Så fik vi klaret den sidste spillemæssige forberedelse til den danske turnering går igang i kommende weekend. Med turen til Frankrig har pigerne spillet 11 træningskampe mod hold der alle spiller på højere niveau end hvad vi er forvent med i Danmark. Derudover har den stået på 4-5 ugentlige træninger for at få alle klar til kamp.
Om selve kampene i Frankrig kan der læses et referat på www.fortuna-odense.dk så det vil jeg undlade at skrive om her.
Men det mere personlige evalueringer omkring stævnet vil dette indlæg vægtes omkring.
Jeg havde på forhånd gjort mig selv en masse tanker omkring mulighederne ved at spille så mange kampe som "underdog" fremfor at tage til danske stævner hvor det hurtigt bliver kampe om hvem der har det længste sværd.
Jeg er kommet frem til at det både kan være godt og skidt med de mange hårde kampe. Både hårde for fysikken, men specielt også for mentaliteten og selvtilliden. I den proces har det været et sprængende punkt for mig at holde kommunikationen åben med pigerne, således at jeg hele tiden havde en føling med hvor de stod mentalt i forhold til at tabe en masse kampe.
Som udgangspunkt føler jeg vi er klar både mentalt og fysisk, men undervejs har der været en del knas på tråden, som i virkeligheden bunder i mine manglende evner/opmærksomhed på netop den mentale del hos flere af spillerne.
Hvad det kan gøre ved unge talenters selvtillid at spille nogle kampe hvor der helt og aldeles gøres klart at de slet ikke kan være med, hverken fysisk, teknisk eller taktisk. Og selvom man har spillet et hav af divisionskampe eller college og landskampe, så rystes der stadig med selvtillidsposen når nederlag følger nederlag, blokeret smash efter blokeret smash etc.. Og her føler jeg godt at jeg selv kunne have været bedre på forkant med nogle ting, men som sagt så ser jeg tilbage på forløbet nu og måler hvordan jeg ser holdet mentalt efter hjemkost igår, og så er det sgu gået ret godt alligevel.
Særligt sejren i sidste kamp mod en stærkt hollandsk hold har været et vigtigt mentalt skridt for holdet tror jeg, men også de mange samtaler og holdmøder har haft afgørende effekt.
Time to convert
Nu er det så tid til at alle de mange træningstimer og venskabskampe skal smides i maskinen, og ud i den anden ende skulle gerne komme et godt produkt i form af et hold der står hinanden bi i tykt og tyndt, og som er konkurrencedygtigt i den hjemlige elitedivision.
Der er som udgangspunkt ikke tid til at slappe af og ikke være klar, for vi starte med Holte, Brøndby og Lyngby tidligt i sæsonen. Den sidste uge inden kampstart skal bruges på individuel optimering og taktisk forberedelse til Holtekampen. Vi forventer naturligvis et top motiveret Holte hold taget spillerskifte og historie i betragtning, og her vil det naturligvis være rart at komme igang med en sejr.
Skulle det gå den anden vej tror jeg dog ikke at nogen af holdende tænker for længe over dette. Sæsonen er lang og der er ingen tvivl om at begge hold nok skal være at finde i toppen af rækken når vi taler marts og april, men det skal ikke ligge en dæmper på den enorme spænding der er forud for 1. runde, revanche fra sidste års finale, intens fight mod gamle kendinge etc. etc.
"Gate six... PICK UP YOUR WEAPONS AND FIGHT"
And yes.. Now that I have writen this whole thing I realize that it is in Danish. Sorry to the people trying to follow our preparations, I promise to get back on track next time.. ;0)
Michael
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Last fase of pre-season and the Cup match
Moving in to the last fase of our pre-season program I feel confident that we are where we are suppose to be each player indivisually, but I am still worried that we have a very long ways to go as a team.
On court we still struggle with the organization in block/defence and the rythme in offense still needs a lot of work.
Off the court I am very proud of the girls and the hard work they put in to becoming a team. A few players are still finding their "role" on the team, and for the many young players it is that much more important to find their role and what they can contribute with for the team.
Leaving for France...
Wednesday evening we leave for France to play our last tournament before season starts. Being away together should be a good experience for the players, and there will be plenty of time to due teamwork and player-coach talks.
We have been placed in a group with a Belgian, a French and a Swiss team, and it will be exciting to compare our current level against theese more experienced teams.
I'm expecting the team to stick together in the tough matches we will undoubtably be in, and once we get comfortable I want to see them go for each point. We proved that we can play at a very high level against Hamburg, taking a game off them, and the teams in this tournament will be arround that level, so the chances to get a game or two are deffinently there.
Cup match in Aalborg
Before we leave for France we are playing our 1st round in the Cup tournament. We play tuesday evening in Aalborg, and a big bonus for me this year is that living in Odensen only puts Aalborg 2.5 hours away.. :0)
Aalborg used to be a top4 team in Denmark, but over the last 3 years the lost a lot/all their main players, and has chosen to start over with a young team in the 2nd best leaque. The are always a very good home team, and without knowing much about their players, I expect a tough match since it will be our first against a Danish team. Focus will from us be on keeping errors to a minimum and get a good rythme in our offense.
It is a match we should win comfortably, but in the days where Tennis tour is at hte US Open let me say this; "with too many unforced errors, a junior player can beat you"
I am excited to get started on this busy week, it should be a good one..
"We are here because we want to be, we put in the time and make the sacrifices to become something better"
On court we still struggle with the organization in block/defence and the rythme in offense still needs a lot of work.
Off the court I am very proud of the girls and the hard work they put in to becoming a team. A few players are still finding their "role" on the team, and for the many young players it is that much more important to find their role and what they can contribute with for the team.
Leaving for France...
Wednesday evening we leave for France to play our last tournament before season starts. Being away together should be a good experience for the players, and there will be plenty of time to due teamwork and player-coach talks.
We have been placed in a group with a Belgian, a French and a Swiss team, and it will be exciting to compare our current level against theese more experienced teams.
I'm expecting the team to stick together in the tough matches we will undoubtably be in, and once we get comfortable I want to see them go for each point. We proved that we can play at a very high level against Hamburg, taking a game off them, and the teams in this tournament will be arround that level, so the chances to get a game or two are deffinently there.
Cup match in Aalborg
Before we leave for France we are playing our 1st round in the Cup tournament. We play tuesday evening in Aalborg, and a big bonus for me this year is that living in Odensen only puts Aalborg 2.5 hours away.. :0)
Aalborg used to be a top4 team in Denmark, but over the last 3 years the lost a lot/all their main players, and has chosen to start over with a young team in the 2nd best leaque. The are always a very good home team, and without knowing much about their players, I expect a tough match since it will be our first against a Danish team. Focus will from us be on keeping errors to a minimum and get a good rythme in our offense.
It is a match we should win comfortably, but in the days where Tennis tour is at hte US Open let me say this; "with too many unforced errors, a junior player can beat you"
I am excited to get started on this busy week, it should be a good one..
"We are here because we want to be, we put in the time and make the sacrifices to become something better"
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