando strikes me as being a well balanced team..Emphasis is on both ends of the field..Where I have seen some teams that put up a butt load of goals..Give up many goals when they play a creditable team..They play one side of the ball more than the other..Their records dictate a strong team but in reality..They don't win the big games..
State chanpionships are won by very few goals..Teams that prepare with that in mind tend to have more success.

I looked up Wando's schedule and see that they have compiled 64 goals while only giving up 1 goal in the Viking cup..What's more imppressive? Scoring 64 or giving up 1?
We have a tendency to always look at who's scoring and not who's defending..POY honors are mostly talked about from the offensive side of the ball..How many defenders have won POY?
I am more immpressed with only giving up 1 goal than I am with the 64 goals scored..That defensive number gives them a better chance at a championship than that offensive number.

i didn't mean to turn this into a wando thread, just saw them play & was wondering how they will be prepared for the tough grind it out intense 80 minutes of heck that is the playoffs.
the goalie & defense will be the least prepared.
i guess these girls play club also in spring, correct me if i'm wrong.

Coach Champ was after my time, so I really don't know the specifics of how she runs everything now. But when I played, no one played spring club ball and the few girls I know who are on the team now do not play spring club either.

As for staying up to snuff with a not super strong schedule? You play hard against your teammates in practice and you use the weaker games to work on skills and to try things out for the first time. As a defender, it was always gratifying to come out of a practice dripping with sweat and knowing I had shut down one of the state's top scorers throughout the scrimmages.

You've just gotta make use of what you have and never get complacent or take things for granted. If there's one thing I could say about all the Wando teams I've seen, it's that those Warrior girls know how to step it up when it's on the line.

if i coached a weak team and was loosing bad i would much rather have the opposing team keep playing soccer and run the score up instead of playing keep away, that way the kids can at least see how the game should be played and the refs should not let calls slide because of the score. the kids still need to learn how to play and that it is not ok for them to commit a foul or handball etc.