Reply To: 17 -1 loss

[Bostonian in SoCal]

That's some advanced work you guys are doing to ensure the health and safety of your players. I like it a lot. You'll have to bear with me on this one, as my players are 18 at the youngest and I haven't had any late bloomers as far as height is concerned. They all put on a good deal of mass in their time with me, but the majority of that seems to be genetics.

I recall my pediatrician showing me the chart he kept of my growth, and at age 17 I had plateaued at 5'8". It was then I realized I would never be a drop and block goalie, but that's a discussion for another time. Obviously being able to directly see if the growth plates have fused yet is the best determining measure of when a player can safely proceed with heavier weights, but in your experience, how much more accurate is that from the aforementioned chart my doctor kept? Is waiting for a flattened growth curve not accurate enough?

To the O.P., I have suffered losses this year due to both talent deficiency and effort deficiency. Hang in there! My teams that have suffered losses early in the season tend to be my best teams at the end of the year. They don't get complacent like the teams that win early do. If you can keep them motivated to advance their skills all season, then the progression will be noticeable when you face a team for the second and third time. I've dealt with losses like that by addressing it immediately at practice. I usually bring the guys in and make a joke about what a circus we were in the last game, but tell them that we need to dig deep and always compete, no matter the score. I follow up with drills and games that emphasize competition (winning foot races, corner battles, etc.), and keep score. Tom has talked about competition days like this (obviously where I stole this brilliant idea from) and I've rewarded the winning team with movie tickets before as well.