JV Mites - Week One

First game, 90+ degrees, league weigh-in, 75% rookies, and the end of 24 practices with out a game, ended in a tough 14-6 loss. All in all it was a solid team effort and a promising start, despite the outcome. And at this age, the W's are the point. Which is as it should be. The kids are here to learn and to get better. To this point, that is what they have done.

I had one set of parents tell me that we were doing a wonderful job with the kids and really appreciated the time we took with their son in particular. As a coach, that was very rewarding to hear. They were a bit worried about their son because he wasn't the strongest player and didn't like to hit. But he makes progress every practice.

I had another Dad approach me after practice, asking "what do you do with a kid that just doesn't seem to be getting it?" I told him a lot of the same things that I told the other set of parents, that all the kids are making progress everyday. And that's the truth. Some are making more progress that others. I told him not to worry about the position his son was playing now, that changes happen all the time. We try to find the kids' strength and then put them into positions to succeed. I told them they all stare off into space at some point and tune us out. They are 8. We keep at all the kids and work with them. They end up making progress. He felt better after our talk. And after our game, we talked again. I asked his son if he had fun. "Yes." I asked the father if he had fun. "Yes, we had a ball." Mission accomplished.

Game Notes: Our rookie QB played flawlessly. No fumbled snaps from a rookie center. Our rookie Tailback who was having a breakdown worrying about forgetting plays, not only ran to the right hole every time but scored the only touchdown. The Thunder and Lightning (Caz) show lived up to the hype. Thunder averaged 5 yds a carry pounding the ball in the middle. Lightning got bottled up a bit in the first half, with the defense staying home and limiting him to 12-15 yds on 3 carries. He hit a home run, ripping off a 45 yard run to the 3, setting up the lone TD, on a counter left. (Can you tell that I am a proud Dad?) The defense actually played very well. The only two let downs were on the two TD's. Most importantly, all the kids played and they all had fun.