Balls, knots and the Holy Ghost.

Once we move past the ‘mum endlessly fouling me’ stage via the numbing method of tiggling – we move into Cub Scout Soccer – or as I am told it really was – Bees around a honey pot soccer’

In good old Church of England England, one joins the cub scouts at the age of 8. Three years of fun is what you get until the shock of being bullied by older boys as you move up to full ‘scouts’. I lasted one week up there if I remember correctly. Cup Scouts was cracking – I have some great memories of being a ‘sixer’ in 2^nd Rayleigh Holy Trinity Pack, orienteering through the Essex countryside, competing in cub scout Olympics, playing ‘man hunt’, eating jam dobs around the camp fire and, of course, playing soccer.

I also have some memories I choose to push to the back of my mind: tying knots, wearing a scarf and woggle, walking across tree stumps over freezing rivers, being told to sit still as jaspers (wasps) circled the jam jar at camp, being cold and wet at camp, tying knots (did I mention that? oh yes, but it’s worth another stab) and the ultimate punishment for any lively 8 year old, once every 4 weeks, going to CHURCH. Hard benches, hour long dour sessions in which I was expected to be happy with my medieval status as a socially ‘church’ controlled turnip farmer. I never understood why they kept talking about Concord or what the Trinity was. Who the ‘Holy Ghost’ was remained a mystery too – I never saw anyone dress up like him at Halloween either. 

The bottom line was this. We were cubs so we could play soccer, every Saturday morning up on King Georges Fields. Stuff your travel soccer – this was a 9 minute walk from home. Early October mornings with slight mist and a chill in the air would greet you – I cleaned my boots so religiously the black color wore off the toe. The coach was Ian Crawford. He was a legend. We practiced basic skills and played a simple game. I hung out on the right wing and ran past people when they got the ball to me. We wore a mesh style orange and black trim shirt – like Wolves in the 70’s and the shirts were clean – like Persil clean. I cannot explain how exciting it was to pull on the shirt smelling of washing powder. You knew you had made it. Orange quarters at the half – parents happy and cheering and far too many boys around the ball. There was only one thing more exciting than pulling that shirt on – it was being handed that slip of paper at the end of each cub meeting. The slip meant you were in for the game. It was sublime. The only other time I can remember being that excited about a piece of paper was playing for Fitzwimarc. Tony Mescall would write the team up on a piece of lined paper. All in triangular capital letters. 11 players, a couple of subs and a couple of reserves (which meant you didn’t play unless someone in the playing squad failed to show. Seeing ‘SELF’ as the right winger on that team was magic. More on the Fitz team later.

Life is funny though – it really is a small world. 2^nd Rayleigh played in a small league with other cub scout teams. Our nemesis was 1^st Rayleigh – which as I was to find out was basically the ‘

Love Lane

’ lot (a rival primary school). That was where I first met Peter Clark – you’ll remember the ‘man-child’ I mentioned several blogs back. That battle continued into secondary school with Fitz v Sweyne. 20 years later I would play with Peter and enjoy life far more.

Cub scout soccer was the very utopia of childhood soccer.  No fouls, good clean fun, happy parents paying very little for a modest ‘end of season trophy’, orange quarters at the half and shaking hands at the end, slightly smaller goals than normal with crooked crossbars, fields that sloped and rolled, cigar smoke in the air and warm baths at the end. I don’t think we played through the winter as my memories are not of being cold. That was school and Sunday soccer. It was a time were we really didn’t worry about ‘making it’ and parents were not pushy. And, you cannot replicate that wonderful yet scary feeling of butterflies in your 8 year old stomach at 6:00am in the morning on a misty day – knowing kick off was only 120 minutes away. I am sad my kids will not experience that – maybe there will be different memories they will treasure – I very much hope so.

If it's round...kick it

I know I promised you a summary of life as a professional 'cub scout' soccer player. But, the ISI kids were kicking a stone on the way to lunch the other day and I need to talk about it - round things, well, roughly round or at least things able to travel some distance when kicked.

When I was a kid walking to school we kicked everything – stones (big or small), tin cans, bottle lids, tennis balls (with or without green hair aka ‘baldies’), lumps of ice, juice boxes, lumps of dirt that exploded on contact, dead birds, conkers (buck eyes), dried dog poop (the white stuff you’re safe with), small (I stress small) pieces of brick, dried bread and girls. It was all game. I like ice the best – the challenge was to not only kick it, but keep it on the sidewalk and not kick it so hard that it broke up. Of course, it rarely snowed when I was a kid. London may be at the same latitude as Calgary, but it’s pretty warm in the winter and snow was a luxury. I would wake up and could instantly tell if we had snow – there was a whiter than white glow above the claret ‘West Ham United’ curtains in my bedroom. I’d go out, with plastic bags inside shoes to keep my socks dry and walk on ‘virgin’ snow. Then it would melt…

You have to understand the importance of simply kicking. Richard Schmidt (Schema Theory) tells us that the more times you repeat the same action, regardless of the specific details the better. Simply put – a kid who can throw a ball well can probably throw a javelin well too, with some help. It’s all about the extent to which the parameters have been established for that motor program. Bottom line – soccer players should kick everything. I’d play endless games of ‘balloon’ soccer at Xmas – the living room doors were the goals. Juggle with rolled up socks, an orange, a ball of paper… it works, trust me. That’s one of the reasons Brazil are so good. Minivan soccer is not a match yet for ghetto kids dreaming of escapism while they volley a crushed tin can (ball) into the doorway (goal).

You really know you are onto something when you can kick a lump of ice with sufficient spin to keep it on the sidewalk despite it curling to and from the street. David Beckham knows all about that. That’s the other thing I look for when kids play – how they deal with a ball spinning in the air when they attempt to control it. You have to experiment with a ball and gain an understanding for how the ball will react when it hits the ground. It’s all experience. Let our kids play on dirt, grass, turf, concrete, mud, and wood with anything vaguely round and your country has a chance of producing something special.

So, kick it. Unless it has a good lawyer.

Fast Forward to 2010 - Olympiads to High School Soccer @ ISI

It was a mystery for several years why I never got the ball as a right winger. Then one day it dawned on me. The entire midfield at Olympiads were 'right footed'. Statistically, right footers stick the ball in the bottom left corner for penalties. I was simply in the wrong direction. Add this to that - right footed opposing midfielders tackle with their right foot, which may open up the space to pass left rather than right. A double whammy of right sidedness. Alternatively I may have been smelly as a kid. Or without knowing, some kind of social outcast.

There are so many fabulous chapters to share - from U9 2nd Rayleigh Cub Scout soccer on foggy Saturday mornings at King Georges Fields to Borough Rover's punch ups with Shoebury Town. Rayleigh Olympiads got it's turn in the limelight and could easily take up an entire book. Which teams will eventually get a mention? Here's the full list:
2nd Rayleigh cub scouts - Rayleigh Olympiads - Fitzwimarc - SEEVIC - Borough Road - Cleanaway - Thames Park - Hamlet Court - Borough Rovers - The Sovereign - Rayleigh Town - MIB - Superior Autoworks and now Internationale...

Let's fast forward to the last five months and an exceptional season with the high school team at ISI. Let me add this - sorry lads, I'll refrain from mentioning individuals. Let's talk big picture here.

ISI is a small but fiercely proud school. In years gone by you'll here 'ole ole' from the supporters even in the face of a 4-0 defeat. It's also international. That makes it special and soccer is the ideal vehicle to express that. Of course, more countries are members of FIFA than the UN. It's the total global love of the game we identify with. Diversity at ISI is a team with players from Spain, Argentina, USA, Canada, Syria, France, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Ethiopia and, of course, England. There has been a 'nothing to lose' mentality that is held in check by a 'too small to win' negativity.

This season was different.

It starts with a small group of students who take it upon themselves to ask for a plan - before us coaches gave them one. Education is entertaining at times but you know success is really possible when students are self motivated. Add that mentality and student leadership with a second year of straightforward simple objectives, no egos, a desire to win back support and you are on the way. Oh, let's not forget the best field in Indiana, too.

But how do you measure success? Losing in the 'play in' game in Sectionals would be a tough method. Rarely outside of the USA does a team's success pivot on one single game. That's the media for you. They want it to be exciting because you'll watch and then they can sell advertising around the event and maybe you'll actually believe that a 'shake weight' can make you look like Jean Claude Van Damme. Win - loss record? ISI only lost a handful of games. Twice in extra time and one of those was the last kick of the game, and therefore, season. Another game was off the back of a three day camp and holiday weekend. I could mention muppet officials but I'll get a phone call of complaint from Kermit the Frog. Success could be the fact the team never conceded more than 2 goals in any game.

It's probably the complete turnaround in just under two years of a program that was based on a very shaky foundation. You need a 'team' mentality to be successful and a team in which picking outstanding players is really tough. However big a school is they can only put 11 players on the field. The difference is how those 11 get the job done. You also have to work out the best combination of all the players. And you need a little luck, too.

We poked fun at teams who demonstrated their lack of professionalism - static stretching - bullyesque coaching - pre-match line up drills with players shooting - players without the ball at their feet. While at college (then called 'Borough Road, a famous 'wing' teaching college in less than fancy West London) we were lectured by a man called Jonny Hunter. I didn't like him because he gave me a low grade on a 'biomechanics in PE' paper. I studied 'A' level' physics and thought I'd bagged it - nooooo, according to Jonny - too much detail. A lesson in society's low expectations of the physical education teacher. Anyway, England played one night - and lost. Jonny noticed that the subs warming up during the game did not have a ball at their feet. Jonny subsequently wrote the London Times. The next time England played at Wembley - guess what the subs had at their feet for the warm up. That is one key reason for success - maximising touches on the ball. If you are not comfortable with it at your feet you can't keep it. And you need it to score and make the other team work harder than you to try and get it. The ball, that is.

We had some players who were ready to run themselves into the ground - literally. We had some players mature, some egos soften and one or two gurus. We won a conference, beat one Indiana's biggest schools and only heard the Liberty Bell ring once. It is interesting to me that life often aligns events to enable something quite exceptional to occur. I know we, the program across the school, is at that point. Maybe even a moment in time where the legend is created. It all sounds very 'Lord of the Rings' but we'll be closer to revealing why later.

So - having enjoyed the most successful season in the history of the program what do we do next?

Better - that's what. And this time we make space for every other kid in the school to choose to be part of it.

So, after an 'ISI' round up, what's next? Well, in the style of 'The Event'', lets roll back the years and marvel at how the hell Rayleigh Trinity Church - 2nd Cub Scouts ended up as more about the beautiful game than tying knots....