Team Goals and Expectations

        The key to long-term team success is to develop players who are positionally well-rounded, 
	well-conditioned, highly-skilled, and who can play quality soccer in tight spaces, at a high 
	rate of speed, and under constant pressure from opponents. An illustration of the difference 
	between poor soccer and the type of quality soccer that this Blackhawks team strives to 
	achieve can be found in the handout titles Soccer Quality.

        Keep in mind that the final outcome of each season depends on the motivation and attitude of 
	our players, the dedication of our team families, the ability of our coaches to react and 
	adjust to changing situations, and a great deal on the breaks of the game. It is important 
	for all players, parents and coaches to go into each season with reasonable goals and expectations. 
	Many teams reach a certain level of competitive play and become unraveled from within due to the 
	over-emphasis on short term success (eg. win-loss record) and little emphasis on the tools needed 
	for long term success. It is tempting to get caught up in teaching sophisticated systems of play 
	and fancy trick plays when many of the basic skills still need to be mastered (controlling the 
	ball equally with either foot, tackling and defending technique, soft and controlled trapping, 
	properly weighted and accurate passing, sound kicking technique for power and distance, on-field 
	communication, etc.). It is our goal to continue to create players who are strong in the basic 
	skills of the game and who have the necessary foundation for development of more advanced skills 
	and team tactics. Remember that basic skills are marketable skills that will allow our players 
	to compete on any team (high school, college, ODP, pro) regardless of the system of play used.

        When basic individual technique and understanding of small group movement are in place, 
	we proceed to learn more sophisticated tactics, etc. that tend to be unique to a team's specific 
	system of play. It is important to remember that in soccer, there are many different styles of 
	play and teaching techniques.  We strive to develop a style that fits our team strengths and 
	use teaching techniques that we feel will create an understanding for the majority of the players.  
	Although game day performance is important for winning, it is what is learned and mastered 
	individually through work at home and at team practice sessions that creates the outstanding 
	lifetime soccer player.