To Galvanize the Generals

On March 20th I head out from Golden to work with the SC soccer program.  Not the programs in Columbia, SC or the one in Southern California, all very good programs.  I am headed to Sheridan College, to spend time with Tim Starr and his squad.  On the six hour drive up to Sheridan, WY, I pass more wildlife than cars to include thousands of antelope, many hawks, some mule deer and a couple of eagles.  Arriving just before a beautiful sunset behind the Big Horns.

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On the morning of the 21st I meet the team for the training at Sheridan HS before the sun comes up.  The field is turf, coated with a thin layer of frost and the stadium lights on and everyone is eager to get started for their first training after spring break. The Sheridan College team has had one spring match and is looking forward to a second match versus D2 opposition again on Saturday.  During this session I am mainly observing to see what the strengths and weaknesses of the team might be and how the team responds to the training ideas of Coach Starr.

The team ends training with some 6v6 action with the feeling that all are glad to be back playing and that there are better days ahead for the Generals.   Tim and I spend the rest of the day exchanging ideas about what the student athletes need and how to help them reach their potential.  We discuss the areas that need to be covered in the next 2 trainings and how we want to approach getting the team involved in their leadership.  We have a very good first day and Tim has his team headed in a good direction.

Day 2 we are again out on the turf stadium but this time the sun has just come up.   We are working on increasing the energy going into attack with numbers and still having those numbers coming back to defend.  We finished with some ideas in a 7v7 to manage the match situation.

After a great Wyoming wake up breakfast Tim and I work together on evaluating what needs to be done before Saturday’s match and the Culture areas we should cover to build for the fall.

Day 3 we are again out on the turf just after sunrise for the training to prep for the match.  I take them through a fun and thinking warm up and then Tim takes the team for training exercises to ready them for the next days match.  The rest of the day Tim shows me what they do with the Playertek GPS monitors and then we make plans for the player meeting using ideas from “What Drives Winning” by Brett Ledbetter and from Glen Fisher and his Peripheral Vision company.

We have a good meeting with the guys about building for the fall and 2 of the areas they agree to make a focus are discipline and being unselfish.  These areas would be very important in the Saturday match.

Match Day begins with a 3 hour drive.  The team gets ready quickly and the match begins on a smallish turf field with a 20 mph wind against the Sheridan College team.

Stephen Hawking said “Intelligence is the ability to adapt”

Tim Starr coach of the Generals is showing a great deal of intelligence as by the end of the match only 5 players are where they were originally set out to play and he has had to totally change the system of play because of injury and lack of numbers.  In the end playing with the 2 reserve GKs as forwards, the team earns a hard fought draw.  The team took a good step forward as they showed discipline and were unselfish in their play as all of the team had to do what the team needed even if it meant them taking on an unfamiliar role.

Galvanize- to shock, excite, or motivate into action.

In our beginning work together BDE, Coach Starr and the student-athletes of the Sheridan College Mens Soccer Team are Galvanized to get better everyday.

Brad, what do you think?

Every team wants to be making progress for the individual players, for the upcoming season and for the program.  The Sheridan College Mens Soccer team and Coach Tim Starr are laying a good foundation brick by brick.