Hi all,
let me share my two cents for this matter.
First of all, I understand that I have not been joining you guys for the matches on Sunday due to my work commitments. I am truly sorry about it and hope you guys understand.
Secondly, I may appear to be joking all the time and may appear not serious most of the time I might say. It is not to make light of the whole situation, but rather, I believe that the atmosphere plays a part as well. If we are happy, we will be enjoying right?
We have not been playing together for too long on the pitch despite us having played together for some years already. However, I would like to say that sometimes, it is not winning that matters. Yes, to win is an added bonus but I feel that enjoying and playing to our potential is another matter. It sure feels good to win but what do we get from winning? Nothing right? Perhaps we feel too pressurized to win and that is why we try to over-do things sometimes. It is good to have desire to win but let us work together as a team and improve together.
I agree with what Jun Qiang has written. We need to have a unified direction. I would prefer us to play well and lose rather than to play like school kids and come out with a win. If we could think about it this way. It is easier for people to see your strengths and weaknesses than yourself. No one likes to hear negative aspects about themselves but I feel we need to be professional about this. I have been criticized before, Jun Qiang has told me off before, KS has given me advice, even Weirong too. But never once I took it personally. I do not have to agree with what they say, but keeping an open mind and having some food for thought would not hurt a bit.
What I really want to say is, understand why others are giving you advice and why several issues are brought up for discussion. If you choose to take it personally, it would not benefit everyone. No one would want to target anyone. We are a team, so lets hear each other's voices and more forward. This is what commitment is about. We commit to the same cause and we commit to improving together.
Given the time constraints and work commitments, I can understand if our meet-up sessions are short or we do not have the energy to last the full match. This would no doubt affect our fitness. However, if we make the effort, we can do it. I am doing my own running every Tues and Thurs. I understand my own limitations. I cannot run 10km like Jun Qiang at one go. But what I am doing is 3km every running session, working on my breathing and acceleration. The idea is not to be super fit but rather, being in shape. I do not think our team would mind if we can give a good 25 mins in a match as compared to a lacklustre 90 mins of ball-watching and non-involvement.
It all boils down to being committed. I am happy with this team because we do not take criticisms negatively. However, our understanding as a team needs some working on. As of right now, everyone is doing their own thing on the pitch. While I agree that training sessions would benefit greatly, there is a need to keep in mind the attendance. I propose to having our tactics written on this blog, with illustrations. We can scan a copy of our tactics so everyone could see them even if we miss the training sessions. If we can picture what our specific role is, I think it will be easier to execute. Of course it takes time to draw out and coordinate, but this is one avenue we could explore.
We are still not tactically-sound. We cannot depend on having a manager to draw out plays or plan training sessions for us. So I think it would be good if we could sit down and analyse what each person's strengths and weaknesses are and we plan our tactics accordingly. We could have several simulations where we could adopt for various matches and to adapt during matches when things are not working out.
Decision-making is another key area which I feel needs to be addressed. Everyone makes mistakes. But what is important is to learn from it. We may make a bad pass, over-dribble or miss a clearance. I think it is ok as long if we learn from it and not repeat the same mistake. We should improve our decision-making by understanding each and everyone's role. I am not saying the same persons will get to shoot all the time or who must stay in our half all the time. But rather, knowing what the situation demands for it. KS goes up once in a while for corners and free kicks or even counter attacks. It is easy to be caught up in the situation and everyone charges forward wanting to score. But we cannot have 11 players in our opponent's half right? If KS goes up then someone must cover him and be prepared to reat in the even of a swift counter attack. We must be ready to chase, slow down the opposition or even foul when necessary.
Therefore our tactics are important. We could plan like having 6 men going up, positioning in specific areas during attacks and who will stay back during corners. Of course there can be times where roles are changed as long there is communication between the parties. We know that we can play soccer, individually that is. It will be a great achievement if we could gel as one. And to do that, we need to have the commitment of every player. So perhaps another session of meeting up and discussing setplays and tactics would benefit us more instead of our pre-match talk 30 seconds before kick-off.
Pardon this long post, I was unaware that you guys met so I am voicing out some thoughts which I have. By the way, I am in the midst of changing my work schedule so I can join the matches on Sunday. But this would also mean my Saturdays will be burnt as I have to work either Saturday or Sunday. So I would not be able to join the Saturday sessions from May onwards.
Hope no one is offended by my thoughts. Not targetting at anyone, just something general. I am committed to this team and I will continue to do my best. Anyway, I look forward to the next match! Cheers!
Regards,
Sherman
