Well, I wrote a few weeks ago about a game where – well, I lost it.

The beauty of sport is that quite often, what comes around – goes around.  You generally get another chance, and the key is to focus on the new opportunity.  I often ask my players, “What’s the most important play in soccer?”  They now know the answer:  ”the next one.”

Fortunately, this past weekend my team played a rematch against the long ball team from a few weeks ago.  The instructions from a few weeks ago were really not any different this time around.  The recent result was in their minds, and they fully bought into the need to play quickly to feet, break their first line of defense, and press the ball once we lost it in order to disrupt their long ball game.

As for me, this time I resolved – and let my players know – that I was under a self-imposed “Silent Saturday.”  The players – as it should be – would be making the decisions and correcting their own mistakes.  This was put to the test when two minutes in our goalkeeper played a goal kick directly to the opponent’s forward, who duly scored the opener.  I stuck to my guns, however, and kept quiet.

The players exhorted themselves and shrugged off the mishap.  The midfielders showed early and the defenders were able to play the ball out of the back quickly.  Any time possession was lost the pressure was immediate and more often than not resulted in a throw-in deep in the attacking third.  After a few minutes of sustained possession the players could see that it was only a matter of time before the goals would come, and they did.  The opponents grew frustrated and committed a few fouls that were over the top, but the referee did a great job talking to all the boys and our kids kept their cool knowing the game was in hand.

The boys will certainly have games where they don’t play well.  The point is that the overall effort they showed was outstanding, and their attitude was even better.  Heads didn’t go down after giving up an early goal; they stuck to the style we as coaches have tried to instill in them.  They reveled in the challenge that was in front of them and they solved situational problems individually and collectively.  At the end of the game, I couldn’t be prouder.

Essentially the inverse of the previous encounter, it was hard not to notice that the performance of the team coincided with the quieter, calmer, more positive demeanor exhibited by their coach.  The boys defended well, were creative going forward, and played with the freedom I took from them a few weeks earlier.

After the game I complemented each one individually, and made sure the team knew how impressed I was with their performance.  For me, it was an acute reminder that my role is to be a facilitator – that the game is decided by them – not by me.