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Playing the stronger teams does not always make you better when you can never find a way to win.Your disadvantage is no soccer club in the area so your players are not getting soccer year round at competitive levels



You're right; it only makes you better if you can maintain a positive attitude about improvement. If a team takes a "we're never going to beat them anyway, so what's the point" attitude, then it can actually hurt more than it helps. However, if they can view a match against a strong team as a lesson instead of just as a competition, it can do wonders.

Playing against teams like Wando, Summerville, James Island and West Ashley gives a developing team some very practical, hands-on experience in how the game "should" be played; they can see what works and doesn't work firsthand and at game speed, much better than a coach could demonstrate using only simulated situations at practice. If you really want to learn how to shut down an attack by a blazing-fast breakaway forward, then you have to actually spend some time playing against a blazing-fast breakaway forward, for example. An 80-minute game could be a disaster, but an 80 minute practice can give a wealth of experience if you don't waste it worrying TOO much about what's on the scoreboard. With some of my newer players, I could actually tell a difference in the way they played between the first and second half against JI. We didn't find a way to win (yet), but those two goals did more to generate self-confidence and increase level of play than running up a score on a weaker team ever could.

Disadvantage due to the club situation? Sure. That's not something that will go away anytime in the near future, not something we are in a position to change, so I don't spend much time stressing over it. The way we step up to people who DO have that advantage, and how well we learn to compensate for it--that's worth working on, and it's something the girls can take pride in.

I've got good news and bad news...