We finished the regular conference games this weekend extending our unbeaten run to 11 games. We have only conceded 6 goals in the last 10 games, so our defense deserves a lot of credit.

When I say our defense, I should really say our defensive play. We have to defend from all positions all over the pitch and the hardwork our forwards put in pressurising the opponents in our attacking third deserves as much credit as the defenders working hard in and around our penalty box.

Wow, we are having a great season. The stats show this is the best season for this team since 1995! We are currently enjoying a 6 game unbeaten run with 4 wins and 2 ties.

I have learned a tremendous amount this season so far and I am sure over the remaining 5 games of the regular season I will learn some more very valuable lessons.

After losing on Wednesday 1-0 away from home, we decided to dedicate Thursday and Friday's practices to shooting and finishing...boy did that idea pay off!!!

We played away against a school who had a record of 19 wins and 1 loss against us over the last 10 years. In that time we only scored a total of 4 goals to their 80 goals!

So, soccer can be a cruel game and it can also have the last laugh as we demonstrated on Saturday. The players went from feeling like they were on the top of the world, to feeling like they had been ripped off by the tooth fairy!

We played a team we were more than capable of beating. Very close contest, matched each other exactly in shots and corners, they had 31 fouls, we had 10, so maybe that was a factor.

OK, so we are now on our official 48hour countdown to our first game on Thursday. Today we had a decent practice, working on our midfielders and finishing.

We had to cancel tonight's practice due to the fires here in L.A. so we had a chalk and talk session regarding attacking set plays.

Here are some useful facts about attacking set plays:

1.

Ok, so we are now well into our pre season training and the team is looking good. I gave the players the rest of the day off today as they are looking a little beaten up.

The shape of the team is coming together and our starting line up is beginning to emerge.

Today we worked on our midfield play both attacking a defensively.

OK, we just completed our second day of pre season soccer training.

Here is the format:
8.15am-10.30 Practice #3 Topic, Running with the Ball and Beating Players

1.00pm-2.00pm Team Meeting #3

2.30pm-4.30pm Practice #4 Topic, Crossing and Finishing

7.00pm-8.00pm Team Meeting #4

The format for the team meetings were as follows:

Housekeeping
Review of the previous practice including Key Points
Briefing on the upcoming practice
Watch 20 minutes of a tape of Man Utd's Treble Winning Season 1998-99

I can outline the practice plans for both of the above, simply send me an email and I will share them with you.

Firstly I want to apologise for the lack of posts over the last month or so. I have had a very busy summer and I have had some health issues to deal with as well.

I am now back fully in the swing of things and this time of year I am doubly focused on soccer. The English Premier League has recently kicked off and alongside that, my college soccer team reported for pre season training yesterday and we had our first practices today.

In order to control the soccer ball successfully every time here are the 5 Easy Steps:

1. DECISIONS:

TO CONTROL OR NOT TO CONTROL?

Before you attempt to control the soccer ball, decide if you even need to control the ball in the first place.

Here are the 5 important steps to beating a player in soccer:

1. ANGLE OF APPROACH

As the player with the ball approaches the defender, he needs to look for the space he wants to exploit. Remember to dribble with the head up. Then the player attacks the defender with such an angle of approach away from the desired space so that he makes the desired space even bigger.

OK, so we now have World Cup Qualifiers to watch over the next few days. Some of them will be great games, some of them will be a formality. All of them present us with opportunities to learn more about the game so that we can take this new found knowledge onto the practice field.

Here are my Top 5 Things to look for in a soccer game:

1.

OK, so this was a pretty good game, got off to a great start with the fastest goal in FA Cup history, 26 seconds from Saha.

Let's compare how Chelsea reacted to this setback to how Manchester United reacted when Barcelona scored early on in the Champions League Final. Manchester United crumbled, their players hid and shirked responsibility and the rest is history.

Looking forward to the final game of the season tomorrow, the English Football Association Challenge Trophy, more commonly called "The FA Cup." This is the oldest domestic cup competition in the world.

Every team in England competes in the competition with the professional teams being introduced to the latter stages.

I just had to let you know about this as soon as possible.

Ever heard of the book and the movie, "The Secret?" Remember how it suddenly took the world by storm and taught people how to think better, how to take control of their lives and totally change how people managed their lives, remember "Thoughts Become Things?

I have been asked many times by players of all ages and abilities. "How Can I Improve My Soccer Skills." Well, the old saying still applies, "Practice Makes Perfect." The great thing about soccer is that you don't need any expensive equipment or a coach or teammates to help you get better.