We have reserved the Metro North Park Tops field for Junior Academy Girls practices each Friday morning in July. We call these our “Fridays / July Days” sessions. The sessions are optional “come if you can” events.
If your family is away on holiday, or your daughter has signed up to volunteer at a local animal shelter, don’t change those plans!
Quick links:
Player availability- About the sessions
- Player checklist
- July 7 review
- July 14 review
- July 21 review
- Past years’ sessions
Player availability:
July 23 update: We have enough players confirmed for Friday, July 28 to proceed with that session. If your daughter is available but you have not yet responded, please e-mail Ward by noon on Wednesday, July 26.
The advance July 28 weather forecast calls for dry and sunny skies, with temperatures in the high 70s through low 80s. (This is similar to our prior sessions.)
If bad weather is an issue, check our Junior Academy Girls Twitter feed after 8:15 AM Friday for a status update: https://twitter.com/nasajracadg. (You don’t need a Twitter account of your own to view our feed. You only need a web browser and an internet connection.)
About the sessions:
- Dates: Fridays in July (July 7, 14, 21, 28).
- Time: 9:00 – 10:30 AM.
- Place: Sessions will take place at Metro North Park on the TOPS field (the small artificial turf field to the right of the main entrance).
- Registration: If you have already registered your daughter for the Tophat Marietta Junior Academy Girls program, you only need to e-mail Ward to let him know which session(s) your daughter would like to attend. We request that you notify us by the Tuesday before each Friday session.
- Cost: $0.00. We accept effort and enthusiasm, but not cash, credit, debit or cryptocurrency.
We’ll start with tag-related dribbling games, followed by a mix of fast footwork activities (ball manipulation), balance and coordination activities, dribbling activities (ball control, changes of direction, changes of speed), plus 1-2 dribbling moves.
We’ll finish each session with scrimmages, with the main themes being “keep the ball” and “keep the ball moving” (for the player who has the ball), and “spread out” and “get your shape” (for her teammates).
Player checklist:
- Girls can wear any soccer gear — it doesn’t have to be official Tophat practice gear.
- Shin guards are required, and should be fully covered by soccer socks.
- No jewelry please.
- Each player should bring a soccer ball. (We use size 3 soccer balls in the Junior Academy age group.)
- Bring plenty of water with ice. If weather is sunny and hot, make sure you put your water jug in a shaded area.
July 7, 2023 session review:
We had a great turnout for our first Fridays / July Days session—17 players!
We started off with dribbling games, which worked on feet: ball control and changes of direction and/or speed; eyes: scanning the field for open space or targets; brains: using the information from the scans to make decisions about where to dribble. We mixed in some ball control and fast footwork activities.
We finished with 4v4 scrimmages. Thanks to the Academy big sisters for eagerly serving as captains (organizing the players into positions) and then playing as “no hands” goalies.
We saw a lot of attacking play during the scrimmages, and not too many random kickball moments. Players tried to keep the ball, which is our main theme for the fall season. Their collective spirit was positive and makes us optimistic about the group’s potential!
More thanks: We thank Mother Nature for bringing some clouds and cooler temperatures. After a very hot week, she kept the thermometer in the upper 70s. And most of all, special thanks to the parents for coordinating their schedules to get the kids to an early morning play date!
Photos and video:
- Group photos: https://wcs3.smugmug.com/NASAJrAcadG/2023-Summer/2023-Fridays-July-Days-optional-practices/i-kNcnZgX
Play at home links:
We have a library of “play at home” activities, with short video demos and written descriptions. If your daughter likes playing at home, here are links to age-appropriate activities she can try:
- Ball control and fast footwork: https://www.nasaacademygirls.org/playing-at-home/
- Dribbling: https://www.nasaacademygirls.org/playing-at-home/dribbling/basics/
- Dribbling games: https://www.nasaacademygirls.org/playing-at-home/dribbling/games/
July 14, 2023 session review:
We had another good turnout with 13 girls attending.
We started off with a variety of dribbling games. These games help develop ball control, changes of direction and changes of speed, plus they help develop field vision(locating open space, and getting away from crowds.
Today’s dribbling moves: moves that start with a pull touch
We introduced four specific dribbling moves:
- pullback turns
- pull-push stop and go moves
- front V-pull moves
- reverse V-pulls (also called behind the back V-pulls, or pullback Cruyffs or squeeze Cruyffs)
Each of these moves starts with a pull touch. Click any of the links above to view demo videos and descriptions of the moves. These moves serve more as “escape” moves (getting out of traffic to find open space in any direction), not as penetration moves (where you try to get behind a defender who is between you and the goal).
Purpose of these moves:
Today’s moves are well suited to dealing with a defender who is standing directly in front of you. (Exception: the pull-push works best when a defender is to your side, also called “on your shoulder.”) Many young players will try to go through a defender who is directly in front of them.
Other than Halloween, when the defender may be a ghost, trying to go through a defender doesn’t usually work. Why? Because there are bones and shin guards blocking the path forward. So it’s important for players to know some moves that will help them find (or create) open space away from the defender.
We finished with 4v4 scrimmages with no goalkeepers.
Photos and video:
- Group photos: https://wcs3.smugmug.com/NASAJrAcadG/2023-Summer/2023-Fridays-July-Days-optional-practices/i-jzRcv66
July 21, 2023 session review:
We had another good turnout—a dozen girls attended even with an iffy weather forecast. It appears that Mother Nature heard the girls wanted to play, and she granted their wish by delaying storms until after our session. Many thanks to Mother Nature! She’s done us a bunch of favors over the years.
Some of the girls were wearing new practice shirts, so our uniform supplier (Soccer.com) also earns a thank you.
We reviewed V-pull dribbling moves that we introduced last week, and introduced a new set of dribbling moves called twist-off turns. (They are also known as shielding turns and spin turns.)
Click either of the links above to view demo videos and descriptions of the moves.
On the tactical side (game sense, decision making), we introduced the idea that every player has a role in attack and defense. For example, if you are attacking and lose the ball, you need to quickly get between the ball and your team’s goal (we call this “getting goalside) so you can slow the other team down and give your teammates time to join you in defending.
Or if your team wins the ball from the opponent, you need to spread out so you can create open space you can attack, instead of just dribbling straight into pressure.
Birthdays rule!
We love to celebrate birthdays! We celebrated a player’s birthday today with two types of treats: donuts and pre-wrap. Pre-wrap? A mini lesson in instant vs. delayed gratification. The girls loved the donuts—yummy! But donuts won’t help them keep their hair out of they eyes. Pre-wrap’s not so secret talent is serving as a quick headband / hairband so the girls’ eyes can feed visual info to their brains, which helps them make smart decisions.
Photos and video:
- Group photos: https://wcs3.smugmug.com/NASAJrAcadG/2023-Summer/2023-Fridays-July-Days-optional-practices/i-bWX257n