Brandon had a good showing here in Spain. There were times he loses focus on his defensive shape, but he's worked hard and improved so much.
You can always rely on his strength and played consistent throughout the week. I'm proud of Brandon's growth and that he's finally gaining and understanding of the relationships on the field and how important it is to stay connected.
Marshall played on the wing, and created a couple of goal scoring opportunities. He's definitely grown as a player and come out of his shell a bit. We were teasing him yesterday about his weird hand positions, and joined in the jokes with us. I hope he'll take this experience and continue to build from it.
Everyone loves Marshall and cheers him on. He's made an impression on everyone by his thoughtfulness and good attitude and how hard he fights on the field.
James remained as right outside back, and played a great game. I received so many compliments on the way he played from Kevin Schoensee. He liked his style.
James really showed his strength this trip. All the boys loved him, and I know he always made me laugh. He played a position he's not familiar with, and was solid. He played every minute here in Spain, and I hope he's learned the value of leadership.
Alex had one of the toughest jobs on the team. He was relied upon to be the main communicator. Today he played a defensive center mid, which is a new position to him, but he probably played his best game. He made sure the team moved together and filled the gaps defensively when necessary.
Like I said, Alex showed tremendous progress these past two weeks. His touch has improved, his understanding of the game has improved, and he truly values this experience.
Gianni scored again today on a corner kick, and the team played so well as a whole. The defensive held the shutout, and the boys walked away with a win here in Spain. They ended up running this team into the ground, as it seems the players here are so amazing technically, but lack in fitness. The past month and hard trainings last week really payed off this game, and it showed.
The boys made a shirt for Harold, who was unable to come on the trip. They've really come together and become a team in such a short period of time.
These past two weeks have sort of felt like two months, and I feel like these boys have matured so much, and I hope they bring this experience back home to their team.
After the match we headed back to the hotel for lunch. Gross pasta again. I cannot wait to get back home and away from "cafeteria like" food. I'm getting lunch and Hu Hot!
In the early evening, we headed back to Madrid for a few hours. I wish they would have given us more time. When I come back, I'm going to make sure we get a little more time to enjoy the cities we visit. The boys were also excited to enjoy Starbucks once again.
We ended the evening back at the food court by our hotel, where Neil and I had to enjoy one last trip to Haagen-Dazs. Together we're the ice-cream dream team.
I've loved being able to spend a little bit of time with the boys each day to stay in their heads. Today's question:
Sly: "It's the last day of the trip... what do you think you've learned the most?" "What was your favorite part of this whole trip?"
Marshall: "Passing the ball around on the ground and moving and all that." "Favorite part was winning against the Spanish team."
James: "Discipline." "My favorite part was Santiago. Visiting the Real Madrid Stadium."
Alex: "I learned how to receive out of the air better. I'm better at that than I was before, so I don't know how to describe that as like... 'learning.' What did I learn??? I learned a LOT."
Sly: "What do you think is the biggest thing that's changed about your game?"
Alex: "The different ways to communicate, like the way I communicated as a center back." "My favorite part about the trip... can I say two?"
Sly: "Yes."
Alex: "Okay, so like... just kind of being like with the Utah people and joking, and all the jokes we got, you know... all the fun laughs and jokes we had. And then... But like the professionalism. How professional it felt going to the locker rooms to get ready. And it felt professional riding the busses around, I liked that a lot."
Again... I know I'm a broken record, but I'm so thankful for this experience and a quality group of boys to share it with and to bring back to our club. To answer my own questions, the things I've learned the most is that I need to trust my instincts more. I'm really doing everything right, and I need to always have that confidence in myself and not sell myself short. I've learned a new approach to educating players, which is all "A" Course material, and I've learned that even though less is more... sometimes more is better in the long run. My favorite part of the trip is the connections I've made with new people, and the boys I brought. I loved the downtime with Neil and Nikki, where we could joke around and make each other laugh. I loved the time where I got to wander around the cities with the Utah boys and like Alex said, have our own jokes, and I loved listening to the Real Madrid coaches talk and encourage the boys to open up to different styles of play. Of course the Spanish style is very possession oriented, which is how I like my teams to play.
"Your body hears everything your mind says."
-Naomi Judd
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