Soccer Coaching Dilemma – A Good Problem to Have

I coach the men’s and women’s  club teams at the University of Florida. The men are always good and so are the women. The men have had more success, as they reached a national final and two quarter finals in the last three seasons. The women finished in the quarter finals last year with a very good team. This year the women look amazing. I am always very humble with my expectations, because what you have on paper does not always translate to success on the field.

This year I have my work cut out for me, because if we fail it will be my fault. The team is so deep with talent that I honestly do not know who to take and who to leave at home. They are all good enough.

I have a former youth national team player on the team this year and the scary thing is… she is not the best player I have. She is probably number five. This should give you an idea of the talent pool. I looked at a Division one women’s game in Tampa a few weeks ago and I am sure we are at least as good as the teams I observed. We have a tournament this weekend and I will not be surprised if both teams meet in the semi- final or final.

I have been coaching for a long time and I have not been this excited about a group of players in a long time. The chemistry is fantastic, the girls respect each other and they collectively believe that they can beat anyone if they respect the principles of the game. The work rate in practice is fantastic.

There is a healthy competition at every training session. I will keep you posted on our progress. This weekend will hopefully test our character. This is the final piece to the puzzle, because Lord knows we are talented enough. Wish me luck picking the first team.