Oak Ridge U-14 club plays to its strength
THE SOCCER CLUB OF OAK RIDGE U-14 BOYS TEAM
SCOR claimed the title late last month, culminating a year of rebuilding and altering its style of play.
“I took over the team this time last year and a lot of the kids were behind, and we built a lot in a short time,” SCOR U-14 Coach Sean Moua said. “We invested into summer training on mechanics and methodology, and skills in technique.
“The full season focused on team play, discipline, accountability and bravery to attack and defend while losing the ‘I’ mentality to building a winning team culture.”
These days, youth soccer emphasizes possession play. But that wasn’t a strength for this team.
“Because youth soccer focuses on ground ball and possession, tactics at which we were under par, we utilized the strength of our players, we leveled the playing field with aerial play,” Moua said.
The team had lofty goals after the fall season, but things got off to a rocky start in the spring.
“After the fall season, our team goal was to win the TSL trophy (the state league championship cup), we trained outdoors in the cold and rain,” Moua said. “And we played two sessions of indoor till spring.
“But our spring season started rough with inconsistent performances, learning curves as they say, but we managed to win. Our soccer IQ grew and we became more proactive than reactive.”
SCOR also played high school teams and had some struggles at times.
But the team would persevere.
“I saw one consistent and most valuable skill emerge, their resilience and resolve in defeat,” Moua said. “They came together with more focus than ever.”
Now with a state championship in hand, the building will continue.
“Right now, all our players are full of passion and commitment to the game,” Moua said. “They are taking responsibility for their own development, playing pickup games on their own when I’m not available.”