Today is Shabbot so there no transportation available to get to training fields. It works out well for us as day to allow catch up on our rest. I told the girls that the plan was for manditory sleeping in and I didn't want to see them until lunch at 11:30 am. As expected no one had a problem with this. ;) After lunch we took a little run around Kibbutz Shefayim and did some fitness work. We then had a intra-team soccer tennis tournament that was quite competitive and spirited with since there was Iced Coffee on the line for the winners. (Iced Coffee in Israel is more of a frozen frappachino and therefore is quite a valued prize)
Later in the evening, Ron Schneider who is the Assistant Coach for the U18 boys(and former Israel National Womens Coach & and current Director of Soccer Education for the Wingate Institute) did a video session for the U18 boys and the girls. He showed highlights of Euro 2008 and then spoke about pressure defending. (when to play high/low pressure & maintaining compactness)
Tomorrow we are hoping to get to Wingate to train and watch the U18 boys play their first match. But the transportation system thusfar seems a bit shaky so as I mentioned earlier, we are definitely in the "hurry up and wait mode".
*Note: The Israeli management model is based upon a military structure and therefore anyone who has to make a decision needs to get permission of the person above who needs to get permission from the person above and so on. As Americans we are used a more fluid, flexible style of management so it requires patience and persistance on our part to function.
While it creates some moments of frustration for our coaches, it provides some hilarious stories to share when we all get together at the end of the day. The soccer coaches have established a running card game of Spades each evening after curfew which gives us a chance to wind down and decompress. Fortunately we have a great soccer staff. Adam Cooper(St. Mary's College), my assistant Jessica Stegman and Preston & Sean Goldfarb (Birmingham Southern Univ).
Those of you who know Preston can imagine his organized, German mentality "functioning" in this environment. I'll leave it for you to read his own blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment