Headline News
Zoe Morse (TNT 97 Girls Red) was invited to participate with the Region II 97 ODP Team at the Thanksgiving Interegional ODP Event in Boca Raton, FL. Zoe was one of 18 players that were selected to attend this event. Zoe was also one of three players that were asked to play up a year for region II. Zoe is actually a 1998 birth year.
Earlier this past Fall, Zoe was also selected to attend the US U14 National ID Camp in Oregon. Zoe spent over a week training with the top 1997 birth year players in the United States. Again, Zoe participated in this camp playing up a year.
The Thanksgiving Interegional event brings together the ODP Regional Teams from the four regions in the United States. Region I is the Northeast, Region II is the Midwest, Region III is the Southeast, and Region IV is the West.
TNT is very proud to have Zoe represent the club, the state, the region, her family and herself at this event. It is a pretty unique experience. Zoe was kind enough to write down some of her thoughts as she went through this event. Zoe perfomed well and as a result has been extended an invitation to attend the next Region II event in Costa Rica in early 2012.
Congratulations Zoe and thank you for giving us the inside perspective into Interegionals!
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Zoe Morse (1997 Region II ODP Team) |
Zoe with Roommates |
Zoe with Coach John |
Thanksgiving Interegional Event
1997 Region II ODP Team
Boca Raton, Florida
by Zoe Morse
Day 1, 11/19/11:
We just boarded the plane and we are waiting to take off. Last night we stayed in a hotel and woke up at 3:30am this morning to get to the airport. It is now 6am. We should get to New York by 7:45am and then onto Ft. Lauderdale at about 2pm. I never saw our schedule so I don't know what I will be doing the rest of the day!!
--
Now we are on our way to Ft. Lauderdale. We had about a 2hr delay in NYC because something was broken on the plane. We are finally in the air and only about 2hrs away from Boca Raton!!
--
We arrived around 5:30pm. I was picked up at the baggage claim by our head coach, John Carter. We then took a van to our hotel. We had dinner, which was salad and seasoned chicken. After we just relaxed and hung out in other peoples’ rooms and watched TV, talked, played games, etc. We had our first team meeting as well. The main points were:
1. Respect everyone around you.
2. Become a better soccer player
3. Preparation: Diet, Sleep
4. Communication with everyone.
5. Be a soccer player and not a positional player.
6. Accept diversity.
7. Be able to accept failure and move on.
Day #2, 11/20/11:
My roommates and I just got back from breakfast and our coach stopped us to tell us we ate too fast. His advice was: "Sit down. Eat. Read the paper. Do something, but don't eat and run." He said that our days would turn out better. Off to training!
--Training:
I enjoyed this training session. It took a while to get used to the heat, but then it started to sprinkle. It felt good! At the beginning we did English passing, but it was very strict. Coach John told us which foot to play it to and it really pushed me to improve. Then we played straight possession for about 15 minutes. After that we went almost a full game, except one team’s goal was an end zone. We played that for the remainder of the time. I played center back. It kind of freaked me out! Once I got comfortable I thought I handled it pretty well. Coach Corbin (Stone) gave me some tips on how to stay connected:
1) Always talk to the outside backs about staying in close.
2) Drop off and give support when the outside back has the ball.3) Step so that there is only 40-50 yards between the backs and the forwards.
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After training we went and watched the '95 Region II team play Region I. At first I noticed the technical skills of the players. Then our coach started to talk to us about what they could do better. He had us watch the players in our positions. We found that their outside backs were always too wide or just not connected with the center backs. We also saw that their lines were very disconnected. They all were very spread apart and left way too much room for the attacking team to penetrate. Region II was down 1-0 at half when we left.
--
Scrimmage vs 96's:
Lost 4-0. I started as center back. I thought I did a good job of:
1) Stepping in to intercept.2) Talking with my backs.
3) Stepping when needed.
I thought I could improve on:
1) Decision making through the back.2) Getting forward.
In the second half I switched to holding mid. It made me more comfortable and it allowed me to expand my game. I thought I did a good job of:
1) Pulling the ball back to calm the play.2) making short passes to open it up.
I thought I could improve on:
1) Longer balls.2) More accurate passes.
3) Always trying to get the ball back.
I thought our team did pretty well for not having played together.
--Psychologist Session, Max.
Questions that were asked of us:
1. What do you want to be known as?2. What are the things that you carry around? Beliefs? Values? Goals?
After every training session or game, write down what you did well. Write details and paint a picture.
Day #3, 11/21/11:
Game #1:
Our Pregame Goals:
Attacking - When we have the ball, stay connected and make it look like soccer. With out the ball, getting into the attack. Always working to get the ball.
Defending - Stay connected. Keep it small so they have to go around and not through. Communication, keep it short. Transition, get into shape quickly.
Mentally - Confront adversity, the weather, positions. Listen to what the game says.
--
Postgame:
Things I did well:
1) Stepping into challenges.
2) Switching the point of attack.
3) Dribbling to draw pressure then dishing it off to the outside.
Need to do better:
1) Talking to outside players to stay in and also when to step.
2) Slowing people down in the middle with the ball.
--
Coach Comments:
Stay calm. Don't rush the pass. Defend intelligently.
He said that I have a strong defensive presence. I hold very well and I should step up as a leader.
Day #4, 11/22/11:
Training #5:
In the morning we woke up and had breakfast at 8am. Then we went to watch the 94's. Their play is so fast and strong! It was really fun to watch. Then we came back and had lunch.
--After lunch we did a community service project. We made baby blankets!!! They are going to the children’s hospital.
--
We head to training at 4pm. It was a pretty light training, probably because we have a game tomorrow. We started out by doing English passing just like our first training with the specific foot. Then we played 4v4 with end zones for the rest of the time. All of the teams played in a diamond formation and I was always the holding player.
There was this one great play where the other team was sprinting at me as the ball was being played to me. I took one touch passed her and played the long ball behind all of the defenders and into the end zone to one of my teammates. It felt perfect.
At the very end the coach told us the starting line up for tomorrow's game. I am starting at center back. I have thought it over and I think I am ready to do well.
Day #5, 11/23/11:
This morning we got up around 7am and went to breakfast at 7:30am. After that we went to watch the 96's play for a little bit. I noticed that they always had support when they were on the ball.
Game #2:
I started as center back. I switched to outside back midway through the first half. I switched to holding mid for the entire second half.--
Postgame:
We won 5-2! I had two assists. Our coach said that he was proud of our performance. He said that it was good that we came back from a 0-1 deficit, but that we needed to come out strong from the start. When we were walking off the field, another coach pulled me aside and told me that he was proud of me for calming the game down when we were up. That made me feel good!
--The Beach! After the game we came back to the hotel and showered and then went to the beach. It felt soo good! We went in the water and laid out. I took a ton of pictures.
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Thanksgiving!! From the beach we came back to the hotel and got ready for Thanksgiving. Then we went outside to take pictures with all of our teammates. Then we went to the big dining hall. Thanksgiving was kicked off by a coach from the national team staff. He had us do a yodeling song. It was kinda weird! Then we got to eat!! The food was pretty good. There was stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, ham, turkey, salad, and cranberries. The best part was the dessert though! It was so good! It was chocolate cake. Then after Thanksgiving we just chilled in our rooms.
We had Thanksgiving dinner a day early because the older girls are leaving on Thursday.
Day #6, 11/24/11:
Today we woke up at 7am and went to breakfast at 7:30am. Then we went to watch the 94's game at the Florida Atlantic University field. They were winning 1-0 when we left. We came back to the hotel and relaxed for about an hour. I had my individual meeting with one of the coaches then. I came away from the meeting with some very good points. They said that my best position has been as a holding mid!
--Movie! We went to go see "Breaking Dawn." It was really fun!
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Night! We had to get all packed tonight! I can't believe that it's almost over!!! We had a meeting at 9pm where they gave us our flight information and stuff. Fortunately I get to ride with my Mom. After our game we are coming back to the hotel to shower and have our rooms checked. I am so tired. I am starting out at holding mid in the morning though, so I am excited!
Day #7, 11/25/11, Last Day!:
I can't believe it's the last day!! We had breakfast at 7am this morning and we are leaving for the fields at 8am.
Here are my goals for the game: Attacking - 1) Be more urgent. 2) Attack more. Defending - 1) Slow the people down in the middle of the field. Mentally - 1) Pay attention to the little hints to what the other team is doing.
We are playing region IV and I have heard they are really good! But we are going to be good too.
--Postgame:
I played holding mid the whole game. Some things that I thought I did well were: Being more urgent, attacking on the dribble, and deciding when to go forward. Some things I thought I could have done better are: Keeping defensive shape, Taking my teammates advice, taking shots earlier.
After the game our coach told me that he was very happy with how I played. He said that a person from the national team staff requested to see me play in the holding mid role. I hope I did well!
Thank you again to Zoe for giving us a week in the life at Interregionals. Congratulations. Keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing!
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