It was a tough but educational first week of the regular season for all teams. Unfortunately, since we were hosting the varsity event this past weekend I was unable to see the JV Navy team play in the Lexington Catholic JV tournament, but it sounds like a very positive weekend for the boys in 3 tough games all against city rivals. I also was unable to see the JV Red game on Thursday due to some player meetings, but I am looking forward to seeing their progress on Tuesday against Ryle.

Varsity had an up and down first week, but it was a great learning experience against 4 tough opponents. There is still so much for us to evaluate as we go forward and we are still tinkering with lineups and systems to get an idea of how we can best maximize our strengths. Our first two games were pretty solid, and while we could have definitely improved our efficiency in the attacking third, we really limited the chances of each opponent. South Oldham had some strong players in the middle of the field, and once we were able to adjust a bit with our defensive pressure, we were much more on the front foot. Our second game of the Lexington Soccer Showcase against Woodford County was not our strongest performance. While we held a lead going into the second half, we were not strong enough on the ball in possession and lacked a bit of bite closer to goal. Our standard is pretty high in regards to keeping the ball and limiting turnovers, and we just weren't up to that standard in that game. It says something about where we want to get to when one of the Woodford coaches tells me after the game that they were impressed with how well we kept the ball, but the boys own conclusion is that it was below par for us. We wrapped up the weekend against a very good Ryle team. Not only were they the most talented team we saw all weekend, but they were also much fresher. They had an easy game earlier in the day that ended 20 minutes early due to the mercy rule, while we were fighting to come back from a 2-1 deficit. There are no excuses for our group, but that can definitely play a factor in performance when you play 3 games in 24 hours. Ryle was very good, however I thought there were a lot of positive moments for us during that game. Both teams had several good chances, and any result probably would have been fair.

While the results were not what we wanted on Saturday, there were a lot of learning moments throughout the first week. This early in the season we are worried first and foremost about getting better one game at a time. The staff saw a lot of good things, and a lot of areas where we need to improve. We definitely need to tighten up our defensive shape and positioning, especially as we head into our first district game against Lexington Catholic on Thursday. We also need to play much simpler and quicker in order to limit turnovers. This is something Diego and I have been preaching since week 1 of preseason and we still have a tendency to complicate decisions or take too many touches in our possession. Reducing these mistakes in the defensive and middle third of the field has to be a priorirty going forward. Our attacking efficiency around the goal will probably be a work in progess throughout the season, but we feel confident we can greatly improve these other areas.

We know we aren't anywhere close to where can get to this season, but we are still very positive about where we are right now. With a short season, it's imperative we don't waste any opportunities to get better. Today and tomorrow will be spent getting ready for the district game on Thursday that will certainly be a big challenge!