Middle of the Season is here. u14 Hellgirls are standing strong on 3rd Place out of nine teams in Bezirksoberliga with W/L stand of 5/3. Out of three close games two were won by +1 and +2 accordingly, third one with +6. Losses were against good teams and two of those teams are above us filling the Top 2 of the League. The third one is about the same level as we and they had a better day. At the end of the day it all comes down of how good your preparations were and how did you hold your ground. For both we need more focus and more discipline.
I like this team a lot. Some of the players play also for my u16w Team in Kreisliga [You can read Mid-Season Report on that HERE] as they will be coming up for the next season. It helps me to prepare them for what’s coming and allows me to get experience in higher league. Up until now Kreisliga were the highest Liga I had coached and now Bezirksoberliga adds some new and exciting experiences. Also it is a very interesting structure we have going on here as till now u14 Hellgirls were coached by Coach Sandy alone, but as of this season we are splitting the team and coaching on turns. Coach Sandy is still doing most of the heavy lifting on trainings and I take over whenever I can. The situation is also very unique in the Club as Sandy is also coaching u12 Hellgirls. This makes a two-coach overlay over three teams: Sandy covers u12w to u14w and I cover u14w to u16w, and I must say – it is working out very well! Sandy is a coach who focuses more on developing player’s skillset and technique, meanwhile I am more of a athletic abilities, endurence and discipline (including mental game) kind of guy. Technique is my grind, I must learn A LOT on this topic. Anyway, this splited focus allows us to develop the team nicely and allow the players to have a chance for at least three training sessions per week. Plus the players get the diversity of the coaches as Sandy now has also Rabia (Damen 1) as co-coach on the board to help with u12w-u14w Training sessions. We are growing strong.
As we find ourselves with u14 Hellgirls at a place three, we must give our best to stay there. As with all my teams at first I am putting our focus on building strong defensive game – individually and more importantly as team defense. Teaching small things that come together and can make a big difference. Communication, trusting in your teammates and helping them, taking responsibility for your own actions, giving everything on the field, staying disciplined and focused. And I push on the discipline. Why? Because from that derives everything else. If we achieve the mindset of discipline and the hard path then nothing can stop us. I already see the change happening – girls are pushing themselves more and achieving more. Teamwork is taking more important place, trust is growing among the players. “I got this ball stopped, now, I trust you to get my player covered instead.” It’s truly a beautiful thing to witness – development of a team. As they are learning to take trust in their teammates, they are also understanding that their teammates has the trust in them! A VERY important aspect of the team development as it will push their will to better themselves individually for the good of the team. If they got me, I must be ready to help them. That simple.
“There is only one thing I require from you, my young ladies! Only one thing! Your very best.” I said. This happened today in the Timeout against the TSV Jahn Freising. We had a small lead, but we started to struggle offensively and there was some hectic happening on the floor. As their coach I knew that they could do way better. We still managed to win the game. After the game parents asked me if I am satisfied with the results. But of course not! They laugh it off as they should. Keep it fun and easy going. Though, I can’t allow my players to learn mediocrity, perhaps, one of the reasons is that I’ve grown up in one myself – I can’t stand being “okayish”. Also this club as a organization doesn’t stand where it is because it went normal, mediocre way. No, there were some crazy decisions, there is striving for the excellence from within! We think differently, that’s why we have our culture as it is. The normal path is for others, not for us. So – no, I am not satisfied. Yes, we won and it is, of course, a good thing and should be celebrated! Third place on the list, not bad at all. That has nothing to do with the satisfaction of the performance, though. If it is not our best, it is simply not good enough. That’s one thing I can’t allow – getting sloppy and then getting away with it because we managed to complete the task somehow. Just as good things become habits, so does the bad ones. I can’t allow our future to obtain a habit of mediocrity. These are smart girls and they understand, that’s why I like this team that much. Hellgirls – different kind of breed. Strive for excellence.
We are coming, await us. And please… be prepared! We like the hard fights. There is a goal, I can assure that. What is the goal? Well, you will have to wait, let me keep the cards to myself just for a bit longer. There are many things to be done in the upcoming round of this season. I can surely say that we want to stay at least in the upper Top 3 of Bezirksoberliga. My personal goal with this team would be to bring some more surprises to the table and make other teams sweat. Get some more good and exciting games and experiences in there. Have some fun and learn valuable lessons for life while doing that. Get better, get faster, get smarter. No, no… that came out wrong! BE! Be better, be faster, be smarter. How will we achieve our goals? There is only one way. The way of discipline.
Coach Valts
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.