It was a great weekend all around for our three teams in the Bluegrass State Games. I'd like to give a quick recap of each with my obersavtions and some goals moving forward. This event is a great opportunity for the coaching staff to evaluate further all of the boys and just allow them to play with limited guidelines. This allows us to see their natural instincts which communicates a lot of what they all do well and what each needs to improve. Along those same lines we are able to collectively conclude the initial strengths and weaknesses of each team as well. BGSG also gives us a chance to experiment with systems and individual roles with not much concern about how that might affect results. It's a great first step during the month long preseason!

JV RED

I was really pleased with the JV Red boys. The first game was a little shaky and right away we saw some bad habits from a few of them. There was definitely an adjustment period in learning how we want them to play as some of the boys took way too many touches on the ball in dangerous areas or tried to do too much when under pressure. I was happy to see a big improvement into the second game as I thought they really played together and moved the ball so much better than the first game. Touches were less, decisions were quicker, and they just looked to trust their teammates more. Not surprisingly that led to a better overall performance and a big win! That style of play carried over into the third game for another solid performance and favorable scoreline. There were lots of positives with Matt and I very happy about the boys taking instruction well and really trying to play the right way. We did see a lot of room for improvement in positioning and movement off the ball, and those will definitely be focal points in future games. Our goal with this team is individual development first and foremost to try to help the boys improve their fundamental base to play at a higher level which will be faster paced and under more pressure. So a lot of the tactical elements (positioning, shape, etc) are going to be taught during games.

JV NAVY

I only got to see one game for JV Navy (they played two games at the same time as the varsity team), but I did receive game reports from Matt and some parents. It was a great weekend for the boys as they were not challenged very much and put in 3 pretty solid performances (and they were not even at full strength). This team is by no means physically intimidating. In fact, I think our JV Red team is a much bigger team overall. However, these JV Navy boys are all very comfortable on the ball and do a great job of moving the ball in possession. They can play a lot of different ways (we put them in a different formation every game) and they are a lot of fun to watch. I also love the dynamics around the team as they have great attitudes, play for each other, and really encourage each other in a competitive but loving way. I am excited for the season this team will have and Coach Raney will have a lot of fun with this group! One observation from Sunday is that I think this group will  have to work on being more ruthless in the attacking third. They got the ball there often, but either through decisions on the ball or runs off the ball, the play at times was too passive. We will especially want our designated attacking players to force the issue in these areas and make defenders stop them. But I'm sure that is something that will improve going forward.

VARSITY

The varsity squad saw three quality opponents in Simon Kenton (NKY), Daviess County (WKY - top 10 team last year, finished 19-3-2), and Henderson County (WKY). I won't dissect each game but I thought at times the boys looked very, very good. We also saw plenty that we need to work on and improve if we want to get to the level we believe they can reach. Max and I settled on two systems for the weekend and used each for an entire game (with one called 20 minutes early due to heat index), and then switched between the two in our last game. We will likely move forward with both systems in preseason and settle in on one as our primary way of playing. I have become a big believer that even youth teams should be comfortable in two different systems of play based on competition, personnel available, and game flow. It is something I have asked both Brian and Matt to do with the JV teams, and it is something we will be working on with varsity. I thought the boys controlled tempo in all 3 games, with each of our opponents looking to hit us on the counter. I was happy to see that we were not really broken down very often in our opponent's possession. That's a great sign this early in preseason. Our first order of business is to settle in on a consistent back 4. We experimented and rotated some guys in the back, and will also add another returning defender this week who has been at GSP. Starting roles are definitely up for grabs with all of our defenders having positive moments and also some struggles. I do think we need to be a bit more disciplined defensively all over the field, especially in 1v1 defending. If we take that step we should be a very good defensive team. Another focal point will be trying to find ways to create and use width. We have a great group of guys with many who are confident and comfortable on the ball. However, we lack true, natural wide players offensively and we do not have much high end pace. That means we will have to be creative in how we use width in the attack and also try to maximize the speed of a select few individuals. Overall it was a very positive weekend and I am pumped about the potential of this group! BGSG always gives us sort of a starting point with varsity and we work to build on that for our first preseason game, and then carry that over to the next and the start of the regular season.