Surprises are Fun
When you get to be my age it’s not often that you are finding and/or creating new favorites any more. I know what I like and I’ve seen a lot, so there aren’t too many surprises. Which I admit is sad, because surprises are fun. That said, I completely unexpectedly experienced my favorite soccer moment ever recently and so I have to tell you about it…
The context here is that every winter the now u13 girls play in a futsal tournament called the SuperCup and every winter we lose in the final to a team from Springfield. This year looked to be no different when we lost again to them in pool play. While we did win enough games in the opening rounds to earn a rematch in the final, expectations were low because our goalie and another starter couldn’t be there and another player had to sit out with a broken foot. In fact, we almost forfeited because it looked like we wouldn’t even have enough players to play. But we cobbled together numbers and another player volunteered to play in goal despite having limited experience doing so. Suffice it to say that Vegas hadn’t installed us as favorites.
In the huddle after the warm up but before the game I said, “Guys, I know we’re nervous. But let’s just take this chance to have fun and get better. And if we get [the goalie] out of here without a broken nose from getting hit in the face with the ball, let’s call that success.”
That made them smile.
“So be attentive. Match their energy and effort. And stay in front and block their shots to set [the goalie] up for success.” Then we talked about switching formations to play man-to-man defense for the entire game, which is a big ask from an effort standpoint, but was the system that would give us the best shot at being competitive.
The game started and we promptly scored to go up 1-0. Big smiles. But then we did have a few inevitable miscues near our goal and the half ended with us losing 1-3. Yet we were in the game working hard and having fun.
The second half started and the girls’ effort level went through the roof. The other team couldn’t get through or around us, and we were blocking shots or forcing shots from distance that our goalie with limited experience – to her immense credit for stepping up – handled. Then we scored off a corner. 2-3.
I called timeout to give them a rest and said, “Keep it up. Also, their goalie is off her line so if you get a chance to shoot from distance, take it.”
The game resumed and we got a steal. Our player took a dribble forward and then unleashed an inswinger from mid-court that beat the goalie, deflecting in off of the bottom of the crossbar. Tie game. What a shot. Wow. The gym was loud and there were about five minutes left. The ref comes over to tell both coaches that if the game ends in a tie, there will be a five-minute sudden death overtime followed by penalty kicks if that ends in a tie.
A minute later one of our defenders stepped forward and intercepted a pass their goalie was trying to make. She slammed it in. 4-3 and holy cow.
Now the other team called timeout and changed formations to chase a goal, which they ended up scoring with 20 seconds to go. But we were still having fun. Then the overtime went by with no goals so the game was headed to PKs – and us with a goalie with limited experience.
If you were around last season, then you know that I have spent a lot of time thinking about PKs in the context of soccer, but also life and work. They keys to success are to:
Have a repeatable process.
Don’t be a forced actor.
Prepare for stress.
The vibe in the huddle was incredibly positive. One of the girls made a joke about the goalie breaking her nose and another expressed mock outrage at another for losing the game of rock paper scissors that decided who got to pick who shot first. So we didn’t seem stressed. I picked our shooting order and told the goalie to just make herself as big as possible and trust her instincts. Then I was surprised to learn from the referee that we would be shooting first. Despite winning rock paper scissors the team from Springfield decided to shoot second.
Now, there’s some conventional wisdom out there that shooting second is the smart choice because then the shooter knows for sure what she needs to do. But I don’t think knowing what you need to do has any impact on skill or effort, but instead serves to increase stress. And since most PK misses are not saved, but rather shots that miss the net, doing anything to increase stress on your shooter is a dicey proposition.
In the first round, we made ours and then our goalie with limited experience saved theirs. We’re up 1-0. Then both teams made it. Then we missed and they made. Then both teams made it. So it’s 3-3 and coming down the last round. Our player stepped up and made it. Their player stepped up knowing she absolutely had to make the kick or lose…not looking like she was having much fun…and slammed her shot off the post.
I don’t mean to keep holding up a u13 girls soccer team as a teaching tool for life and work, but I love this story and think it illustrates a few simple things you can do to create massive competitive advantages:
Show up (we didn’t forfeit).
Work hard (if the effort is there, the results will follow).
Set others up for success (and your own will take care of itself)
Have fun (and enjoy the people you work with).
Do that and surprising things can result. And surprises are fun.
See you Friday.
– Tim
