Coach: John LeSage 970-769-9031
Manager: Jynn Furnas 970-779-1900
U9 United Photo Gallery
A photo gallery for U9 United.
4:30 PRACTICE THIS WEEK!!!
Please be at practice tomorrow, ready to-go, at 4:30. We will practice as long as we can. The same on Thursday.
Shifting Gears a bit.
So just a quick note to let you guys know that we have started to work on some new tactics. For the last few weeks, we have really concentrated on speed. Speed in the open field, speed making decisions and the whole team moving together at a much faster pace. It is obvious to me that the boys have really have got this down. We also have been working on long range shooting. We are going to continue to work on that. I want the boys comfortable shooting the ball. In addition to shooting, I will be trying to drill into the boys our priorities on the field.
Priorities on the field...Scoring goals our #1 priority. Over the last few weeks, United has really started to move about the field very confidently. With this movement we have seen some amazing passes and phenomenal ball handling. One thing I noticed though, we have passed up on some shooting opportunities. We are sometimes looking for the amazing pass or holding the ball one too many touches when we should be looking to put the ball in the back of the net. Our number one priority is shooting. I think this change will happen with some shooting drills. We just need a little more confidence shooting. When we get as comfortable shooting as we are passing and dribbling, those extra touches and passes when we should be shooting, will go away. Great passes and confidence with the ball will put us in a position to shoot and score. We just need to work on when we take that shot versus when we pass/dribble the ball.
Our focus these next 3 practicies will be "Priorities on the field". We will be using lots of drills that replicate the game, with me stopping play when we have a coaching moment to show/talk about options. We will also start each practice with the boys favorite shooting game.
Coach's email week #6
Holy cow these U9 United boys can play! So exciting to watch them on the field. They are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with. As a coach, there are many things I am proud of. As a dad and friend, I am most proud of how these boys are starting to take care one another on and off the field.
We had a great week of practice. Our focus has been speed. Speed dribbling, finishing and making decisions. Saturday’s game was evidence to me that we have gained some speed. They were incredibly fast tracking to the ball on defense and opposing teams better look out if any of these boys get in the open field. Their confidence dribbling at speed has really improved.
Going forward this week, my plan is to open up the field a bit. I will be pushing the boys to not be afraid to “pull the trigger”. I would like to see some shots from the outside. Harry and Elliot do a great job of this already. Elliot had a nice goal from the corner that happened to be caught on video. I would like to build on the confidence we have dribbling and add some long range shooting into the mix. We know these boys are comfortable dribbling right to the goal. Let’s get them that comfortable with some long range shooting!
This Thursday we will be practicing at the indoor facility. We will have a Copa style tourney and celebrate Austin’s birthday. If you need directions, please contact myself or Jynn. This weekend is the Copa del Sol tournament. Timing is perfect for us to improve our long range shooting. Copa tourney will play right into our plans to shoot from the outside. This is a 4v4 no goalie tournament. Fast paced and lots of shooting. Going to be so much fun!!!
In closing, thanks to everyone for supporting our team. Looking forward to practice today. Go to Durangosoccer.com and check out U9 United page.
Coach's Email Week #5
What a weekend!!!! So much fun and we proudly came away with 3rd place. What a great team experience. I can’t thank the families enough for making the trip to Denver. It means so much to us as a team. Thanks again. For those that did not go, I hope you enjoyed your weekend away from soccer.
So our boys were tested in Denver. As a coach, I was able to learn what we need to work on going forward. Having the boys play such strong competition allowed me to see a few things we could work on. We are going to work on speed with the ball and without. We are also going to work on finishing at full-speed. Our boys played their hearts out and never gave up. I was super proud of the passion they displayed.
A bigger goal of ours was also met. It is very important to Janet and myself that the team bonds. We want them to understand what it means to be on a team, on and off the field. I have to admit, I got a little misty eyed at the Rapids game when I looked over and saw the boys having so much fun together. That was worth the drive to Denver.
Going forward, we have two weeks of league matches, then Copa Del Sol Tournament here in Durango. We would like to use Copa Tourney as a way to make some soccer memories with players from both squads. This is a fun, fast paced, 4v4, player-coached tournament. The kids will be making their own jerseys and coming up with creative team names. We will enter three teams.
#1 Harry, Austin, Aiden, Brian, Liam, Tristan
#2 Everett, Sam, Evan, Ben, Ian
#3 Elliot, Chase, Zane, Logan, Cole
We are so excited about practice this week. Cant wait to get on the field and begin our lessons learned in Denver. The boys made everyone so proud.
EACH BOY SHOULD BE VERY PROUD OF HIS PERFORMANCE IN DENVER !!!!
Janet and John
Denver CYS Cup Schedule....
http://events.gotsport.com/events/schedule.aspx?eventid=19107&FieldID=0&...
Game time have changed. Here are the times for Saturday. Sunday's game times will me determined by our first two games Saturday...
SATURDAY...
9:00am Broomfield Tigers vs Durango United Gates Field 12a
12:00pm Colorado Storm Wookies vs Durango United Gates Field 12a
SUNDAY...
We will play at 10:00am at Gates Field. Then maybe Championship Game at 1:00pm Gates Field.
Here is link to field location...
http://www.soccerfieldsofcolorado.com/maps/gates_north_713
Looking forward to this weekend. Sorry about last minute changes in game times. GOING TO BE A GREAT FIRST TOURNAMENT FOR THE BOYS!!!!!
Coach's Email Week #3
BIG SMILES!!! We are so proud! What a great way to spend the weekend. The United and Gunners both put on a show. So happy and proud. We could not be more pleased with how the teams performed this week. Practice – great, Matches – fantastic.
Practice was amazing. The boys know what to expect at practice and what we expect from them. A special kudos goes out to Sam and Zane this week. Both have demonstrated great sportsmanship and have been fantastic team players. Both of the boys received a juggle net.
United week three, practice we continued to get ball touches. We also did some different drills that helped us to create space. In addition, we talked about what to do in the open field, after we create space. Against the U10 boys Saturday, we “held those boys feet to the fire and have an amazing team” quoting Danny U10 coach. I was so proud of how the guys played. Not once did anyone get discouraged and we applied non-stop pressure against an older very skilled team. I would like to point out that Harry and Elliot did a phenomenal job goalkeeping. All the United boys should be very PLEASED with their performance. This week we are going to concentrate on finishing. I have some good drills on my practice board that will help us to learn…when to shoot, when to create space and finally how to make a strong precise shot on goal. - John
Gunners week three, practice went well on Thursday! I think the boys are getting use to me and I them. I have to step up what we have on the agenda for practice because these boys are very skilled and ready to be pushed. We had a great game on Saturday against a tall team. I had the opportunity to really see what position draws out everyone’s strengths. Zane and Evan did a phenomenal job tending the net for us and both play in the field just as well. I’m excited to head into this week with a clearer picture of what we can improve upon and have another exciting weekend game. - Janet
In closing, thanks again for being on-time, wearing practice jersey, bringing water and a ball. Anyone interested in goalkeeping, should check out the FREE Monday night clinics at Escalante and Riverside. 6pm – 7pm 9/12, 9/26, 10/10, 10/24
See you Tuesday…
John LeSage
Janet Mosher
First DYSA Games
United and Gunners...So proud of you guys. Everyone played amazing today. Cheers to the upcoming season, we are going to have some fun.
Where are we playing?
Here is a link to directions to the fields in our league. I hope everyone has fun tomorrow....
Fall United Schedule
| Four Corners Youth League Schedule | ||||
| Date | Time | Home Team | Away Team | Location |
| 9/10/11 | 10:15 | United | U10 Klone | Escalante 1 |
| 9/17/11 | 9:00 | Thunder | United | Escalante 1 |
| 9/24/11 | 9:00 | United | Rockets | Escalante 1 |
| 10/1/11 | DENVER | |||
| 10/8/11 | 9:00 | United | Crush | Escalante 1 |
| 10/15/11 | 10:15 | Gunners | United | Escalante 1 |
| 10/29/11 | 10:30 | United | Cortez | Parque de Vida |
| 11/5/11 | 12:45 | Venom | United | Farmington #2 |
Coach's Email Week #2
Coach’s Email Week #2
Hello to everyone and I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. Week two is in the books. First DYSA games are right around the corner. Also, thanks to everyone for wearing practice shirts. It was much easier to scrimmage and drill using the scrimmage jerseys (pennies). Not only were we playing like a team, we were looking like one too.
Week two, we continued to try and get ball touches. We also began to focus on creating space and learning how to defend during different scenarios. Learning to create space, we had the boys set up on different grids trying to dribble thru 2 defenders, 1 at a time. We later played some games with one attacker and multiple defenders, teaching the boys how to best help one another defensively. We were faced with some challenges Tuesday and we learned from them. It is my personal mission to teach these kids soccer in a fun and simple manner. Always remembering that the game is the best teacher.
Our teams are really bonding and getting into a practice groove. It was awesome to see some new friendships forming on the field. I was also very encouraged by Thursday’s practice. Everyone really stepped up. The communication on the field, could not be any better. Evan and Chase both received awards for outstanding sportsmanship at practice.
This week… We will continue drilling in hopes that our boys get lots of ball touches. I would also like to expand our drills geared towards creating space. In addition, you will see drills and hear me talking a lot about “improving your position on the field.” The boys are becoming field aware and it is time for them to always be thinking a step or two into the future. We will begin drilling this with some simple give and goes. As we progress, we will give the kids options and start to see them take advantage of what is presented to them on the field. Given that we play our first games this week, instead of a 10-15 minute scrimmage. We will have a 15-20 minute scrimmage to end each practice.
Our practices are very active. The boys do move quite a bit. I hope that everyone has time after school to drink some water and eat some food. In closing, I can’t wait to see them take the field Saturday for their first DYSA games. I hope the boys are as excited as I am.
See you Tuesday…
John LeSage
970-769-9031 970-365-6241
p.s. Jynn will get you the schedule as soon as we have it. Goto durangosoccer.com and check out our teams. Feel free to post any information or pictures.
PLATINUM
GOLD
BRONZE
