Saturday, November 16th - 10 hours

One of the weird things that occurred when the birth year cut off got changed is this awkward year when half the team is still in eighth grade and half the team are freshmen in high school. When this happens, the season still starts before the end of high school season and teams just pick up guest players from the year below them to suffice until the rest of the team returns. When they do return, they dynamic of the team is always different because the freshmen think they are "big high schoolers" now. From what I've seen, it's easier for the boys teams than the girls. Guys seem to accept a pecking order better than girls do. Girls also tend to develop more toxic habits when this division occurs. This develops into cliques that create tension within teams that can occasionally ruin a team that used to be good. Guys are more individual-minded so even if someone does develop bad habits or traits, they can focus on the task at hand still rather than being sucked into drama.

One of the teams I watched today has the potential to do really well, but today their trash talk got in the way of how well they could have really done. I feel like if you're going to be continuously talking all game long, you have to have the skills to back it up. Many don't. It also is a huge turn off as a coach when good players aren't humble and toot their own horn. Being confident is great and his how the good players get even better, but there is a fine line between confidence and ridiculous.

Last week, two of Julio's kids were messing around that escalated into them (as one interpreted it) fighting. One boy pushed another into a goal post splitting his eyebrow. Before Julio was out of the parking lot, he was being called by the injured boy's dad. As a result of how the injured player interpreted the situation, the other one was suspended for two games for fighting. The boy handled it as maturely as a person could expect him to, but Julio wasn't happy about it. He said the one that got suspended is a pretty good kid and even friends with the other boy. It was frustrating that the dad took things to the level that he did, but for PR purposes the discipline had to occur.

Can't focus on skill and trash talk. Consequences of choices, pushing kid into goal post