Pages on
Soccer
Hts and wts of players on
Brazil, Germany national soccer teams, and goalkeeping rules
notes:
table log of soccer
air-dribbling flight drill workouts
Dimensions of soccer field, goalie
habitats,
jpeg marked scale map of soccer field, notes on dimensions of field...
https://www.angelfire.com/ma/vincemoon/airattack.htm
jpeg marked scale map of soccer field, notes on dimensions of field...
https://www.angelfire.com/ma/vincemoon/airattack.htm
DATE |
RESULT/ACTIVITY |
COMMENTS |
BALL USED-ball
inflation
SHOES USED |
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Wednesday
August 29 07
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Produced a page re meal-times sleep-times and practice-times
for athletes |
I realized that I was in a state of confusion regarding question such as the amount of time that should separate practices from meals or bed-time. I did some research on the internet and came up with a page you can find at: https://www.angelfire.com/ma/vincemoon/practices_meals_for_athletes.htm. Looks like a typical practice routine
would be as follows: up 730 AM; breakfast 745-815; morning
practice 915-1130; lunch 1215-115; afternoon practice 300-500; dinner
600-700; evening practice (optional) 830-915; lights-out/in-bed 1115
PM.
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Thursday
August 30 07
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Swam 1300 yds in 30 minutes Investigated minute by minute structure of
soccer practices |
RE a Search for Info re the Minute-by-Minute Structure of Soccer Practices I did alot of searching on the internet,
hoping to find some info regarding how soccer practices are structured on
a minute-by-minute basis, and how this changes throughout the year and
throughout the season.
I could find surprisingly little info on the
subject; I found more re such practices for little kids as opposed to
adults. This tells me the coaches of the world are out of touch with each
other re the minute by minute structure of practices.
At the same time, with regards to what
little info I could find, the various sources were very similar in
doctrine to the point I suspected that one source was plagiarizing another
source without giving credit.
So I suppose that the soccer coaches are out
of touch with each other re the minute-by-minute structure of soccer
practices, and at the same time are adhering closely to what little
info is publicly available. Meaning there is reason to suspect
that the coaches are excessively unaware of, and
insufficiently influenced by, new and unusual minute-by-minute practice
plan structures, for example those adhered to by coaches in distant
localities.
My goal was to come up with info that would
help me to correct deficiencies in the minute-by-minute structure of my
own practices.
The general rule out there judging from
what little I could learn on the internet, appears to be that
before the practice there should be 15-30 minutes of jogging and
stretching.
My reaction to this, is that these minutes of
jogging and stretching cut into minutes that could be better used on other
activities; and, the kind of stretching they advocate is the kind
of stretching that the latest research shows actually slows sprinters down
instead of speeding them up.
Not only that, but IMHO, all this
stretching and jogging produces a player who cannot perform his tricks
unless he has gone through a lengthy warmup--whereas omitting such jogging
and stretching helps to produce a player who can perform his tricks
without a warmup--which is important, because often in soccer games, one
has to perform tricks without having a chance to warmup, or after one has
cooled down from whatever warmup one has received, or at a time when you
have not performed the trick in question for a long time.
Which reminds me that one of the internet
sources--I forgot which--said that players should learn how to perform
their tricks in game-like conditions featuring physical fatigue, because
the techniques a player develops are different when he has to perform
while fatigued as opposed to while well rested. Likewise you could
say that performing tricks without the benefit of any warm-up at all,
trains one in the art of performing tricks at times when in this way or
that one has not had a chance to warm oneself up for success in performing
the trick.
The fact is, that I have made great
strides in terms of being able to perform very difficult tricks, less than
5 minutes after my workout starts, without the benefit of any kind of
warm-up at all.
Seems to me, that if I simply go out and
perform whatever drill I am performing, the first few reps of the drill I
am performing are at least as good a warmup as merely jogging around like
a pack-animal. The first reps tend to be, naturally, somewhat slower and
clumsier than the subsequent ones. These first few reps can replace both
the stretching and the jogging advocated as warmup for
practices.
But I will admit there are exceptions--for
example henceforth I intend to before drills involving kicking the
ball, stretch by depressing the left toe to as low a level as possible
relative to the left heel.
Then there is the issue of the
cool-down. The word out there is that if you neglect the
cool-down period, you can end up afflicted with all kinds of stiffness and
soreness that impairs your performance in the next practice.
Well--I confess that I have been quite afflicted by such
post-practice soreness and stiffness, so I have decided to give
implementing a cool-down period a shot. The advice out there is that this
cool-down period should consist of jogging and stretching for approx
10 minutes.
While going through the internet literature
on the subject, a thought in my mind was: 'these soccer coaches go
on endlessly about how each of a million different activities produces
such wonderful benefits; but at the same time they forget that individuals
possess limited amounts of time and energy, and so therefore spending time
and energy on activity number one thousand uses up time and energy that
could be better spent on activity number ten thousand and three.
The point is, if all of these one million
activities are so great, then obviously there is a danger that
spending too much time on some activity will reduce the amount of time
that could be spent on some other activity that produces even greater
benefits in terms of soccer performance.
I could find lots of coaches extolling the
tremendous benefits to be obtained from each of a million actiivities such
as anaerobic training, aerobic training, ball drills, weightlifting,
stretching, plyometrics and on and on and on; but I found very
little re exactly when in a given practice, and in which practices during
the course of a season/off-season, and for how many minutes in a practice,
these one million different activities the coaches gush/enthuse about
should be performed.
Which tells me that coaches are basically
adhering to what they have read from the little info available re such
matters, or what they have seen coaches they respect/admire doing.
Which in turn tells me that there must be lots of room for
improvement in terms of how much of what blessed/glorious gushed/enthused
about activity is performed when in which practice.
At this point I intend to
procrastinate attempting to work activities such as weightlifting into my
practice schedule.
I came up with little info, despite utilizing
the considerable level of cunning I have builted up from executing tens of
thousands of search-engine searches on various subjects--but one thing I
can report is that a good old-fashioned library would be a better
place to look for info re the minute-by-minute structure of soccer
practices than the internet; simply watching respectably coached teams
practices would also be better than the internet.
At least I am now able to produce a list of
links related to the search for the info I was looking for on the
internet. The info returned by the search-engine links especially, can be
expected to change from month to month as the content listed by the search
engines changes to include new entries.
Here is the list of links produced as a
result of my attempts to find info re the optimal minute-by-minute
structure of soccer practices:
Bookmarks Re Minute-by-Minute Structure of Soccer Practices
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Saturday
Sept 1, 07
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Swam 950 yds in 27 minutes;
Studied Tactics in 'Championship
Manager'
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Tactics in Championship Manager 2007 (CM 2007) Personal Computer Soccer Games Simulation Software There is conditioning, the practice schedule,
the minute-by-minute structure of practices, the ball skills practiced in
the practices--and then there is tactics.
I previously learned much regarding what kind
of situations I as an aerial-dribbler-type player/individual should
prepare myself for through drills, as a result of learning via
various softwares, the skill of producing diagrams and animations
that represent soccer formations/plays.
My expectation is that eventually insights
gained into tactics through the study of tactics in CM 2007, will also
improve the level of wisdom I put into the design of
ball-skills-training-drills. My first move
in the chess-game that is the study of soccer tactics was to study tactics
in 'Championship Manager 2007' (CM 2007). My estimate was that CM 2007 would excel all other possible sources
of info with regards to soccer tactics; after studying tactics in CM 2007
I still believe in this estimate.
Games like CM 2007 are more expensive than
books; more money is put into them than is put into books; the total sales
of such games is greater than with books; the producers of such games have
a strong financial incentive to create a high quality tactics component
that accurately reflects soccer tactics in the world; the top talent
involved in the creation of games such as CM 2007 is better paid than most
soccer coaches, and is in many ways more skilled compared to most
soccer coaches.
NOTE: a program similar
to CM 2007 named 'Football Manager 2008' (http://fm08.footballmanager.net/en/article/100/index.html) is
scheduled to be released before Christmas 2007; 'Football Manager 2007'
(http://www.sigames.com/downloads.php?type=view&id=381) also
similar to CM 2007 is already out; and there exist a supposedly
North-American-oriented incarnation of CM 2007 which is named
'Worldwide Soccer Manager 2007' (http://www.sigames.com/downloads.php?type=download&id=374&file=462).
Apparently these games are all produced by SIGA and 'Football
Manager' is sort of 'Championship Manager' going by a new
name.
NOTE: CM 2007 can be a
program that is slow/difficult to get going to the point where it produces
the animated games you expect it to produce. It can be a scary and
frustrating affair trying to get your first game going with CM 2007 if you
do not know someone who knows how to play it. It would be wise to
arm yourself with patience hope and a calm temperament.
Problems with CM 2007:
Inexplicably apparently you MUST give a
hypothetical manager a name and some other characteristics before you
begin to use the game, this hypothetical manager is used to play the game.
You have to tell the program to do things of
the type that are usually done by (change-able) defaults in somewhat
similar programs.
In my experience with the trial version if
you choose to coach a national team, say England in a game against some
other nation CM 2007 will sort of get you half-way through the
process and then stop without officially notifying you that such games can
be played in the paid-for version but not in the demo version.
Setting up a game can take less than five
minutes but there are quirks such as the fact that in the process of
setting up a game one stumbles into, unbelievably, being forced to
answer a make-believe emails that you as coach in the CM 2007
recieve in order to proceed into playing the game--and it is
confusing as to which buttons expedite this process.
The beginning start-up screens can
temporarily freeze before the program succeeds in going on to produce a
game, giving you the impression that the game is so to speak broken and
will not work.
The help section leaves many matters
unanswered.
The somewhat amateurish look of the program
gives one the impression that it cannot actually do the things you expect
it to, or has serious defects, or is prone to dysfunction.
The game can only be used in full-screen-type
mode which can render buttons at the lower edge of the CM 2007 screen that
are used to perform essential tasks, almost invisible.
CM 2007 can be at times slow to perform
certain steps leaving one mystified as to whether it will actually perform
these steps that it is supposed to perform.
The first time a CM 2007 game is played out,
most of the minutes of the game are presented via text
descriptions as opposed to the movement of animated characters
representing players; then after this first run the entire game will play
in animation; but there was nothing I saw in the help section or elsewhere
to explain that this is the case.
Once a game has been played you cannot change
the tactics as you could before it was played so you might end up
ignorant of the fact that it is possible to customize team and individual
tactics in various ways; but I saw nothing in the help to inform me
regarding this.
In retrospect it is somewhat of an admirable
achievement that I was able to learn how to use this CM 2007 game without
knowing anyone who knows how to use it.
So beware, show patience.
Components of CM 2007
Tactics
1 Once you start the
preparations for a given game there is a tactics tab, the tactics page has
some tabs. At tactics-tactics, (or at tactics-set instructions-player
instructions) you can load any one of several formational
diagrams featuring preset run-arrows; these diagrams such as 4-3-3, 4-4-2
etc show the formation that your team will use in the game.
The players in the formation diagram are
named and numbered and can be moved about via click/drag in the
diagram to produce a formation somewhat different from the loaded
formation it is based on.
The preset run arrows show a spot
on the field or a team-mate a given player is supposed to tend to
dribble towards during the game.
Using right-click/drag you can draw run
arrows and feed arrows from players who for a given formation by default
do not have such arrows proceeding from them; by right-clicking on a
player you can open a dialog box allowing you to modify these lines.
You can click/drag
intersections and other points in the diagrams and the lines
connected to the intersections/points will stretch.
The feed arrows you can draw from
players in the formation diagram represent areas of the field and/or(?)
fellow players you want a player in the diagram to move the ball to.
Thus we see what
was hidden in the soccer-diagram-creating programs looked at previously,
which is that a fundamental of tactics is that run and feed lines are
drawn from the players in the formation. This
has practical application via taking screenshots of the diagram, and then
using these screenshots separately outside the program. Idea: assign each
player on one's team the name of a player on the team diagrammed in the CM
2007 game in order to render such screenshots optimally
useful.
NOTE: For a while I thought
that it was at least with the demo version not possible to add these run
and feed lines to a player in the formation diagram. The help section far
as I could tell did not explain this. I had to scour the net to find out
that you add these lines through right-click/drag.
It is supposed to be possible to save and
re-load both these diagrams and the games played using them.
2 By clicking on the name of a player
in the lineup in the tactics-tactics page (or at tactics-set
instructions-player instructions), you can give that player
individual instructions re various aspects of the game: Pass: mixed, direct, short, long, or team
(apparently 'team' means team passing instructions apply to the individual player)
Closing down -- stand-off, own-half-only,
always, or team
Tackling -- easy, normal, hard,
or team
Mentality -- normal, ultra-defensive,
defensive, attacking, gung-ho, time-wasting, or team
Cross-From -- mixed, from-deep, or byline Cross Aim -- mixed, near-post, centre, far-post, or
man
Cross Height -- mixed, low, or head-height
Long Shots -- yes or no
Run with Ball -- yes or no
Free Role -- yes or no
Hold Up Ball -- yes or no
In addition players can be instructed to behave in various ways on
set pieces such as corners, free-kicks and throw-ins.
NOTE: some of the terms are
mystifying to myself and probably many others but are not explained in the
CM 2007 help. I need to research the exact meaning of terms
such as: direct (as opposed to indirect) pass, closing down, stand off,
byline.
3 At tactics-set instructions-team
instructions teams in general can be instructed to behave in
various ways:
Passing -- mixed, short, long,
or direct
Closing Down -- stand off, own half
only, or always
Tackling -- easy ,normal,
or hard
Mentality -- normal, ultra-defensive,
defensive, attacking, gung ho, or time-wasting
And teams can be instructed to behave in
various ways on set pieces such as corners
free kicks and throw-ins
4 Once you hit the confirm button to
confirm your tactics you go to a 'team talk' page where you can do various
things:
You can choose from 4 different one-liner
speeches to give to your team as a whole
You can choose from 4 different alternatives
for a speech to give to each individual player
Re each player on the other team: you can
via-diagram, by clicking on opposing players in a diagram showing
both your players and the other team's players on the field,
tell your players, regarding each individual on the other
team to do one of five things: give him the normal treatment, take him on,
go in hard, intimidate, or close down. Icons that appear near
each targetted player on the other team tell you what kind of treatment
you have ordained for the given player.
NOTE: I need to research out the
exact meaning of these terms: take him on, go in hard, close
down.
You can by clicking on the
diagram choose from zonal, none, or man-to-man for each player on
your own team with regards to defense.
For man to man coverage for each match-up you
can choose between rough-up, loose, or tight coverage,
and draw lines connecting players on your team to players on the other
team to designate who will be marking whom. The color of these lines
reflect whether the marking of the player has been designated to be
rough-up, loose or tight.
Once you proceed to the next steps after
setting such marking instructions etc., before you start the game you can
edit other tactics but you cannot edit the stuff you did at the 'team
talk' page, regarding defense and how individual players on the other team
are targetted. However at half time you can revise the targettings
instructions etc. made at the 'team talk' page before the
game.
A practical application
is that you can use separate software to take screenshots (basically
photos of what is onscreen) showing diagrams featuring icons showing the
kind of treatment you have designated for each player on the other team
and the kind of defensive work you have designated for the players on your
team. Repeat idea: for this to work with the specific players on the team
you are coaching, give each player on your team a name corresponding
to the name of one of the players on the team you are coaching in the CM
2007 game.
I never saw tactical diagrams of the type you
find at 'team-talk' in CM 2007, in all the years I have had an interest in
soccer.
General Note: You can see what a competent technical writer I am in this
log entry (the pro tech writers revise their work via lots of drafts, this
is just one draft proofread twice). As a matter of fact on the verbal
section of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) taken by the most
ambitious US college graduates, my score was higher than the score of 95
percent of the test takers. Nevertheless seems you can count on
employers to be mindlessly obsessed with credentials, experience, and the
hiring of persons whom the rude label as 'dorks'. It
took me approx 2.75 hours or 165 minutes to produce the approx 2150 words
in this Sept 1 entry. That comes to approx 5.4 400 wd book-pages, this
daily rate kept up over a year would produce approx 2150 book-pages in a
year. Filmically speaking, the 2150 words in this log entry could be
expected to produce 22.7 minutes of film-that would be enough to produce
one 2.5 hour movie every 6.6 days.
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Monday
Sept 3, 07 |
Analysis in light of tactics, of various
possibilities for Air-dribble-off-rebound drills |
KICK BALL AT WALL & COMMENCE AIR-DRIBBLE
ON CONTACT WITH REBOUND DRILLS RE-EXAMINED IN LIGHT OF STUDY OF SOCCER
TACTICS
Studying soccer tactics, I began to
appreciate the importance of the multitude of ways in which I could
encounter a ball in the course of a game, and commence an air-dribble in
some direction. And I began to appreciate the importance of running to the
ball before touching it and commencing an air-dribble as opposed to
waiting for it to come to me.
Mentally I linked this with the kind of
practice I have been doing in which I kick the ball at a wall, wait for
the ball to rebound back to me, and then commence an air-dribble in some
direction upon contacting the rebound.
I realized that there exists a multitude of
ways in which I can do the drill in which I kick the ball at the wall and
then commence an air-dribble off the rebound. I guessed that some of these
ways of doing the rebound drill would be better than others in terms of
preparing me for the various situations that I might encounter in a game.
And I understood that it would be worth it to put a few hours into
analyzing the various rebound-drills to see what kind of game situations
they would prepare me for.
So I did the analysis; it turned out to be a
monumental task, but I'm sure I am now better prepared for the task of
achieving excellence in soccer than I was before I did the analysis. My
idea is, if I am superior to the average player in terms of analytical
ability, why not cash in on such superiority?
One way to do the rebound drill is to kick the ball at the wall so that the line of the ball is perpendicular to the wall and bounces straight back at me. Then once I contact the rebounding ball, I can commence an air-dribble in various directions. I can (I labeled this A1) run at the ball and air-dribble straight forward; I can run at the ball and upon contacting the ball commence an air-dribble in the 10:30 (imagine the times on a circle-shaped clock) direction at a 45 degree angle relative to the line of the ball which comes in from 12:00 on the imaginary clock dial--I label this A2; I can run at the rebounding ball and upon contacting it commence an air dribble at a 90 degree angle relative to the ball which is coming in from 12:00, moving with the ball on the air-dribble towards 9:00 (A3); I can run at the ball and commence an air-dribble towards 7:30 relative to the ball coming in from 12:00 (A4); and I can run at the ball and commence an air-dribble towards 6:00 relative to the ball coming in from 12:00 (A5). Similarly, I can kick the ball at an angle so
that the path line of the ball as it heads towards the wall is not
perpendicular to the wall, and then run at the rebounding ball and
commence an air-dribble in some direction. If I kick the ball at a point
on the wall that is not straight ahead of me but to my left, the ball will
bounce at an angle so that I can run forward and have to run to my left to
intercept it before I commence an air-dribble. Then once I intercept the
ball I can commence an air-dribble in various directions: I can move
straight towards the wall (12:00 on the imaginary clock), I label this B1;
and I can move towards 10:30 (B2), 9:00 (B3), 7:30 (B4), 6:00 (B5), 4:30
(B6), 3:00 (B7), or 1:30 (B8) on the imaginary clock after I contact the
ball. I label these different possibilities as B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7,
and B8.
Similar to the B series, is the series I
labeled the C series. In the C series, I kick the ball at an angle at the
wall, but instead of running forward and to my left to intercept the ball,
I run to my left, in a line that is approximately parallel to the wall I
am kicking at to intercept the ball. Then I take off on the air-dribble in
one of several possible directions: towards the wall I kicked the ball at,
12:00 on the imaginary clock (C1); in the 10:30 direction (C2); in the
9:00 direction (C3); in the 7:30 directon (C4); in the 6:00 direction
(C5); in the 4:30 direction (C6); C7 in the 3:00 direction (C7); and in
the 1:30 direction (C8).
For A 1-5, B 1-8, and C 1-8, for each of
these alternatives, there are various possibilities for how the angle at
which I meet the ball and the angle at which I take off on an air-dribble
could play out in a game. For example, look at a simple alternative such
as A1: I kick the ball straight at the wall, run towards it, and then upon
intercepting the rebound dribble straight at the wall. In a game, the A1
type situation could occur in various different ways. The A1 situation
could occur with the ball coming at me in a line that is parallel to the
sideline. It could occur with the ball coming at me in a line that is
parallel to the goal line. It could occur with the ball coming at me from
the direction of the opposing team's goal or from the direction of my
goal. It could occur with the ball coming at me from the left or the right
sideline.
Imagine a diagram representing A1, with the
top edge of the page facing straight ahead towards 12:00 on the imaginary
clock. Imagine that the page is tilted so that the top of the page points
to the left at a 45 degree angle towards 10:30 instead. I looked at A1
from 8 possible angles: with the top edge of the page with the A1 diagram
on it pointing straight ahead towards 12:00; and with the top edge of the
diagram page facing towards 10:30, 9:00, 7:30, 6:00, 4:30, 3:00, and 1:30.
With regards to A 2-5, B 1-8, and C 1-8 I did the same thing, I looked at
each of them from 8 different possible angles.
With A 1-5, B 1-8, and C 1-8, I looked at 8
different possible angles for each; and then I rated for each of the 8
possibilities whether the possibility was a low priority, a medium
priority, or a high priority. I found that there is a wide range of
variability in terms of the extent to which a given alternative such as
A1, B3 or C5 etc. produces high priority situations when looked at from
the eight different angles. I scored each of the alternatives according to
the number of low, medium, or high priority situations the given
alternative produced when looked at from the 8 possible angles. I gave an
alternative such as A 3 B6 C2 etc. a score as follows: 0 points for a low
priority situation, 0.5 points for a medium priority situation, and 1.0
points for a high priority situation, and a total score. I came up with
the following results:
KICK BALL AT WALL & COMMENCE AIR-DRIBBLE
ALTERNATIVES TABLE
NOTE: These various alternatives have
mirror-image twins. For example, the ball can be kicked at the wall
so it strikes the ball to one's right instead of to one's left. However,
these mirror image possibilities will have the same low-medium-high
ratings as their twins. These run-at-ball altternatives also have twins
featuring the ball not being run at but waited for--these wait-for-ball
possibilities should be similar to their run-at-ball twins in terms of
low-medium-high priority ratings.
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Friday
September 7 07
Waltham Y Pool
145 PM to 330 PM
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Swam 1250 yds in 45 minutes (3.6 minutes per 100 yd cycle); rested 15 minutes
swam 1200 yds in 45 minutes (3.75 min per 100
yd cycle)
Stroke: alternating 50 yds breast 50 yds
crawl
Total 105 minutes 90 minutes
swimming.
Total 2450 yards=1.39 miles
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Idea today was to simulate soccer game conditions while swimming. Thus non-stop swimming for 45 minutes representing first half; 15 minute break; and then 45 more minutes non-stop swimming. Did not feel winded after first or second half hardly even breathing hard. Did not do flip turns during crawl
segments.
That 'best looking man in the world' look
that I have sometimes seen in the Waltham Y mirror after swimming was not
there today. Various possible reasons for this water in pool was
quite warm today.
There are various reasons for the not having
practiced soccer for several days. I have been trying to change my times
for getting up and going to sleep it has been hard for me. I had a
stressful social encounter which started off the days without practicing
soccer. Maybe I knew on the inside that there was intellectual work re
soccer that had to get done that would not get done if I tired myself out
by practicing soccer.
The idea is to get the body and the
mind ready for the soccer practice schedule by at first swimming
at the times scheduled for soccer.
Also in actual soccer games there is alot of
incidental physical contact of the type that it seems I am able to
dominate more if I get my body in shape through swimming, which utilizes
all the muscles of the body.
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Swimming in racing swimsuit |
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Saturday
September 8 07
Waltham Y Pool
1115 AM to 100 PM
530-603 PM
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1115 AM:
Swam 1550 yds in 45 minutes (2.9 minutes per
100 yd cycle);
rested 15 minutes
swam 1550 yds in 45 minutes (2.9 min per 100
yd cycle)
Stroke: alternating 50 yds breast 50 yds
crawl
Total 105 minutes 90 minutes
swimming.
Total 3100 yards=1.76 miles
Then later in evening at 530 PM
swam 1100 yds in 33 minutes (3.0 mins per 100
yd cycle)
1100 yds = 0.63 miles |
Did not do flip turns during crawl
segments.
That 'best looking man in the world' look
that I have sometimes seen in the Waltham Y mirror after swimming was as
yesterdaynot there today but I looked better than I did yesterday. Friday
night I got the first good night of sleep I have had in a long
time.
The so-called medical professionals have in
books and elsewhere blabbed on and on about insomnia. As far as I can tell
they have missed the main point: insomniacs feel tired so they do not
exercise; and they assume that exercise will not help because though tired
they cannot sleep; in this they fail to recognize the truth which is that
an activity such as long distance swimming in sufficient amounts will cure
their insomnia, this having to do with the fact that the kind of fatigue
that results from insomnia, is different from the kind of fatigue that
results from long-duration aerobic exercise such a I have been doing.
One hour -- world record, 13.11 miles in one hour running
-- http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/tfn/records/records.jsp?listId=1 One hour swm covering 6135 yards is a world record would be approx
4601 yards for 45 minutes.
-- http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/_Rainbow/Documents/243b158f-f94c-4d4b-9a33-6dc544315b2e/distance_rec_07.pdf 1550/4601 = 0.34
0.34 * 13.11 = 4.46 Alternating 50 yds breast 50 yds crawl yields a speed that is 90
percent of what the speed would be doing just the crawl--the guy who set
the world record swimming 6135 yds in 60 minutes used just the crawl;
so:
4.46/0.9 = 4.96
Thus initially I compute that the 1550 yds in 45 minutes swum using
alternating breast and crawl is the approx equal of 45 minutes of
running at 5.0 mph, and is the approx equal of running 3.75
miles in 45 minutes which is a 12.0 minute per mile pace--and this
equivalent of 3.75 miles at a 12.0 minutes per mile 4.96 mph pace was
done twice.
Yesterday the swimming on average in each 45 minute half was the
approx equivalent of running 2.95 miles at a 15.3 minute per mile
pace, 3.93 mph.
Thus in one day there has been radical improvement in terms of the
average speed and the distance covered over the 45 minutes. That is always
the way it is when I return to swimming.
At 530 PM I was planning on again swimming for 45 mins resting 15
mins and swimming another 45 mins. But the lifeguard said that it
thundered outside and so the pool had to be shut down for 30 minutes,
after 30 minutes the pool was still shut down, so I quit.
About half way through these last 33 minutes I began to feel more
normal and in touch with civilization than I have for a long time. I
figure that the so-called experts have missed how aerobic exercise
done for long durations during the hours during which society is up and
about, is able to help a person to become more normal and more
connected.
I was wondering if there was any significance to the lifeguard
pulling me out of the pool after 1100 yds. Christ had 12 apostles one of
whom was Judas. But I figure such speculation is just a silly thing that
has infected me due to me reading the silly speculation that makes omens
out of coincidences that you find in the modern religious websites and
lit. |
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Sunday
Sept 9 07
Waltham Y Gym 120-520 PM
Pool
600-745 PM
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4 hours figuring out how to do various drills Swam 1550 yds in 45 min, 15 min break, then
1525 yds in 45 min (alternating 50 breast 50 crawl)
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Practical Specs for Implementing Drills
Discussed on Sept 3
In the Monday Sept 3 entry I discuss
some new drills I have been developing, being spurred on to this by the
observation of actual soccer games, soccer game simulations, and the
study of tactics.
I had concluded that one possible drill was
the C series; on Sept 3 I wrote: "In the C series, I kick the ball at an
angle at the wall, but instead of running forward and to my left to
intercept the ball, I run to my left, in a line that is approximately
parallel to the wall I am kicking at to intercept the ball. Then I take
off on the air-dribble in one of several possible
directions".
The question remained, exactly how far from
the wall should I be, and how far left or right of the target should
I be when I do the C series?
Based on experimentation this afternoon
I concluded that on the C Series, I should kick at a target on the
wall that is higher than 9 feet vertically; I should kick from a point
that is: 5.5 yards to the left or right of this target, and 10 yds away
from the wall that the target is on. I found that this kind of
placement typically results in me reaching the ball at approx 90% of max
sprint speed and then contacting it after it has bounced once.
I looked at the various drills in the A B C
and D series, how they compare with one another, how they are similar to
each other and how they differ from each other. I concluded that
on the C series I should do C-4, which involves me keeping the
ball moving in basically the same direction it was moving before I
contacted it, so as to head for 730 on the imaginary clock dial if I
kicked to my left when I kicked the ball at the wall (or 4:30 if I kicked
to my right) assuming that the wall that the ball bounced from is
12:00 on the imaginary dial.
When the diagram illustrating the C-4 is
rotated you get a relatively large number of high priority situations;
deviation from the exact prescribed C-4 pattern once the air-dribble is
started still produces a relatively large number of relatively high
priority situations.
This solution to the practical implementation
of the C-series drills, is a solution that produces practice contacting
bouncers and then commencing an air-dribble. I wanted also to be able to
do the C-4 with me contacting the ball coming towards me before it bounced
and sometimes at least having a chance to make the first contact with my
head. Based on experimentation this afternoon I concluded that the
solution for C-4 no-bounce is: throw ball (overhead soccer style
with both hands on ball) at a target on the wall that is more than 10 feet
high from a point that is 2 yards to the left or right of the target and 4
yards away from the wall that the target is on. Then run to the
right (or left) to intercept the ball before it hits the ground and
commence the air-dribble.
NOTE: the C90 and C180
drills that were practiced earlier fall into the A-series category not the
C-series category in terms of categories described in this entry. They
were given their acronymal C90 C180 names earlier before the latest
structure of A B C and D-series was developed.
I also invented another series not
mentioned on September 3 called the D series. This series
features me kicking the ball straight at the wall (not at an angle), then
running in the direction the ball is moving after it bounces off the wall,
and then contacting the ball and commencing an air-dribble. After
experimentation today I concluded that on the D series for bouncers
I should kick the ball at a target on the wall from a point that is 5
yards away from the target.
As for the D-series drill that
produces practice contacting the ball before it bounces and starting an
air-dribble, I concluded the set-up should be as follows: throw ball
soccer style straight (not at an angle) at the wall from a point 2 yards
away from the wall, then turn, meet up with the ball before it
hits the ground, and commence the air-dribble.
I concluded that the most important
drill in the D-series is D-2, which features me moving off to the
left or to the right at a 45 degree angle, relative to the direction the
ball is already moving, on the air-dribble once I contact the ball.
Sept 3 I also discussed the "B series": "I
can kick the ball at an angle so that the path line of the ball as it
heads towards the wall is not perpendicular to the wall, and then run at
the rebounding ball and commence an air-dribble in some direction."
Based upon experimentation this afternoon I concluded that for
practicing B type situations with the ball bouncing before I reach it, the
setup should be as follows: kick the ball at a target on the wall whose
center is 11 feet above the ground, from a point that is 4 yards to
the left or right of the target and 15 yards away from the wall that the
target is on.
This left the problem of how to set things up
for B-series drills in which I contact the rebounding ball before it hits
the ground. Based on experimentation this afternoon I concluded
that the setup should be as follows: throw the ball soccer-style at a
target on the wall that is higher than 10 feet above the ground, from a
point that is 2 yards to the left or right of the target and 6 yards
away from the target the wall is on.
For the B series I concluded that the
most important drill in the B-series is the B-2, which features
me upon contacting the ball commencing an air-dribble in the same
direction that I was moving in before I contacted the ball.
The A series involves me kicking the ball
straight ahead at the wall, running towards the ball, and then upon
contacting the ball after it rebounds from the wall, commencing an
air-dribble in some direction. The C90 and C180 drills I was doing
earlier are like this except that they involve me waiting for the ball to
rebound to me instead of running at the ball. I did not experiment with
regards to the setup for the A-series this afternoon. I assumed
that the setup should be the same as it is with the C90 and the C180,
featuring me kicking the ball at a target 11 feet above the ground from 16
yards away.
That still leaves undone the question
of what the setup should be for A-series drills in which the ball is
contacted after it rebounds from the wall before it hits the ground.
For the A series I concluded that the
most important drill is the A4, which involves me upon contacting
the ball commencing an air-dribble in almost the same direction
the ball was moving in after rebounding from the wall, that is at a 45
degree angle relative to the direction the ball is moving in
when I first contact it after it rebounds from the
wall.
Other Subjects
Today I
did alot of the kicking the way I used to as a boy, I approached the ball
at a 45 degree angle from the side not from straight behind and struck the
ball with the front-top-inside of the foot. Though I have not been
practicing this style of kick, I was surprised at the accuracy and power I
showed with it, hitting the 3 foot wide 5 foot high target 16 yards away a
high percentage of the time, this despite not having recently practiced
it.
I have been practicing the
approach-the-ball-from-straight-behind hit-ball-with-top-of-front-of-foot
method, for tactical reasons and because when doing the windsprints that
are combined with the shooting at the wall, in the condition of fatigue
this produces approaching the ball from straight behind seemed less
tiring. But today I developed painful (when foot hits ball on
kick) abrasions on the top front of the index toe on the left foot
that inhibited the straight from behind type of kick.
While I was practicing this young
bespectacled black man named "Nigel" asked me for info re soccer leagues.
I told him that I could email him info re such matters. He gave me his
email address. Before I lose it slash forget it: WarrickN@yahoo.com .
It tooke me 82 minutes to write/type
up this highly technical 1493 word Sept 9 soccer log
entry.
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Ball Adidas Replique 7.5 psi new blue soccer socks
Adidas Bracara shoes with 2 layers cushioning
added |
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Tuesday
Sept 11 07
Waltham Y Gym
2:00 - 3:50 PM |
C4-Right 10/5.5
45 mins
15 min break
C4-Right 10/4.5
45 mins |
New C4 Drills Done For First
Time
Method: was to kick at
the previously used 3 foot wide 5 foot high banner hanging on the
wall, whose center is 11 feet above the ground. The ball the first 45
minutes was kicked from a point on the ground 5.5 yards to the left of the
target, and 10 yds from the wall (of course the point on the wall the
target is on, that is closest to the point the ball was kicked from). The
second 45 minutes everything was the same except the point the ball was
kicked from was 4.5 yards to the left of the target. After kicking the
ball at the target I ran to my right to intercept the rebound and attempt
to commence an air-dribble in the general direction the ball was moving
when I intercepted it. Then I walked back to the starting point taking the
ball with me.
Intervals: 5-10 secs at the
starting point between attempts plus the 10 sec walk back to the starting
point..
Speeds estimates: I estimate
I ran to intercept the ball at 90% of maximum sprint speed first half
and 85% maximum sprint speed second half. The air-dribble runs
when they succeeded after interception were on average 85% max sprint
speed.
C4-right 10/5.5 1st 45 mins 205-250
PM: The first 15 minutes, and also afterwards, I was feeling
somewhat down and surprised over my inability to master this C4 trick I
was practicing. The scripture that reads "Awake, awake, put on
strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the
generations of old. [Art] thou not it that hath cut Rahab, [and] wounded
the dragon?" (Isaiah 51:9) kept running through my mind, the
"art thou not it that hath cut Rahab and wounded the dragon?" part. I kept
kicking the balls too far away from me on making the intercept. I noted
that at the 10/5.5 yds from target kicking distance, I end up sort of
circling behind the rebounding ball when intercepting it, the ball going
past me to my right as I ran towards it, with me then turning to catch it.
Then finally at 2:20 I had my first success, kicking the ball with my left
foot and then heading it.
Notes Transcription (words added at
keyboard in parentheses):
220 first success kicked (ball with) left,
(then used) head (to head ball). 227 success I circled around the ball,
kicked the ball up with my right and started an air-dribble. 232--circled
ball, (ball) up with left, ball hit inside header missed. This is
improving shot off intercept. 235 cut (ball) in with left foot setting up
one bounce air-dribble 2nd touch missed. 238 circled up with right (kicked
ball with right foot) good (but) bleacher problem (ran into bleachers
on air-dribble). 240 circled up with right started E4/R air dribble ran
into wall (E4/R means ball kicked every 4 paces with right while kept off
ground). 246 circled, (kicked ball with) left, started E2/L but
directionally off to side (E2/L means ball kicked with left foot every 2
paces with ball kept off ground). 248 Circled, (kicked ball with) left,
started E5, ran into wall (E5 means ball kicked every 5 paces with
alternating left and right feet while kept off ground).
I ended the first 45 minutes feeling shocked
that an air-dribble maestro such as myself should have such difficulties
with C4. Most of the time the first 45 minutes the result would be that
when I kicked the ball on intercepting it, the ball would fly off like a
pass or shot. I felt like someone who had learned to ride a bicycle,
having to learn all over again how to ride a bicycle. I marveled at how
being able to do fantastic things on a self-originating straight line
air-dribble did not translate into instantaneous big success on the
intercepts of these rebounds off the wall which bounced generally once or
twice before I got to them.
End of first 45 I did not feel hot or winded
or tired just slightly sweaty.
C4 Right 10/4.5 2nd 45 mins
305-350 PM:
Notes Transcription (words added at
keyboard in parentheses):
(general note:) very little rest between
runs...wall table obstruction bleachers table, wall disrupts (just about
10 yds after starting the air-dribble I would run into such obstacles) 307
set up E2L bouncer (upon intercept I succesfully began an E2L run
featuring the ball kicked every 2 paces while kept in the air). 309 set up
E2L air (same as 307 but no bounce on the air-dribble). 309 set up E6L
air. 312 set up E6L bouncer. 318 set up E5 bouncer. 320 set up E5. 322
almost set up E4. 323 left --> stop header air (kicked ball with left
and as forward movement stopped headed ball to keep control bakk did not
bounce). 324 left set up long fast 3 touch E3 first real success
(first time a tightly controlled longish several touch air-dribble done
upon intercept) (E3 means ball touched every 3 paces with alternating left
and right feet while kept off ground). 325 set up E6. 326 Set up
E6 bouncer. 328 Set up E8?. 330 set up E6 table obstruction. 333
Perfect E6 2 hits stopped by wall (upon intercept I started an air-dribble
run in which I was kicking the ball with my left every 7 paces while
keeping it off the ground but I ran into the wall). These are all
cutting in somewhat (I cut inwards with the ball in the general direction
I came from upon intercepting it). 336 perfect E6 header, air
bleachers wall/stop (upon intercept I started a perfect air-dribble of the
ball kept off the ground kicked every 6 paces type but the second touch
was with my head). 337 E2 mis-dribbled on second touch.
339 Perfect E6 to head (upon intercept I started an air-dribble
run of the kick ball every 6 paces type but the second touch on the ball
was with my head). 342 perfect E2L (upon intercept I started an
air-dribble run involving the ball kicked every 2 paces with the left
foot). 343 Perfect E6L (upon intercept started air-dribble run with ball
kicked every 6 paces with the left foot). 344 Perfect E7 table disrupt
((upon intercept started air-dribble run with ball kicked every 7 paces).
346 set up E7 bouncer. 348 set up E6 bouncer.
After the second 45 minutes I felt slightly
sweaty but cool, not winded, but tired. I was walking back to the starting
point but the intervals of rest were very short.
At 324 PM in the second
half, after a total of 64 minutes of practice, I finally began to get the
magical-type results I always new I would be able to get, and felt I would
be able to get very quickly
General Notes: Segments 1
and 2 the kicks were done with the top-inside-front of the foot, 45 degree
angle approach to the ball the kicks were accurate and powerful felt
comfortable with the style. I guess it was more accurate, natural,
powerful, relaxed, compared to the new kick with top of front of foot
approach ball from behind method. First segment was 12 yds run to side
followed by 12 yds air-drib attempt after turn; 2nd segment was 10 yds to
side 12 after turn. I should try 8 yds out 3.5 yds to side when kicking at
target to truy to avoid running into obstacles after start of
air-dribble. 4 PM the gym began to fill up with teenagers toddlers and
parents. Weirdly the ball was 7.5 psi before the workout and 8.0 psi after
the pounding it received during the workout.
Faces in the Crowd: the last
30 minutes of the second half, 3 grade school boys were in the gym with me
playing football. Mustache-boy (the boy with a mustache). who had shaved
off his mustache, wanted me to play. I gave an eloquent explanation of why
I could not, he just snarmed, like someone having taken a bit of badly
cooked or rotten food.
Typed/wrote up this 1442
word entry in 70 minutes. |
Replique ball 7.5 psi Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
MAROON socks |
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Tuesday
Sept 11 07 |
C4-Right (bouncer) Graphic |
Graphical Representation of C4 (bouncer)
Drill
I kick the ball at a point on the wall or
player represented by the cone which is 10 yds in front of me and 4.5
yards to the right of me; 2 The ball rebounds off the wall or is passed
back to me; 2 I run 10 yds to my right to intercept the bouncing
ball; 3 I commence an air-dribble that somewhat changes the direction the
ball was in before I intercepted it. The smaller orange bordered
circle represents a 12 yd radius from the point at which I intercept the
ball (I can move off in various directions once I intercept it). The
larger circle with radius 26 yds represents areas I can effortlessly chip
the ball to after 12 yds of air-dribbling (these chips can hang high in
the air allowing team-mates the chance to reach them without being called
offsides).
 Note: Above Graphic made using 'Drillboard'
software; see previous entry. Unfortunately I could not find a way using
Drillboard to rotate the composite composed of the lines balls cone
button so as to show how the entire thing would look at different
angles.
C4-right (bouncer) Graphic Added Sept
20 '07
The yellow line shows the path of the ball
after it rebounds off the wall during the drill or is passed to me during
a game. The blue line shows my path as I run to intercept the ball. The
reddish/orange line shows the path of the air-dribble after the ball is
intercepted.
 Note: Above graphic made with Microsoft Paint
(to combine images and create images), HP Image Zone (to rotate
images), MB-Ruler (for precise measurement of distances and angles),
and Drillboard as source of field graphic
. |
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Wednesday
Sept 12 07
Waltham Y Gym
2:15 - 5:15 PM |
B2-Right 15/4
45 mins
15 min break
B2-Right 15/4
45 mins
30 min break
B2-Right 15/4
45 min
total 135 min B2-right 15/4
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New B2 Drills Done For First
Time
The B-2 drills reveals the importance of,
and strengthens, the ability to turn a ball with the chest and then move
on with it with foot thigh or head either after it bounces or before it
hits the ground.
This entry is to a large extent
simply a verbatim transcription of the notes I took during the practice.
Thus you can have the thrill of seeing what is like a recording of a jet
pilot's words while he is flying the plane.
Method: was to kick at
the previously used 3 foot wide 5 foot high banner hanging on the
wall, whose center is 11 feet above the ground. The ball was
kicked from a point on the ground 4 yards to the left of the target,
and 15 yds from the wall (of course the point on the wall the
target is on, that is closest to the point the ball was kicked from).
After kicking the ball at the target I ran forward and to my right,
diagonally, to intercept the rebound at a point on average 4
yds to the right of the target and 10 yds from the wall. Then
I attempted to commence an air-dribble in the general direction
that I was moving in before I intercepted the ball. Then while
walking I retrieved the ball, sometimes walked to the table to make a
note, walked back to the start point.
Intervals: 5-10 secs at the
starting point between attempts plus the 10 sec walk back to the starting
point 5 secs ball retrieval 10 secs note taking..
Speeds estimates: I estimate
on average I ran to intercept the ball at 85% of maximum
sprint speed. The air-dribble runs when they succeeded after
interception were on average 85% max sprint speed.
B2-right 15/4 1st 45 mins 215-300
PM: The first 20 minutes nothing I felt worth noting happened.
There was nothing even close to success in terms of commencing an
air-dribble off the intercept. There was lots of crouching down to head
the ball in the direction specified in this drill which is the same
direction I am moving in before the intercept. These headed balls would
rocket off my head going too far. I miss-hit bouncing balls rebounding off
the wall with my chest, thighs and feet. I felt dazed, sleepy,
incompetent, tired, dissapointed. I had expected that the B-2 would be a
breeze compared to the C-4.
One reason things were difficult the entire
afternoon, is that I was kicking the ball using a style I call the
Beckham-Penalty style and the ball was moving at the wall and rebounding
back with tremendous force compared to the case with other styles of
kicking I use. The Beckham-style produced low, hard, hard to handle
rebounds off the wall.
On the internet at Google Video I saw a clip
of Beckham scoring one of his classic penalty kick goals. He kicked
the ball with the middle-side of his foot with his toe pointing
perpendicular to the direction of the kick swinging his leg like a
golf-club.
I had to switch to the Beckham style because
of soreness/abrasion on the front top-inside of my left index toe ( the
area immediately behind and to the right of the toe-nail).
I started out trying to use the style that
worked well for me yesterday, the style that is ancient and traditional
for me, approach from 45 degrees and strike ball with front-top-inside
area of foot. I call this style the 'traditional', I estimate it is my
tradition because it produces chips of the type left wingers send in
and I played left wing in high school. But due to the toe abrasion
the pain kicking this way was too much.
Weird. Previously I was kicking the ball
approaching it from straight behind, and the index-toe abrasion resulted
in this being too painful. Then I switched to the 'traditional', at first
there was no pain but later the pain due to the same index toe
abrasion became too much with the 'traditional' also. Hence the switch to
the 'Beckham' style.
Then finally at 2:35 after 20 minute of
floundering, I had my first success, heading the ball in the
direction required by the drill, running 8 paces, and catching the ball
with my foot
Notes Transcription (words added at
keyboard in parentheses):
(for this entry I am providing a
verbatim transcription of the notes I made with the words I added later in
parentheses. Now you too can share in the thrill of macho
fighter-pilot-in-flight lingo.
The notes describe chronologically
step by step what happened after I intercepted the ball and began the
air-dribble. Almost all of the runs that I bothered to note, were runs
featuring me dribbling in the direction prescribed by the C4 drill method,
which is the same direction I am running in prior to intercepting
the ball.
E2 E4 E6 means that I air-dribbled
touching the ball every 2 or 4 or 6 paces. E4L for example means an
air-dribble run segment during which the ball was touched every 4 paces
with the left foot. L means left R means right. Ft means foot.
bounce/bouncer means the ball bounced once during the air dribble. Numbers
by themselves such as 1,2,3, 4 mean one two three or four paces was taken.
L or R by itself means ball kicked while in air with left or right
foot.
235 head-E8 bouncer. 236 Head-E6 bouncer. 238
Hed-E6 bouncer. 240 Chest-E4L; E2L good extended; 241 Rite Ft-E6R bouncer.
243 Header-E8. 244 Chest E2L bouncer E2L. 250 Chest E4 bouncer foot E2L
extended good hit wall obstruction. 252 Chest E5 bouncer. 253 lower chest
E4 bouncer. 255 Chest E5 L bouncer...
(notes taken in 15 min break after 1st 45
min:) some very hard on target shots (kicks at the target on the
wall); getting used to the (Beckham) method of kicks. A little
sweaty not hot, but tired, yesterday again a tiring day to to disturbing
messages left on my answering machine...Had trouble getting ball
high enough on target, but no trouble with speed/power of shot/pass with
the side foot kick style (Beckham-style). Felt sleepy, tired end
of 2nd half which surprising. (the first 45 minutes produced) general
success on beginnings of air dribble (after) intercept, Air drib in
correct direction 1st half.
B2-right 15/4 2nd 45 mins
315-400 PM
Notes Transcription (words added at
keyboard in parentheses):
back to side foot kick due to toe abrasion pain; 318 left
thigh stop head 4 pace L perfect. 322 chest 4 step kick L no
bounce everything recorded so far (and almost everything in the notes for
the day) directionally correct (the air dribbles after intercept of
rebound that are described in these notes almost always went in the
direction specified in this drill, which is the same direction I am moving
in before I intercept the ball). 327 chest 4 pace L, 2 pace, R
wall obstruct perfect no bounce. 332 chest 5 pace left. 333 chest
2 pace left foot. 334 chest 4 hed 4 thigh good.
337 right thigh, 6 pace left foot no-bounce good. 338
chest 6 pace L now attempts sacrificed to determine when ball met (for a
few attempts now the focus will be on determining at which point I
intercept the rebound). 340 far edge free throw circle 1200. 341 2:00 free
throw circle. Cannot make contact spot start air dribble simult (spotting
the point where I intercept the ball and starting the air-dribble cannot
both be done at the same time). 342 1:00 free throw circle. 344 ud beyond
2:00 on free throw circle. 346 200 on free throw circle. 347 1100 on DT
circle. 348 1200 on FT circle. 350 300 on FT circle. 351 200 on FT circle.
352 1100 on FT circle thigh-1 pace L foot no bounce good. 354 not
1st time weirdly spinning bouncer lost me (the spin on some of these balls
as the bounce when they rebound off the wall is intense the ball bounces
weirdly so sometimes I even completely miss it...just think how bad things
will be for the defense when they encounter ferocious back-spinning from
me). 355 chest, 4 pace, R Ft no bounce. 358 Left thigh, 6, L Ft,
no-bounce fast. 359 chest, 4, bounce, Left thigh.
(notes made in the 30 minute break after the second segment:)
12, 2,1,2,2, 11(-1), 12, 3, 2, 11
0,2,1,2,2,-1,0,3,2,-1 10/10=1
Looking at notes I calculate I am contacting (the
rebounding) ball on average at point 4 yds to rite of target, and 10
yds from closest point on wall target is on. 2nd segment was Beckham
penalty kick style side of foot. 1st, 2nd segs, air dribs, after contact
typically 10 yds; (upon contacting the rebounding ball the
resulting air dribbles would cover about 10 yards) but litle
effort put into air drib beyond 1st 10 yds (my emphasis was on
mastering the intercept and the first 10 yds after the intercept as
opposed to producing long greater than 10 yd air dribble runs after
intercepting).
B2-right 15/4 3rd 45 mins
430-515 PM
Notes Transcription (words added at
keyboard in parentheses):
431 chest, 6, L, 6, L no bounce (What the numbers and letters
mean is: I contacted the rebound with my chest, knocking the ball in the
direction I was running when I intercepted it; I ran 6 paces; I kicked the
ball with my left foot; I ran 6 more paces; I kicked the ball with my my
left foot again; this all without the ball bouncing). 434
chest, 2, bounce, L, 4, L, good fast long. 436 chest, 6, R.
439 chest start, + head, + feet total 12 yd no
bounce Air Drib, beginning to see the expected magic (this after doing the
B-2 drill for 99 minutes. on this 439 run after intercepting the
ball I chested it, then headed it, then hit it with my foot covering
12 yds in the intended direction with the ball not touching the
ground). 440 left thigh, 5, R
Ft, 5, L Ft, very fast 12 yd no bounce Air Drib magic. 443 chest, 6, L, 6,
L fast 12 yd no bounce magic. 446 chest, 5, bounce, R-Ft, very fast. 450
fast low bouncer, <1' bounces, intercepted, up w left (foot), 6, L
Thigh 6 L foot perfect magic, thought I'd never master the up w/ foot on
these. 452 left hip, 2, L, 2, L, 2, L 2 L brilliant fast perfectly
directioned tightly controlled magic no bounce 12 yds. 455 thigh, 6,
bounce, Ft, tight fast directioned. 457 thigh, 6, bounce, ft, tight fast
directioned. 500 headed out too far every time I intercept w/ head,
goes out too far. 501 swinging toe inwards,
front-top-inside-style (area of foot striking ball) as side of foot hits
ball increases lift, accuracy 2 hard hits in row on target tis way
(swinging the toe inwards as the side of the foot Beckham-style
strikes the ball is producing good results, this inwards swing ot the toe
is similar to what goes on when the front-top-side of the foot is used to
strike the ball in what I term the 'traditional' style).
504 fooled by spin on bouncer. 505 now trying cross
between beckham style toe perpend to target & front-top-inside stule:
new style, toe 45 degrees (relative) to targ, side of foot hits ball
(trying a style that is a cross between Beckham and
'traditional'). 508 R ft, 4 steps, L ft, no bounce one of
few successes w/foot-intercept. 511 chest, 6 bounce, L, H, L 12 yds
fast. 513 chest, 1, head, 1, L 5 bounce R. 514 chest, 7, bounce,
thigh, 4 L ft.
General Notes: Ball at 7.5
psi probably bouncing harder faster and higher on basketball court than it
would during a game and so this kind of thing could prepare me well once I
adjusted to exactly how the ball bounces on good quality fields. The first
99 minutes I felt surprised at my incompetence; but by the time the 100th
minute had rolled around I felt that soon I would be just as magical on
the air-dribbles off the intercepts as I have become on the
self-originating air-dribbles, with the best possible choice of various
possible things to do with the ball during the air-dribble almost always
being made.
Yesterday the little brown grade school boy
scoffed at Beckham while watching me, but he did this at such a low volume
I did not feel like reporting it. But later I felt like mentioning it. The
boys were there while I was finally mastering the C4 trick. The C4 trick
when well done, is an impressive trick, why should it be a sin for me to
mentally note this?
Problem is, it is uncouth to compliment
oneself. Therefore I can only relay what others say about me. But the
'gringo' boys are too quiet they never scoff at Beckham or Maradona while
watching me. Ball psi 7.5 before and after practice.
Faces in the Crowd: After I was done, a young black man wanted to play soccer with me I told him the truth I was done for the day. I think it was the latter part of the first
segment, a tall white woman with short straight black hair dressed in
black, and a wide-eyed white teenager, and someone else walked in the gym
and watched me for about five minutes. While they were watching, I
intercepted the hard fast rebounding bouncer with my chest, knocked it to
my side in the appropriate direction, caught the ball with my left
foot on a bounce on the sprint, took 2 paces caught it again before it
bounced on the sprint. Can't say this was an example of choking while
being observed.
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Replique ball 7.5 psi Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
BLUE socks |
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Wednesday Sept 12 07 |
B2-right (bouncers) graphic |
B2 Alternatives
Graphic
This graphic shows the B2-right
(bouncers) drill described in the previous entry, adjusted to various
angles. The blue line repreents me running towards the ball rebounding off
the wall. The yellow line represents the bouncing ball rebounding off the
wall (or a pass sent by a team-mate). The orange line represents me
air-dribbling 12 yds forward after picking up the bouncing ball on the
angle. The angles and distances were drawn accurately as possible to
reflect what actually happens when I do the drill. I can see looking at
the graphics that it might be wise to somewhat adjust the angle I take off
at after intercepting the ball. Could be that I have stumbled on to
something because the first couple of yards after the intercept should be
straight ahead before the turn is made.
 (made with Drillboard, Paint, and HP Image
Editor. HP Image Editor Used to rotate the B2 diagrams that were made in
paint) |
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Thursday
Sept 13 07
Peter Gilmore Playground
Lowell & High
Waltham MA
710 PM-1000 PM
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E4-L Study and Practice
170 minutes without break
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E4 Left Chosen as Drill to be Emphasized in
Light of Experiences with B2 and C4
Studying the logs from the previous practices
involving C4 and B2 the previous two days, I was trying to figure out what
pattern air-dribble do C4 and B2 most naturally fit into once the
intercept of the ball rebounding off the wall has been made.
Looking at the notes showing what would
happen after the intercepts, I found an average was E4.7, meaning on
average, after the first touch on the rebounding ball I would take 4.7
paces and then kick the ball again with my left this while keeping the
ball off the ground and moving at a sprint.
In other words, on average, while doing the
C4 and the B2 the previous two days, and rounding off the 4.7 paces to
five, I would make the first touch on the rebound with my left, step with
my right (1), step with my left (2), step with my right (3), step with my
left (4), and then kick with my right (5).
But during the 2 previous C4 and B2 days, E4
(the ball touched every 4 paces) and E6 (the ball touched every 6 paces)
were more common than E5s, and left foot touches on the ball greatly
outnumbered right foot touches on the ball.
So I concluded that what would best typify
what naturally occurs on the air-dribble after an intercept of the type
that occurs during C4s and B2s, would be the the E4 in which the ball is
touched every 4 paces with just the left foot or the E6 the ball touched
every 6 paces with only the left foot.
So I decided today to study and practice the
E4-left. The method was to try to touch the ball every 4 paces with my
left foot alone, although I would continue the air-dribble if the exact
pattern was not adhered to.
I was going to do the A4 drill mentioned
previously at the YMCA, but a last minute schedule change resulted in the
gym being filled with Child Care toddlers, playing around in their
gigantic castle that blows up like a balloon. So I had to go elsewhere.
Maybe it was all for the best since the E4 work today done outdoors might
otherwise have been under-emphasized and procrastinated.
The method was to spot where the second kick
of the E4 run would be and stop the run on the second touch of the
ball, and later to stop the run on the third kick of the ball so as to
concentrate on taking ball height and distance measurements.Thus I was
able to accurately note where the second kick of the E4 run occurred and
the heights of the balls on the kicks, and at the same time I was able to
avoid the psychological stress of lots of boys watching me mess up on
air-dribble runs since I was trying to do an air-dribble run and notate
distances and heights at the same time.
I applied the scientific rigor I had
developed while working on things like the E10 (see previous entries) to
the E4. First I set out to determine through test runs, how high and how
far the ball should be kicked on the first kick of an E4 run. I
concluded that on the first kick of the E4 the middle of the ball should
reach 6 feet in height, and the ball should if unmolested by a second kick
have a trajectory such that it would strike the ground approx 6 yards away
from the point at which the first kick of the run occurred.
I found that the first kick on the E4 cannot
be done with the ankle flip power alone though perhaps the first
kick on an E3 could be done with the ankle alone.
I found my natural method on the
first kick of the E4 combines body, leg, ankle flip,
backspin.
I concluded after experimentation that
on the second kick of the E4 the middle of the ball
should at the apex of the arc be at what is shoulder height for me, approx
5 feet high, and the ball should be kicked out in such a way that if
unmolested by another kick it would strike the ground approx 7 yds from
the point from which the preceding kick was made.
The paradox of the ball being kept lower on
the kicks after the first kick compared to the first kick has to do with
the increased speed with which ground is covered after the first 4
paces.
These optimal figures for height and distance
are designed to produce maximum speed on the E4 runs.
Approx 845 PM I began to do full E4 runs
without for study purposes stopping the run after the second or third kick
.
I found that as I was
concentrating on producing an accurate first kick on the E4, I
swiveled the body clockwise (I'm left footed) and used little ankle
action, such is the method that became natural for me early on. But
whatever method I used there was still backspin.
From 853-858 the notes
verbatim (later translation in parentheses) were as
follows:
853 very fast no bounce e4/5/6, tightly
controlled, 20 yd (covered 20 yds very fast without the ball bouncing with
ball tightly controlled, the number of paces between the kicks varied from
4 to 5 to 6 as I continued the air-dribble despite not adhering to the
exact E4 pattern.).
856 very fast air no bounce tite e4-e6, tite
control, 20 yd (20 yards were covered on the air-dribble very fast without
the ball bouncing, the ball was tightly controlled, the number of paces
between kicks varied between 4 and 6).
858 E4-E6, w head, tite, very fast 20 AIR no
bounce (20 yards was covered very fast on the air-dribble without the ball
bouncing, the head was used instead of the foot on one of the touches, the
number of paces between touches varied between 4 and 6).
900 tite fast e4-e6 1 bo/20 yds + chest (20
yards was covered fast on the air-dribble, the ball bounced once along the
way, the number of paces between touches was 4-6, the chest was used on
the touch after the bounce).
At this point I found
myself literally marvelling, that I could air-dribble the ball so fast,
and keep it so tightly controlled over 20 yds. All the unglamorous and
wearisome taking of measurements re how high and how far is optimum on the
first and second kicks paid off.
I continued doing well up to 910 PM. At this
point a teenage black guy, clean shaven, medium build and height, who had
been playing basketball and sometimes watching me, began singing. He sang
out loudly, as he looked in my direction: "check my
stats...". I forget or did not understand what the next words
were, I had never heard the song, I knew nothing re the song, but I
felt it was a song about checking one's statistics and then going on to
triumph. And what he the black guy singing had seen, was me checking
my stats, making notes, and then going on to make some very fast
long no bounce air-dribble runs.
'So check the rhymes and check my stats
And now you know, that Ced Gee is back I'm still the Delta It ain't nuthin Gee, it's just a small thing' -- lyrics from Delta Force II by the "Ultramagnetic MC's" (http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Delta-Force-II-lyrics-Ultramagnetic-MC's/3A8DAC9458F1676948256A220015BD46)
Phillies pitcher Brett Myer chose "Lights Out" by the music group
P.O.D as his entrance song last month. The refrain of that song is: "It's
Lights Out, Game Over. If you wanna you can check my stats. It's Lights
Out, Game Over. Make way cause the kings is back."
"Myers said he was worried 'about how it would be received'
and whether it might come off as too cocky, but every media member there
assured him that closers are supposed to be cocky."
-- http://www.sportstalk950.com/Roster/700LevelSportsFanatics/tabid/118/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/51/Myers-Chooses-an-Entrance-Song-.aspx I continued with the E4 runs until 10:00 PM.
The last half hour I was out there these
clean-shaven white guys in their twenties (one of them was a light brown
color), none over six feet tall, all wearing red T-shirts with "Y League"
emblazoned and red shorts, came out to play basketball. They all made alot
of loud happy healthy hearty hale-fellow-well-met noises. But the only
thing any of them said to me, was that when the lights suddenly went out
one of them shouted in my direction, "what's this a
curfew?!?!"
At the end I felt as if I was allowing things
that should not depress me to depress me. Unglamorous stuff like checking
heights and distances is part of life. Performance falling off due to
fatigue after a while is part of life also (fatigue impaired the
performance on the E4 runs from 910-1000 PM). I had no breaks from 710 PM
to 1000 PM and the checking distances stuff at the beginning involved lots
of test runs. Sometimes we can improve ourselves by doing something like
E4 air-dribble runs even when we are tired to the point our performance is
impaired. Working to the point we are tired can move us ahead in
life.
General Notes:
Looks like I am not messing up directionally,
and most of the time there is no bounce only on a small minority of runs
there is a bounce. It is not illegal for a ball to bounce during a game.
So perhaps I should try emphasizing sheer speed and forget about the ball
bouncing. Speeds now are varying from 75-95% of max sprint speed.
On the runs in which the ball bounces
generally the time interval between the ball bouncing and me reaching it
is small.
Seems you need more padding in the indoor
soccer shoe on the outdoors concrete basketball court compared to the
indoors wooden floored basketball court.
Faces in the Crowd: See
above
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Replique 7.5 psi Adidas Bracara indoors with 2 layers
padding
black soccer socks |
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Friday
September 14
Waltham Y
415-600 PM |
A4 Kick Rebound Turn Air-Dribble Drill 45 min
15 min break
45 min |
Newly Developed A4 Drill Practiced For First Time Method: The A4 was described
in a previous entry. It involves kicking the ball at the wall 16 yds away,
then charging forwards to meet the rebounding ball, and then upon
intercept of the rebounding ball commencing an air-dribble run in the 7:30
direction given the target on the wall the ball rebounded from as 12:00 on
the imaginary clock dial. The target was the 3' wide 5' high wall hanging
whose center is 11 feet above the ground.
Reality: Today I found that
typically (estimates): I would charge forward 5 yards at 75% max sprint
speed after kicking the ball and meet the ball 11 yards from the
target wall; the ball bounced once after rebounding off the wall before I
contacted it; the typical succesful play involved me chesting the ball and
then hitting it with my right foot, before it bounced, in the 7:30
direction given 12:00 as the direction of the wall I was facing; the
air-dribbles in the 730 direction were at 70% max sprint speed; almost
always the ball would not bounce between the first touch and the second
touch.
415-500 PM 45 mins
A4-left: the first six minutes I was able to turn the ball in the
7:30 direction relative to 12:00 where the ball was coming from, but I
could not get a 12 yd no-bounce air-dribble going off an intercept
until 4:41 26 minutes after I started. From 4:41 to 5:00 there were
several more successes of this type, the intercept/turn followed by a 12
yd air-dribble all with the ball bouncing zero or once from the time I
touched it.
15 min interval: the
verbatim transcript of the notes I made during the interval with later
additions in parentheses:
not winded slitely sweaty, slightly tired
best approach appears to be chest stop -- ball turned or kept in front --
followed by turn w/ no bounce.
Accuracy on Beckham style kick improving and
also the ability lift the ball hi, it continues to be
powerful.
515-600 PM 45 mins A4-left:
From 5:18-558 there were 11 intercept/runs that I classified as
'SUCCESS' or 'good (not quite as good as a success).
General Notes:
Kicking from 16 charging to 11 results
typically in a ball that bounces once and is then chested. I should figure
out what distance kick and charge results in balls that are headed.
The C180 drill developed previously is
similar to A4 but involves after intercept moving towards 6:00 not
7:30 given the wall the ball rebounded from as 12:00, it the
C180 does not involve charging at the ball, and it typically involves
lots of headers because the ball is kicked from only 12 yds away.
Then again I was not using the
Beckham-penalty side of foot style of kicking when I was doing the C180.
The Beckham-penalty style of kicking results in the ball hitting the ball
at a lower point vertically speaking. Today I noticed that my
accuracy hitting the target on the wall with using the Beckham style of
kick, is improving fast, as is my ability to hit the wall at higher points
vertically, but I am still having trouble hitting the wall at points
higher than 11 feet above the ground, when I kick at the target on the
wall from 16 yds away using the Beckham style kick.
As the second 45 minutes drew to a
close I felt: I am already close to mastering the A4 type skills, it
is a matter of days spent practicing A4 not weeks before I mastered the A4
type skills.
I had several
successes using a method which seems to be the best method: chest the
ball, then kick it before it bounces with the right foot in the 730
direction given the wall as 1200 while turning to commence the
air-dribble.
I would always stop the forward
movement of my body right before contacting the ball.
Today I angled towards 730 instead of 430
because I am better turning counter-clockwise than clockwise; however
today since I was turning counter-clockwise upon intercept, I had
to use my right foot on the ball to start /continue the
turn although I am left footed I had not foreseen this. I foresaw
that turning counterclockwise would be easier but not that this would
emphasize the right foot on the ball.
Today I noted the
amazing potential versatility of the chest when used in
soccer--this was new and a surprise to me. Previously I
had dismissed the use of the chest as incidental slash unimportant, one
reason because playing on bumpy fields the ball bounces so
weird that the use of the chest can be unwise. Today on various runs I:
turned the ball at an angle on the first touch with the chest; stopped the
ball with the chest without turning the ball keeping it right in front of
me; knocked the ball straight upwards with my chest and then headed it;
and, even to my surprise, with my chest knocked the ball in the
600 direction (given 1200 as the direction I was facing that the ball came
from) to commence a nice air-dribble all without the ball touching the
ground.
Today I was able to: turn the ball to 730 on
the first touch with the head; head the ball straight up and then commence
the air-dribble; and, turn the ball to 730 on the first touch with the
left thigh. There were actually a few successes today turning the
ball on the first touch with a crouching header (previously such had
always produced error). I did not have success turning the ball with
my feet.
One success today involved me
chesting the ball, and then back-pedaling with my back facing the
direction I was moving while air-dribbling, and then turning to commence
an air-dribble all without the ball touching the
ground.
A main point is that I think
I can quickly attain to those 'pro' level skills with the chest that
I have been impressed slash overawed by; it is just a matter of
getting practice with the chest on balls that bounce off smooth surfaces;
but we neglect the chest because we play on bumpy fields.
Seems I run faster when air-dribbling than I
do when running without the ball. Seems the mind being on the ball results
in the full weight of the body somehow not pressing downwards to the
ground.
There is an indecisiveness problem.
The choices are: chest? thigh? head? foot? abort air-dribble/turn?
Indecisiveness re such choices leads to failure.
Looking at my notes I
would say that the air-dribble pattern that typically results starting
with the first touch with the foot after the rebound is stopped, is the E3
wherein the ball is touched with alternating left and right feet every 3
paces.
I would guess that a
good drill to develop A4 type skills would be: while keeping ball off
ground make 180 turn, go 7 yards, make another 180 turn,
etc.
Faces in the Crowd:
First 10 minutes second half there were some
junior high school type girls in the gym playing with balls.
For the entire second half the now
clean-shaven mustache-boy (his skin is white) and his 3 brown hispanic
friends and his white friend (all boys) were playing basketball in the gym
while I was using it. Mustache-boy wanted to at-length discuss my notes
and again he wanted me to play with them. I tried to explain why I had to
stick to my routine.
Mustache-boy introduced me to Edgar who is
from Guatemala. Mustache-boy said Edgar is the best player on the Waltham
High School team though he is only a freshman.
Mustache boy is white and speaks with an
American accent but there is something India-Indian about his
demeanor and appearance.
Towards the end of the second half I turned
the rebound on one touch without letting the ball hit the ground and
then did a no-bounce 12 yd air-dribble in the approx 730 direction at
approx 75% max sprint speed, something I did several times today. Then I
turned to look at the boys. They had seen me as I did the great deed. Two
brown hispanics boys smiled at me, an unfeigned smile, the expression
on their face was not phony, they looked sort of somewhat admiringly
amazed like they had just seen someone effortlessly steal a million bucks.
But white Mustache-boy stared with a blank look on his face. Seems whites
do not understand soccer well enough to appreciate a great trick when they
see it.
A4 (right) graphic Added Sept 20
07
The yellow line shows the path of the ball as
it rebounds off the wall during the drill or is passed to me during a
game. The blue line shows me running towards the ball. The orange line
shows the air-dribble after the intercept of the ball.
 |
Replique 7.5 psi
Adidas Bracara indoors with 2 layers
padding
Maroon soccer socks |
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Sunday
September 16
Waltham Y Gym
445-630 PM |
D2 (ball on right before cut) rebound
air-dribble drill
55 mins cut to right
450 mins cut to left
D2 left and right graphic added September 20
07
|
Newly Developed D2 Drill Practiced For First Time Method: The D2
was described in a previous entry. It was originally set to involve
kicking the ball straight at the wall from a point 5 yards away from the
wall, then running in the same direction as the rebounding ball, and then
catching up to the ball and commencing an air-dribble at a 45 degree angle
towards the left or towards the right. But after a few minutes of doing
the drill I decided that the ball should be kicked from 6 yds from the
wall not 5.
Reality: Today I found that
typically (estimates): I would kick the ball at the wall from 6 yds away;
the ball would rebound off the wall and I would catch up to it at a point
16 yds aways from the wall after it had bounced once; then I would
commence an air-dribble of up to approx 12 yds, towards the 730 direction
in the first half, and the 430 direction in the second half, given the
wall the ball was kicked at as being at 12:00. I used my 'traditional'
(chipping) style of kicking the ball (not the Beckham style), I was
hitting a point on the wall about 10 feet above the ground. The sprint to
catch the ball was on average I estimate about 85% of max sprint speed,
the air-dribble speed after intercept was also approx 85% max sprint
speed. Today as I chased the ball before intercepting the ball, the ball
was almost always to my right.
445-540 PM 55 mins
D2-Right: This involved cutting at a 45 degree angle to my right
upon intercept. There were plenty of successes with a no-bounce 12
yd air-dribble being executed upon intercept, almost every
air-dribble run involved just one or zero bounces. I was just trying to do
what was natural for me this time, and I found that the first touch on the
ball would always be with my left foot. On average I would touch the ball
during the air dribble using only my left foot taking 5.4 paces in between
touches. The average run would involve a kick with the left, 5.5 paces,
another kick with the left, and then after this, I would kick the ball
with my left foot taking 4.6 paces not kicking the ball between
kicks.
5 min interval between halves
today
540--630 PM 50 mins
D2-Left: This involved cutting at an approx 45 degree angle
to my left upon intercept. I was just trying to do what was natural
for me again, I found that typically on average: the first touch on
the ball would always be with my right foot; this would be followed
by 4.7 paces without touching the ball; then I would kick the
ball with my left foot; then during the rest of the air-dribble
after the first touch on average I would take 2.6 paces without
kicking the ball between paces, kicking the ball with my left
foot. The level of success was not as high as the first 45 mins
because this involved kicking the ball to my left with my right foot; the
problems being that I am left footed, and the kick to the left with the
right involves a change of direction of the type not practiced on
straight-as-an-arrow air dribble runs.
General Notes:
Obstructions such as bleachers, wall, a
pulley-machine, a low 8 foot high basketball hoop, limited the length of
the air-dribbles to 12 yds but this could be extended by switching to
volleying the ball off a different point in the gym wall.
I found that I was today, instinctively
without conscious deliberation using pacing so as to meet/kick the ball
with my right foot when I would turn to my left, and with my left
foot when I would turn to my right. The implication is that turning
to the right by kicking the ball with the left foot and turning to
the left by kicking the ball with the right foot should be more
emphasized in practice than turning to my left by kicking the ball
with my left foot or turning to my right by kicking the ball with my
right foot.
I was much better turning to my right
than I was turning to my left today--and today the method the entire day
was that the ball would be to my right as I would chase it before
contacting it and turning to air-dribble off at a 45 degree
angle.
Thus the wise approach for me is
probably to have the ball on my left when chasing it down before
contacting it and air-dribbling off to the left or right at somewhere
around a 45 degree angle. That way, with the ball on my left as I
chase it down, I can use my favored left foot to cut left, and I can also
use my favored left foot to cut right when commencing the air-dribble off
at an angle. I did not realize this before I started the practice--seemed
the ball to my right after the rebound was natural since I was kicking the
ball at the wall with my left foot.
Change of direction using the right foot
during an air-dribble is an underdeveloped art with me.
This D-2 drill appears to be good for
improving acceleration, speed over first 10 yds of sprint, and reaction
time.
Again I had the feeling that I ran faster
chasing a ball than I do not chasing the ball, seems when chasing the ball
i sort of glide over the ground in such a way that the ground
would testify that I am lighter than I am when not chasing a
ball.
Faces in the Crowd:
This clean shaven black haired stocky short
white guy was in the gym shooting baskets with me part of the
time.
D2 left and right graphic (added
September 20 '07):
The blue line shows my movement prior to
intercepting the ball. The yellow line shows the ball as it rebounds off
the wall before I intercept it (drill) or the ball passed by a team-mate.
The reddish/orange line shows my movement after I intercept the ball on
the air-dribble.
 |
Replique 7.5 psi
Adidas Bracara indoors with 2 layers
padding
black sweat
socks |
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Monday
Sept 17 07
Waltham Y Gym
4:45 - 6:30
PM |
C4-to Right
(AIR-variant) 4/2
45 mins
15 min break
C4-to Left
(AIR-variant) 4/2
45 mins
|
New C4 Air-Variant Drills Done For
First Time
Method: was to throw the
ball soccer-style at a point above the previously used 3 foot wide 5
foot high banner hanging on the wall, whose center is 11 feet above the
ground. The ball the first 45 minutes was thrown from a point on the
ground 2 yards to the left of the target, and 4 yds from the
wall (of course the point on the wall the target is on, that is closest to
the point the ball was thrown from). After throwing the ball I ran 6
yds to my right to intercept the ball before it bounced and commenced an
up to 20 yds in length air-dribble in the 4:30 direction given the point
on the wall the ball was thrown at as 12:00.
The second 45 minutes everything was the same
except the point the ball was thrown from was 2 yds to the right of the
target point, I ran to my left 6 yds to intercept the rebounding ball
before it bounced, and commenced the air-dribble in the 7:30 direction
given the point on the wall the ball was thrown at as 12:00.
Intervals: 5 secs at the
starting point between attempts plus 10 sec taking notes + 15 seconds
retrieve-ball and walk back to starting point.
Speeds estimates: Generally
this was 80% on the run to intercept the rebounding ball before it bounced
and 70-95% on the air-dribble after intercept.
C4-Air Variant--to right-4/2 445-530
PM: My idea is that when a drill is done for the first time, the
log should show a detailed annotated verbatim transcription of the
practice session notes which can serve as reference point for later
judging improvement in the drill.
Notes Transcription (words added at
keyboard in parentheses):
(
How to Read these Notes: These heiroglyphics
describe step-by-step what happened after I kicked/threw the ball at
the wall. At first I left the paces run before making first contact with
the rebounding ball out of the notes.
H=header; bo=ball bounced; rite=correct;
(somenumber)% = speed as percent of max sprint speed; on=correct;
Thigh=ball hit with thigh; (somenumber) = number of paces run without
touching the ball; L=ball kicked with left foot; R=ball kicked with right
foot; " = same as above; RF=right foot; bouncer=ball bounced;
off=incorrect; dir=direction; LF=ball kicked with left foot; non bounce =
ball did not bounce; no bounce = ball did not bounce; (number like times
shown on a clock) = a direction given the point on the wall the ball
was kicked at as twelve o'clock; bo=ball bounced; obstruction = ran into
some obstacle such as bleachers or wall;
no bo = ball did not bounce; good = correct; AD = air dribble; some number followed by 'PM' = a direction as on a clock again; zero/no bo = ball did not bounce; Ft = ball kicked with foot did not remember which foot; --> = to/towards; long = ball hit too far; ?? = dont remember what happened at this point; on target = the air-dribble was in the correct intended direction as prescribed by the drill )
447 H 8 bo, L direction rite
449 H-6 bo, R direction rite
451 H - 8, bo, R 90% on AD dir
rite
452 H - too far, direction on
453 H " same as above
454 H, 6 bo, Thigh, 4, L, 1, L obstruction
bleachers
456 from begind RF on bouncer
off
457 H, 6, bo, RF off dir rite
458 H, 6, bo, LF off dir rite
459 8, bo, RF off from behind
500 H underlead
501 4, H, too far dir rite
502 4, H, 6, L off non bounce dir
on
503 4, H, 4, RF (off) no bounce dir
rite;
504 4, H, 6, RF off no bounce dir
on;
505 4 H too far dir rite
507 4, H, dir completely
opposite
508 4, H, 6, bounce, RF off, dir
530
509 4, H, 4, H, 4, H, 4, H dir 300 (this was
a long no-bounce air-dribble upon intercept of the rebounding ball that
went in the 3:00 direction given the point on the wall the ball was
kicked at as 12:00)
510 4 H, 10, bo, RF, obstruction AD
90%
512 4 H, 10, bo, RF
514 4 H dir off
515 RF off
516 RF off
517 4, H, 4, LF, 1, RF off no bo dir
good
519 4, H, 8 bo L, L, 3, L obstruction 90%
speed
520 4, H, 4, RF off;
521 4, H off, to 3 PM some balls simply
impossible to mount AD to 430 PM
523 8 bo R 3 L 3 L 1
L
524 4 H, underlead off
525 4 H, 8 bo, L 4
L
526 RF miss;
527 4, Rite Thigh effortless line drive to 3
PM Hit wall 20 yds away shoulder high;
528 4 RF line drive rite long, effortless 20
yd line drive
530 4, H, dir 330, long line
drive
530-545 Break.
Slitely sweaty, slitely tired, slitely
winded...Several of these were fast 15-20 yd 1 bo air dribs in the
correct intended direction.
Hitting space
between 'Food And' line & 'vending' Line = circle behind catch w/ RF
(this refers to how the wall being hit at a lower point with the ball
results in the first touch on the rebound being with the right
foot)
Problem w/ window
above area on wall hit w/ throw-in (a window above the target area
restricts the available target area)
Latter part 1st half
Black Buddha, girl-friend black boy
Throw in has alot to
do w/ this. (skill in hitting exactly the right spot on the wall, at
exactly the right velocity, has alot to do with the ensuing level of
success off of the rebound).
2nd half
Rite to
Left
(C4-Air Variant--to left-4/2 545-630
PM)
548 4 H 4 H 4 RF off; dir rite zero
bo
550 4 H 4 F 1 H no bo dir
rite
552 4 H off --> 6 PM
554 4 H off dir rite
556 4 H off --> 9, too far
558 4 H, dir off to 11 PM
559 4 H, 8 bo, Ft dir
perfect
Black Buddha run
around chair (unintelligible) 1st part 2nd half
559 4 H, 6, H, 6, H, 6, Ft off dir on
70% speed, but long no bounce
602 4, H, 6 BO, Ft, dir on 1 bo 95%
speed;
603 H Dir off --> 1000 pm;
605 4 H, 10 bo, L 3 L obstruct, 90%
speed;
606 4 H 6 H 6, Ft off dir on 85%
speed long air
608 H straight uppish, 6, H, 6 bo ft;
slow --> fast, dir on
610 H, dir rite, long;
611 H, Dir rite, long;
612 H off --> 1000
613 H off --> 900
614 H, 6, H, 4, H, 4, H, 4 H 70%
speed very long no bounce
616 H, long off to 630
617 4 H 6 H6 H6 - low hoop obstruct
off --> 800; 60% speed
619 4H, 6 H, 6, H ?? on target 75%
speed;
621 4H, 8 bo, RF obstruction 85%
speed
622 4 H long to 8 PM
624 4, H, 6, L, L (this L circled)
would have been long fast 85% speed no bounce, bleacher
obstruct (if the bleachers were not there I would have hit it
with the left foot before it bounced on the last touch
625 4 H 6 L off long to 9 PM 80%
speed;
626 H long-->530 PM
627 H long --> 700 PM
628 4, H, 10, bo, obstruct 70-95%
speed (this ball would have been reached after bouncing once at a fast
sprint but an obstruction such as wall, curtain bleachers etc got in the
way)
629 4, H, long --> 1000 on
clock
End of Verbatim transcription of notes with
later annotations in Parentheses
General Notes:
At the beginning of the second half I felt
that this running to my left to intercept the ball was more natural for me
than running to my right, and I produced at least a couple of long fast
zero bounce air dribble runs in the correct direction after intercepting
the rebound with my head, the future looked like it was very quickly
brightening. But soon fatigue caught up with me and began to compromise
the achievement level.
The second half was similar to the
first half in that there were several long fast one bounce runs with the
ball under control and air-dribbled over the 15-20 yds covered, these
ended generally due to running into obstructions. sometimes due to ball
being kicked too far.
This C4 Air Variant is the toughest drill I
have done. I am not missing or off target that much directionally
speaking but I am hitting lots of balls too far to keep up an air-dribble.
The future re what I can do after I intercept
the rebound off the wall seems to be: soon I will be able to
consistently head the ball in the intended direction, sprint 8 yds,
and then before it bounces pass it or shoot it; then a little later I will
be able to consistently produce fast 1 bounce 15 yd air dribbles in the
intended direction. I suppose team tactics can be devised that make
use of whatever level of skill I or some other player is currently at.
I was surprised how often I screwed
up when after starting an air dribble in the direction prescribed in the
drill, I had to use my left or right foot on the ball. These runs differ
from the usual straight ahead air-dribble-run drill in that they begin
with the ball being headed; which implies that in straight ahead air
dribble drills I should sometimes try to replace the second kick of the
run with a header.
I noticed that in these C-4 Air Variant runs,
and unlike my experience with the D2, I was not unconsciously
automatically adjusting my paces between touches of the ball so as to get
my left foot on the ball more than my right. This due to differences
between the two.
Looks like I did better in the second half
than in the first but during the practice I did not feel this to be the
case probably due to constantly-increasing-expectations syndrome.
Faces in the Crowd:
Black Buddha was there in the gym with what
seemed to be a black girfriend, running windsprints slowly, during the
last half of the first half and the first half of the second. I think I
heard the girlfriend say re me, "he's fast", at a time when I had in the
course of the drill done some long fast sprints. I must admit I was sort
of gliding along effortlessly at a high speed which is the way I get when
I am chasing a ball--when I am sprinting without a ball my body seems
about 50% heavier.
I never saw Black Buddha paying so much
attention to me before. Seems something about the quick airiness and the
(potential/simulated) teamwork and the speed and the long distances
involved in this C4 Air Variant drill captured Black Buddha's imagination.
Black Buddha was wearing a T-shirt that had
'U-Mass Football' on the front and 'is it in you' on the back. Which
brings to mind: U Mass has a pretty good, famous football team; Blck
Buddha is about 6 feet four inches tall stocky muscular and not
fat; and, the scripture about how if you do not have the spirit of
Christ you do not belong to Christ is a scary scripture.
In the second half I was in the far corner of
the gym and Black Buddha slowly walked all the way across the gym to me
from the opposite corner. I was wondering what kind of trouble based on
false accusations I was in now. Black Buddha then said some
unintelligible things to me in a Jamaican sounding accent. Turned out he
wanted to warn me that he and his friend were going to do windsprints
featuring them running from the opposite corner of the gym to the corner I
was in, circling the chair my clipboard and watch and pen etc was on, and
then running back to their corner of the gym--and this they did a few
times as we tried to stay out of each other's way...they reminded me of
dolphins playing with people on a boat as they did these corner to corner
windsprints involving circling my chair.
And second half a white couple moved to
another basket to get out of my way when I politely asked them to. And
about 620 PM as I felt I was beginning to screw up due to fatigue the
volleyballers began arriving...but in retrospect the notes do not show me
screwing up that bad at the end.
This approx 2194 word soccer log entry
typed/written up in 118 minutes.
|
Replique ball 7.5 psi Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
black
sweat-socks |
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Tuesday Sept 18 07
415-615 PM
Wednesday Sept 19 07
445-630 PM
Thursday Sept 20 graphic work done |
Tuesday: Modified B-2 off the basketball
backboards
Wednesday: B-3 Air Variant, modified B-3 air
variant
Thursday morning:
added D2 on field graphic to entry for Sept
16; added A4 on-field graphic to entry for Sept 14; added a second C4
graphic to entry for Sept 11.
B3 Graphic Added Sept 24 07
|
Tuesday Sept 18 Modified B-2 Air Variant
left and right
Tuesday Sept 18, I attempted the B-2 Air variant drill, in which upon intercept of the rebounding ball before it bounces, I air-dribble in the 1:30 or the 10:30 direction (given the point on the wall the ball was kicked at as 12:00) (depending on my start point relative to the point on the wall the ball rebounds from). I started by throwing the ball at a point on a basketball backboard, because this drill is impossible if the ball is thrown at the gym wall, a point 2 yards to the left of the point 6 yards in front of the center of the basketball backboard. This was the B-2 right air variant. I found that if the direction maintained was
the 130 as specified in the B2 drill specs, I ran into the gym wall too
quickly. I switched to a different basketball backboard and changed
the direction upon intercept from 1:30 to 2:00 on the imaginary clock
dial. I switched from 2 yds to 3 yds to the left of the point 6 yds
in front of the backboard. This new distance I found to be so far as to
produce excess inaccuracy on the throw-in. I switched back to 2 yds to the
left 6 yds out. Then I switched to 5 yds out 2 yds to the left, which made
things a little easier.
The first 50 minutes ended and after a 5 min
break I switched to B-2 left air variant for 55 minutes, throwing the ball
at the backboard on an 8 foot high basket, from a point 2 yds to the right
of the point 2 yds in front of the baclboard. I had to use the small size
backboard because the normal height basket was in use. Again I modified
the B-2 so as to upon intercept air-dribble in the 10:00 direction instead
of the 10:30 direction.
At the conclusion of the practice I
felt that even this modified B-2 thing (an improvement under the
circumstances over the original B-2) was resulting in too much
running into obstacles too quickly after intercept of rebounding ball; not
enough running after intercept of rebounding ball; and too much having to
resort to weird things like throwing the ball at the backboard of an eight
foot high basketball backboard from 2 yds in front and 2 yds to the side.
These factors combined to make the B-2 a physically and emotionally
demoralizing experience.
I felt that I had to study my notes at home
to see if it would be OK to replace the B-2 with the B-3. I concluded that
the B-3 would be acceptable. The B-3 is the same as the B-2 except that
after intercepting the rebounding ball, one runs towards 9:00 on the
imaginary clock dial for the B-3 left and towards 3:00 on the imaginary
clock dial for B-2 right given the point on the wall the ball rebounds
from as 12:00 on the imaginary clock dial.
By 6:15 PM the gym was crowded with kids and
the big blow-up-like-a-balloon castle the kids play in was making tons of
noise I felt I could not go on.
Wednesday B-3 Air Variant left and
right
New B3 Drills Left/Right (Air
Variant) Done For First Time
Method: was to throw
the ball at the previously used 3 foot wide 5 foot high banner
hanging on the wall, whose center is 11 feet above the ground. Aiming for
a point approx 12 feet above the ground seemed to work (the line with
'corp' on it on the vending banner).
For the B-3 Air Variant (Right) the
first 45 minutes The ball was thrown at the wall from a
point 2 yds to the left of the point 6 yds in front of the point on the
wall the ball was thrown at.
After throwing the ball at the target I ran forward and to my right,
diagonally, to intercept after running 4 paces the rebounding
ball before it hit the ground, at a point on average 3 yds to the
right of the point 3 yds in front of the point on the wall the ball
rebounded from. Then I attempted an air-dribble in the 9:00
direction (given 12:00 for the point on the wall the ball rebounded
from on the imaginary clock). Then while walking I retrieved the
ball, walked back to the start point, and usually stopped at a chair near
the start point my clipboard was on to make notes.
For the B-3 Air Variant (Left) the
second 45 minutes the ball was thrown at the wall from a
point 2 yds to the right of the point 6 yds in front of the point on the
wall the ball was thrown at.
After throwing the ball at the target I ran forward and to my left,
diagonally, to intercept the rebounding ball before it hit the
ground, after 4 paces of running at a point on average 3 yds to
the left of the point 3 yds in front of the point on the wall the
ball rebounded from. Then I attempted an air-dribble in the
4:00 direction (given 12:00 for the point on the wall the ball
rebounded from on the imaginary clock). Strictly speaking for the B-3
(left) the air-dribble should have gone in the 3:00 not the 4:00 direction
but I had to change this because the approx 8 yr old girls and their
teachers/parents took over half the gym. Again, after each run while walking I retrieved the ball, walked
back to the start point, and usually stopped at a chair near the start
point my clipboard was on to make notes.
Intervals: 5 secs at the
starting point between attempts plus 5 secs ball retrieveal, 10 sec walk
back to the starting point 5 and 10 secs note taking.. Speeds estimates: The run
before the intercept was at about 75% max sprint speed. See transcription
of practice session notes below re speeds thereafter.
Next I show a verbatim transcription
of the practice notes, with later additions in
parentheses.
(The notes
describe chronologically step by step what happened after I intercepted
the ball and began the air-dribble. Almost all of the runs that I bothered
to note, were runs featuring me properly dribbling in the direction
prescribed by the B-3 drill method, which is 3 or 9 on the imaginary
clock dial)
(B3-right Air Variant 6/2 1st 45
mins 445-530 PM): 447 H 6 RF off 12 yds 95% sp on targ
449 " 90% speed
450 H, 6, bo, LF 3, LF 1, LF1 80% 12 yd
454 on Targ 95%, H 6 H to 3 PM marker at 12 yds (no
bounce)
455 H, 8, LF invol shot 12 yds no bounce onT 95%
speed
457 H6, H3, H 15 yds 85% speed no bo onT
459 H up 6, H, 6 bo R 15 yds 80% speed
501 H up, H forward overled
off targ ignored (mostly the runs not on target were not noted)
502 H6 H6, H6, H 6 bo rf 20 yds no bo 60% speed
503 black bespectacled and hispanic playing basketball from
start
505 moving from 6 out 2 left to 3 out 3 right 4 paces avg
before contact
506 H 8 bo R 1 R 2 L 20 yds 1 bo 85% speed, on
targ
509 H6 L, 8 bo obstruct 92% speed, 25 yds, 1 bo on
targ
511 H 6 R 4 L 3 L 25 yds 80% sp, no bounce --> 4 oclock
515 H 6 RF off/shot 92% 12 yd 0 bo
517 H 6 H 6 - zig zag L obstruct 15 yd no bo 50% sp
518 Right Thigh ball on targ line drive bounced 10 yds away
520 H 6 R 3 L off 15 yds 90% no bo on targ
521 H 8 bo L 1+skip L 20 yds 92% 1 bo on targ
523 tons of kids suddenly in gym
524 H 6 H 14 yds 95% speed no bo these are sometimes paces of
(greater than or equal to sign) 6 (feet) apparently
526 7 8 year old girls, teachers, parents, mats. I am interrupted,
unscheduled (I did not realize some kind of interruption was on the
schedule).
(Modified B3-left Air
Variant 6/2 2nd 45 mins 545-630 PM):
(Since I now only had half the gym, I decided to modify the
B-3 so as to head off in the 8:00 direction on the imaginary clock instead
of the 9:00 direction upon intercept of rebounding ball, given
12:00 as the point on the wall that the ball hit when it
rebounded). 550 H on target long
553 H on targ long
554 H on targ long
556 H 6 bo, Ft 3 Ft on targ
558 H on targ, long
559 H 6 L 6 H 6 L obstruct 20 yds 65% speed no bounce on targ
601 H 4 R off, 95% speed 10 yds no bo --> 830 PM
603 H on targ long hit target cone 12 yds away
604: H6 R off --> 730 10 yds no bo 70% sp approx on targ
606 H6H6H6L4L on target 20 yds no bo 70% speed
608 H off --> 11 OCLOCK off-dir not alwez skipped (I do not always
simply skip reporting runs which were not on target directionally
speaking)
609 H 6 R 2 L 2 R obstruct-curtain- 20 yds A D no bo 85%
speed on target. NOTE-these runs speed up on the 2nd touch, giving avg
speeds
612 H 6 H obstruct-bleachers-11 yds no bo 80% sp --> 830 approx on
targ
613 H 6 bo L off shot 12 yds on targ 90% sp
615 H 6 bo L 3 L 65% speed --> 7 PM approx on targ
616 H 6 bo L 3 L-thigh-shoulder-head approx on targ 730 pm, 70%
sp
618 H off --> 630 hard went 15 yds line drive before
hitting ground
620 approx on targ 90% 1 bo 12 yds (didnt remember
details)
621 H off --> 11 PM some rebounds impossible to do this
trick with; wisdom=knowing when to abort the attempt
623 H 6 bo ft, off a low header on a low ball surprise not
that bad on targ
625 H off to 10 PM tough ball on rebound (this rebound off the wall
was hard to handle)
626 H6 L6 H 4 Ft off but 90% sp 15 yd Air Drib on targ (no
bounce)
627 H off --> 630 pm, sailed as line drive 15 yds before it
bounced
629 H 6 underled L off/shot
there are times when I can pass or shoot or let ball bounce
but cannot continue air-drib. I can recognize such situations &
respond appropr (appropriately). But the point of this skill developm
(development) drill is to try to continue the air drib
2nd half of course more difficult (because of heading away
from wall not parallel to wall upon intercept).
General Notes:
Today I could clearly see significant improvement in terms of
the ability to keep the air dribble going with the foot after heading the
ball.
The first 45 minutes I felt that I was consistently able
to air-dribble the ball from the intercept point to a point 12 yds
away fast, on only one bounce or without a bounce.
The 2nd 45 minutes I felt I did a pretty good job of
beginning to master something exceptionally difficult.
This B-3 thing might, especially when modified so the air-dribble
runs away from the wall the ball rebounds from instead of parallel to it,
actually be more difficult than the C4 Air Variant which I said was the
most difficult thing I ever did.
Faces in the Crowd:
The first half this clean shaven white black haired teenage boy who
looked hispanic and a black guy wearing specs were shooting baskets. The
black guy wearing specs was the type of bespectacled black
guy re whom all you can tell re his age is that he is between 17 and
45. I thought I was doing well, but I realized I would be feeling
better if the hispanic guy had scoffed at some famous player while
watching me.
When the little girls ( most of them were white) came in with
their teachers/parents at the end of the second half, they showed not
interest in pulling the curtain between the two halves of the gym or
keeping me out of their half. I was wearing shorts no shirt because of the
heat. Some of the little girls smiled at me, seemed that they find me
attractive the same way attractive adult females find me to be attractive.
I felt like they could discern priestly good qualities within me just
by looking at me. I felt a camaraderie with them in the sense that
none of our bodies had been built up by lots of weightlifting but we, the
girls and I, still had respectable bodies. To me they ( the
girls) looked like quality kids, some of them were beautiful. I was
thinking, there are these "sexy" pretty busty adult females who are
derided for being sexy and busty--even though they, these sexy busty
pretty adults, were at one time innocent angelic looking girls like these
little ones in the gym, and even though they these sexy busty pretty
adults are capable of having children that are like these innocent angelic
looking little ones in the gym.
This approx 2328 word entry written in approx 120 minutes.
B3 Graphic Added Sept 24
07
The graphic shows the B3 bouncer as it would look if executed
approximately like the B2 bouncer described in the Wednesday September 12
entries. The B3-Air Variant, is almost a twin of the B3 bouncer except the
distance covered by the player (me) on the run before intercepting the
ball, and the distance the ball travels after rebounding from the wall are
shorter; and of course, the ball is intercepted with the head before it
bounces as opposed to after it has bounced once. In the graphic below, you
can see the path of the ball (passed by a team-mate during a game or
rebounding off the wall during the drill) in the yellow line; my path or
the player's path in the blue line; the exact line covered in the B3 drill
in the middle orange/red line; and slight deviations from the B3 drill
lines in the two outside orange lines.
 |
Replique ball 7.5 psi Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
sweat-socks |
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Thursday
Sept 20 '07
Waltham Y basketball court gym
430-630 PM
|
15 min determining distances for A-4 air
variant
A4 air variant left: 45 mins
15 min break
A4 air variant right: 45 mins
|
Did A4 Air-Variant (left and right)
for first time
Newly Developed A4 Drill Practiced For First
Time
Method: The A4
(bouncer) was described in the previous Sept 14 entry. The
Ar air variant done today involved throwing the ball (soccer
style) at the 3 foot wide 5 foot high advertising banner target on the
wall 7 yds away, then charging forwards 4 yds at approx 75% speed for
3 paces to meet the rebounding ball, and then upon intercept of the
rebounding ball before it bounced ( using the head) commencing an
air-dribble in the 4:30 direction (for the A-4 right) given the target on
the wall the ball rebounded from as 12:00 on the imaginary clock dial. For
the A-4 left the second half everything was the same
except upon intercept of the ball the air-dribble went in the 7:30
direction of the imaginary clock dial.
I found that aiming for a point approx 12.5
feet above the ground on the wall produced good results.
Here begins the verbatim
transcription of the notes taken in practice today with later additions in
parentheses
(
How to Read these Notes: The
shorthand describes step-by-step what happened after I
kicked/threw the ball at the wall. I left the paces run before making
first contact with the rebounding ball out of the notes.
H=header; bo=ball bounced; rite=correct;
(somenumber)% = speed as percent of max sprint speed for entire air
dribble or segment of air dribble; on=correct; Thigh=ball hit with thigh;
(somenumber) = number of paces run without touching the ball; L=ball
kicked with left foot; R=ball kicked with right foot; " = same as above;
RF=right foot; bouncer=ball bounced; off=incorrect; dir=direction; LF=ball
kicked with left foot; non bounce = ball did not bounce; no bounce = ball
did not bounce; bo = bounce; (number like times shown on a clock) = a
direction given the point on the wall the ball was
kicked/thrown at as twelve o'clock; bo=ball bounced;
obstruction or obstruct = ran into some obstacle such as bleachers or
wall; good = correct; AD = air dribble; air drib - air dribble; some
number followed by 'PM' = a direction as on a clock again; zero/no bo =
ball did not bounce; Ft = ball kicked with foot did not remember which
foot; --> = to or towards; long = ball hit too far; ?? = dont remember
what happened at this point; on target or on targ= the air-dribble
was in the correct intended direction as prescribed by the drill; onT = on
target the ball air-dribbled in the correct intended direction as
prescribed by the drill; up = ball kicked up towards ceiling); sp=speed;
some number followed by 'yds' = the air-dribble covered this distance;
Started (practice session) w perfect pass to hisp teenager (first thing I did when walking out on to the basketball court was kick a ball rolling my way to this hispanic teenager with my right foot (I'm left footed) using the from-behind toe-ish-style. The ball went right to him waist high exactly where I aimed it to he seemed kind of astonished). mustache boy & co ( these boys were there
first half)
(as I started the practice I felt like this
was the most difficult thing I have ever done, and I felt afraid that for
the first time this would be something I would be unable to do. This was
tough--charging forward at a ball coming straight towards you, and then
heading the ball backwards behind me at an angle to start an
air-dribble)
(A4-right Air Variant 45 mins 445-530
PM)
445 H off long --> 1130
446 H up H 6 bo ft, obstruct wall 15 yds 90%
speed after 2nd H
447 H on targ
long
449 H on targ
long
450 H onT, 10, bo, L, obstruct 90% 15
yd
451 H onT, 8, bo, R, 1 L, onT 90% 15
yd
8th grade girls problem resolved ( these
approx 8th grade girls wanted to play bball but were concerned about
getting in the way. Eventually they went to the other side to disrupt the
half court soccer game mustache bo & co were playing. I admired them (
the girls) & mustach boy & co for allowing this to be the solution
as it did not disrupt me)
454 H 8 bo --> 330 PM; 80%;
L 6 L --> 430 pm 95% total 15 yds 1 bo onT
457 H 6 -65%- R 3 R -95%- 15 yds no bo -->
5 PM
459 H onT long went 12 yds before
bouncing
501 H onT, long 15 yds line drive before
bounce
502 H 8 bo --> 330 pm; L off note--a
curving route to 430 target may often be the solution
503 H 6 H 4, R cutrtain obstruct 15
yds 90% no bo exactly on target stepped on 12 yd 430 PM marker
cone
506 H 6, onT, R--> 540, 6 bo 70% 15
yds
508 missed H went overhead
508 H 6 H 4 H curtain obstruct 15
yds, no bo, onT, 95% speed
520 H 6 onT but high, 6, R off
512 H off long --> 600, line dirve bo 10
yds away
514 H long approx onT, bo at 10
514 H off to 1 PM
515 H 6 --> 3 PM, H miss on attempt to
turn
516 H onT line drive long bounced 11 yds away
exactly onT though.
518 same as above;
519 H onT, 7, L, ball hit (my) face,
line drive into wall but 15 yds 95% speed no bo onT
520 H --> 530 line drive hard long bounced
15 yds away
522 H off --> 1 PM
523 H line drive onT bo at 10 yds
long
524 H, 6 R 6 bo L 6 bo 20 yds 90% sp
2 bo onT
525 H 6 R off/shot long, 85% sp
527 H off to 1 PM some balls
impossible to do this, should go up first I guess good tactix should take
into account what commonly goes wrong
528 H 6 --> 330 PM,
L 6 --> 430 L 6 L curtain obstruct, ended up onT, tremendous 95%
speed no bo 20 yd curving (what happened here was that
first I was off in the 330 direction on the imaginary clock dial given the
point the ball bounced off the wall from as 12:00; then I turned towards
the intended 430 direction on the imaginary clock dial, going at the 430
direction was the object of the drill but I did it this time in a kind of
curving flight path)
--------------------
Curtain drawin kids on other side; half time:
no doubt, trying to do something very difficult time after time
for 45 mins, while every detail is recorded, is phys
(physically) & ment (mentally) tiring
(A4-left Air Variant 45 mins 545-630
PM)
545 H long line dr (drive) exactly
onT bo 11 yds away
547 H 8 bo L 6 L obstruct 20 yds 1 bo
95% sp onT
548 H off --> 1100
550 H 6 R 6 R (circled R which means
that the ball would have been kicked with the right foot if not for the
obstruction) obstructed last R bleachers --> 830 15 yds no bo 95%
sp
552 H off --> 1200
553 H 8 bo L off long but 15 yds at
95% sp 1 bo onT
554 H off --> 430, spinning bounce -->
600 pm
556 H 10 bo L obstruct --> 600 95% 1 bo 15
yds
557 H up 4, H 4 R off/shot but 12 yd
no bo 95% speed after 2nd touch onT
558 H 6 L 1 L chest off but 12 yds
95% sp no bo exactly onT
600 H 6 H 4 H obstruct kids 95% sp 1
bo onT
601 H 6 bo L 4 H 4 L 20 yds 1 bo 90%
sp onT
603 H 6 bo L 4 L obstruct curtain 95%
sp 1 bo onT
605 H 4 up H 6 R off/shot --> 9 pm,
90% sp after 2nd touch
606 H 6 L 4 L 4 L4 L 1 L 25 yds no bo
85% sp onT note--ft after head improving
608 kids started adding/moving cones ( they
customized the cone marker setup for my drill)
610 H 6 L off --> 9 PM worries about kids
around woman placed herself, her kids, her baby, her baby carriage in
exactly the wrong spot near wall
612 H, 6 bo L 6 L (circled L meaning
ball would have been gotten to with the left foot if not for the
obstruction) obstruct curtain would have been 95% sp --> 7 PM 1 bo 20
yds
614 H 6 R off
615 H off line drive --> 630 bounced 15
yds away
616 H 6 bo L 4 L 20 yds 95% sp onT 1 bo
617 H off --> 1200 worries about kids
running around, real problem
618 H 10 bo L 6 L 20 yds 1 bo onT 95%
sp
620 H 8 --> 830, L --> 730, 8 L
off - 15 yds 80% sp no bo onT curve
622 H off --> 10 PM
623 H off --> 6 pm kid noise has become
very loud
625 H 6 H a little long almost a 15
yds 95% sp 1 bo onT
625 approx a dozen screaming kids rip
curtains open, simultaneously run out on to my half of the
basketball court for some reason ( this reminded me of how when one team
beats another in an important match/game, sometimes the fans rush out on
to the field as the game ends, sometimes interfering with the last few
seconds of the game)
628 H 6 L 4 H 1 H 20 yds onT 95% no
bo ended w/ kids obstruct
630 H off --? 630 kid madness getting to
me
End note
developing ability to scoop up
bouncer & go 12 yds at approx 100% speed titely controlled on ( no
bounce) Air Drib
sound of ball being kicked, and of running
very loud w/o earplugs (I wear earplugs during the practice)
(end of verbatim transcription of
notes taken during practice with later additions in
parentheses)
General Notes:
After the practice I drove to Whole-Foods
slash Bread & Circus to get some healthy food into my body I knew I
needed it. They say a soccer player in traning needs 10 thousand calories
per day I have been getting much less. I figure my body metabolism has
been becoming slow to compensate for the high stresses inflicted upon it
combined with low caloric intake, which gets rid of fat. However there are
good points to the fast metabolism high caloric intake slash high
level of activity approach also. The high metabolism type is good at
burning up fat. I looked and looked and ended up buying their marinated
london broil, took it home and broiled it at 15 mins on each side like the
butcher told me. Then after getting it out of the broiler it was dried out
and I poured peanut oil on it, the london broil soaked up the peanut oil
like a sponge. Then I ate it it tasted great all 1.26 pounds of it. But I
could have eaten 4 pounds of it.
To my surprise today I showed that on
the A4 drill after intercept I can consistently travel 15 yds in the
prescribed by the drill direction (430 or 730 given the point the ball
rebounds from off the wall as 12:00) at a high speed with the ball
bouncing only once but kept under control.
The second half was better than the first
half but during the practice this did not seem to be the case. Again,
constantly rising expectations.
Faces in the Crowd: The
little girls of the type seen yesterday were back, they were learning
cheerleading, over and over I heard their innocent unpolluted lungs shout
out some chant that ended with (children are charming when they shout)
"Superstuff" (some of them shouted 'superstars'). Seems these were little
8 year old types learning how to be cheerleaders.
At first it seemed that the fact that these
cheerleading girls had been written about yesterday, hence committed to
history, had resulted in a kind of dulling of the interaction of myself
and them. But when they all poured into my half of the court running all
over the place at the end, as occurs after a team wins big in
basketball or soccer, it not longer seemed that the relationship had been
dulled.
Note: this soccer log entry
approx 2100 wds in length, hard to say exactly how long it took, ate
dinner while writing it up.
|
Replique ball 7.5 psi Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
light brown
sweat-socks |
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Friday
Sept 21 07
415-600 PM
Waltham Y Gym |
D2 Air Variant (right)
45 mins
15 mins break
D2 Air Variant (left)
45 mins
nc |
D2 Air
Variant Drill Practiced For First Time
Method: The D2
Air Variant as practiced today, involved: 1) throwing the ball straight at
the wall--not at an angle--from 2 yds away from the wall to hit the wall
at a point 11 feet above the ground; 2) turning to run away from the wall,
in the same direction as the rebounding ball, approx 4 yds using 4 paces;
3) heading the ball before it hit the ground and commencing an air-dribble
in the 730 direction for the D2-right and in the 430 direction for the
D2-left (given the point on the wall the ball rebounded from as 12:00 on
the imaginary clock dial, from the persective of the point at which
the rebound was intercepted).
Air dribble as explained previously
means running while keeping the ball off the ground but under control,
like normal dribbling except the ball never touches the ground. I estimate
I ran the 4 paces before intercepting the rebounding ball at on average
80% max speed for the first 4 paces of a run.
Seems that this throw 2 yds from the wall approach could be modified
to throw 3 or 4 yds from the wall and you would still have a good drill,
but more difficult.
Here begins the verbatim
transcription of the notes taken in practice today with later additions in
parentheses
(
How to Read these Notes: The
shorthand describes step-by-step what happened after
I threw or kicked the ball at the wall. I left the 4 paces
run before making first contact with the rebounding ball out of the
notes.
H=header; bo=ball bounced; no bo = ball did
not bounce during run; rite=correct; (somenumber)% = speed as percent of
max sprint speed for entire air dribble or segment of air dribble;
on=correct; Thigh=ball hit with thigh; (somenumber) = number of paces run
without touching the ball; L=ball kicked with left foot; R=ball kicked
with right foot; " = same as above; RF=right foot; bouncer=ball bounced;
off=incorrect--there was something wrong with the touch on the ball
preceding the word 'off'; dir=direction; LF=ball kicked with left foot;
non bounce = ball did not bounce; no bounce = ball did not bounce; bo =
ball bounced; (number like times shown on a clock) = a direction
given the point on the wall the ball was thrown at as twelve o'clock;
obstruction/obstruct = ran into some obstacle such as bleachers
curtain or wall; good = an especially good run; AD = air dribble; air drib
- air dribble; some number followed by 'PM' = a direction as on a clock
again; zero/no bo = ball did not bounce; Ft = ball kicked with foot did
not remember which foot; --> = to or towards; long = ball hit too far;
?? = dont remember what happened at this point; on target/on targ/onT =
the air-dribble was in the correct intended direction as prescribed by the
drill; up = ball kicked up towards ceiling); sp=speed; some number
followed by 'yds' = the air-dribble covered this distance; underled
= the contact with the ball followed by the word 'underled', resulted in
the ball being underled for the subsequent contact with the ball as I ran
in some direction;
)
(D2 Air Variant Right 42 mins 418-500
PM)
1st 5 min skipped (not noted)
423 H 8 bo L 4 L chest obstruct 25
yds 1 bo 85% onT
425 H 6 --> 630 L 6 --> 730 L
off, but onT 20 yds 95% sp no bo
427 H 8 bo, L-thigh, 1, L off 20 yds
1 bo onT 90% sp
429 H 8 bo --> 600, L obstruct (ball) hit
b-board
431 H 8 bo L 6 L obstruct 20 yds 1 bounce onT
85% sp
432 H 6 H off underled but 12 yds 0
bo onT 95% sp
434 H 6, L 4 L obstruct
bleachers 20 yds no bo 95% sp --> 7 PM approx onT, zero
bounce
Note- cone moved, putting it back (the orange
cones marking direction and distance proceeded in after intercept of
rebounding ball had been somehow moved out of place I took time to move it
back into place)
438 H 6 H 6 R off but 15 yds 85% sp
approx onT, no bo
439 H 6 underled R off
441 H 5 H 5 L
obstruct-bboard--> 700 PM approx onT, 95% sp 15 yds zero
bo
443 H 8 bo --> 830, R off
444 H 6 H 4 H 4 L off, but 15 yds no
bo onT 85% sp
446 H 6 H 6 H underled
but 95% sp onT zero bo 15 yds
447 H 6 long --> 630 PM
449 H 6 --> 700, L 4 --> 800, R
1 R --> 730, 20 yds zero bo, onT zig zag 85% sp
451 H 6 H 4 H 4 H
underled, but 20 yds 95% sp zero bo onT
453 H 6 H 4 H 2 H 2 H 2 H off but 20
yds zero bo 85% sp onT
455 H 8 bo L-thigh, 2, R-thigh, 2, L-thigh
off but 20 yds onT 80% sp 1 bo
457 H 6 bo L 6 L obstruct bleachers
onT 95% sp 20 yds 1 bo
459 H 6 L 12 L obstruct
wall 25 yds, no bo, onT 95% sp
_______________________
1st half ball hit wall 11' above ground,
thrown from 2, caught (with a soccer-legal part of the body) 6 yds from
wall after 4 paces...word 'cares' hit on vending sign first half ( the
first half I aimed on the throw at the word 'cares' on the vending machine
banner on the wall)
(D2 Air Variant Left 42 mins
518-600 PM)
520 H 6 bo, L, 2, Thigh 1 chest
curtain obstruct 20 yds 1 bo 95% sp onT
522 H 6 bo, Thigh, 2, L, 3 L obstruct
20 yds 1 bo 90% sp onT
524 H off long -->
525 H off up
526 H bo chest, 1, shoulder, 1, L
off, 15 yds 1 bo 95% sp onT
527 H off underled, 4 H off
underled
528 H 6 H 6 underled but (almost
like) 12 yds no bo 95% sp onT
529 H 6 H 4 H 4
obstruct curt (curtain) but 20 yds zero bo 90% sp
onT
531 H off --> 330 bo 8, L off
long
532 H 8 bo chin 6 bo R obstruct but
20 yds 95% sp onT
now adjust
(adjusting) marker cones
535 H 8 R 8 L off but 12 yds zero bo
85% sp zig zag
537 H 8 off --> 3 PM
538 H 8 bo R 8 bo L off but 15 yds
95% sp --> 330 pm
540 H 6 H off underled
541 H 6 bo chest 1 face 1 shoulder 1
foot but 95% sp 1 bo onT 15 yds
543 H 6 L off onT
544 H 6 L 8 R 20 yds
98% sp no bo onT tremendous
546 H 6 R off (shot) but 12 yds no bo
onT 98% sp
548 H 8 R stopped ball 1 yd to side
(with my right foot I at the end of this run grounded the ball by
kicking it a yard to the ground a yard to my right at a low velocity)
but 12 yd no bo onT 98% sp
549 mis-throw these usually not reported
today (today on attempts when the throw at the wall to start the run was
off, I did not bother reporting the run)
550 H 4 H 4 H 4 H onT 60% sp these headers
all underled
552 H 8 L 8 R, 97% sp,
approx onT, 15 yds no bo good!
556 H 6 H 4 L 3 R 3
curtain obstruct, 93% onT 23 yds no bo good
557 H 6 --> 330, bo L 6 --> 430
R obstruct 90%, 1 bo curve 20 yds onT
note--not wiping sweat from head (while doing
these air-variants this week, I have not been using a towel to wipe the
sweat from my head)
559 H 8 bo L 1 L 1 L
95% sp onT 20 yds 1 bo, last L segment tite fast (the last segment
featured me at max sprint speed covering approx 10 yds while
keeping the ball off the ground, kicking the ball with my left,
taking a step with my right, kicking the ball with my left, taking a step
with my right, and again kicking the ball with my left before I ran into
the curtain dividing the two sides of the gym)
end note had hamburger, 4 pc chick mcnugget
1/2 hour before practice. Such food before practice seems to make me
sluggish.
Affected by overconfid (overconfidence) re d2
being relatively easy?
(end of verbatim transcription of
notes taken during practice with later additions in
parentheses) General Notes:
During the practice I felt as if I was having
an off day. The evening before I enjoyed drinking approx 32 oz burgundy
wine (in the past I have not appreciated wine much) but seems I paid for
this by feeling down today. As of now I am not sure if I just felt like I
was having a bad day, or indeed actually was having a bad day. I do feel
that the left foot and the right foot were not working as well on airborne
balls today as they were yesterday.
The air variant drills done on the previous
days this week were more difficult so maybe this was kind of like playing
some scrub team the week after playing the top ranked team in the nation.
I felt surprised that the difference in terms
of difficulty between the D2 done today and the other
air-variants was not as great as I thought it would be.
Seems the head was used more on the D2 than
on the other air variants.
I demonstrated that I can on the D2
consistently get to a point 15 yds away from the intercept point at a high
speed, the ball bouncing no more than once along the way, with the
direction I air-dribble towards under control, with me going where I
intended to go.
Faces in the Crowd:
basically none, I drew the curtain to separate my side of the gym from the
other side of the gym so as to mimimize ball recovery times.
Note: this soccer log entry
approx 1766 wds in length, did not keep track how long it
took.
|
Replique ball 7.5 psi
Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
black
sweat-socks |
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Sunday
Sept 23 07
Waltham Y Gym
505-750 PM
Monday Sept 24 07 B3 Graphic
Produced
|
B3 Graphic Added to Sept 19 Entry C4-Air-Foot (right)
45 mins
5 min break
C4-Air-Foot (right)
45 mins
20 min break
C4-Air-Foot (right)
30 mins
nc |
B3 graphic added to Wednesday Sept 19
Entry
New C4 Air-Variant-FOOT Drills
Done For First Time
Method: was to throw the
ball soccer-style at a point on the previously used 3 foot wide
5 foot high banner hanging on the wall, whose center is 11 feet above the
ground. The ball was thrown at a point on the banner 9.5 feet above the
ground, in between the line that says "the" and the line that says
"community".
The ball was thrown from a point on the
ground 2 yards to the left of the target, and 4 yds from the
wall (of course the point on the wall the target banner is on, that
is closest to the point the ball was thrown from). After throwing the
ball I ran 5 yds to my right to intercept the ball before it bounced
with my FOOT and commenced an up to 25 yds in length air-dribble in the
4:30 direction from the perspective of the intercept point, given the wall
as 12:00.
Intervals: 3 secs at
the starting point between attempts plus 10 sec taking notes + 15 seconds
retrieve-ball and walk back to starting point.
Speeds estimates: I estimate
on average I ran the 5 yds parallel to the wall to intercept the
rebounding ball at 60% of max sprint speed. Here begins the verbatim
transcription of the notes taken in practice today with later additions in
parentheses
(
How to Read these Notes: The
shorthand describes step-by-step what happened after
I threw or kicked the ball at the wall. I left the 4 paces
run before making first contact with the rebounding ball out of the
notes.
H=header; bo=ball bounced; no bo = ball did
not bounce during run; rite=correct; (somenumber)% = speed as percent of
max sprint speed for entire air dribble or segment of air dribble;
on=correct; Thigh=ball hit with thigh; (somenumber) = number of paces run
without touching the ball; L=ball kicked with left foot; R=ball kicked
with right foot; " = same as above; RF=right foot; bouncer=ball bounced;
off=incorrect--there was something wrong with the touch on the ball
preceding the word 'off'; dir=direction; LF=ball kicked with left foot;
non bounce = ball did not bounce; no bounce = ball did not bounce; bo =
ball bounced; (number like times shown on a clock) = a direction
given the point on the wall the ball was thrown at as twelve o'clock;
obstruction/obstruct = ran into some obstacle such as bleachers
curtain or wall; good = an especially good run; AD = air dribble; air drib
- air dribble; some number followed by 'PM' = a direction as on a clock
again; zero/no bo = ball did not bounce; Ft = ball kicked with foot did
not remember which foot; --> = to or towards; long = ball hit too far;
?? = dont remember what happened at this point; on target/on targ/onT =
the air-dribble was in the correct intended direction as prescribed by the
drill; up = ball kicked up towards ceiling); sp=speed; some number
followed by 'yds' = the air-dribble covered this distance; underled
= the contact with the ball followed by the word 'underled', resulted in
the ball being underled for the subsequent contact with the ball as I ran
in some direction; long-ball kicked too far; (example): L long bo 15
yds away 530 means the ball was kicked out too far, in the 530 direction
on the imaginary clock, and bounced on the ground 15 yds from the point I
kicked it; if a bounce is not mentioned that means the ball did not bounce
during the air-dribble; (example): 60%/80% sp means the speed on the air
dribble was 60% of maximum sprint speed for the first part of the air
dribble and 80% of max sprint speed for the second part of the air
dribble.
)
(C4 Air Variant -Foot- to Right
45 mins 520-605 PM)
520-5 1st 5 min skipped (not
noted)
525 L 4 H 4 bo L obstruct 15 yds 70% sp
--> 600
526 12 yds line dr, bo -->
500
527 L 10 bo L off onT 90% sp
529 L 6 H 4 H 15 yds onT 95% sp
obstruct
532 L long chip bounced 20 yds away -->
600 pm
533 L off --> 800
some ot these balls hard to do this trick w/,
but pt (point) of drill is to learn this trick
535 L long line drive bo 20 yds --> 530
pm
536 L long bo 12 yds --> 530
537 L 8 H underled onT
538 L off --> 1100 pm
539 L long bo 25 yds --> 530
540 L long chip bo 25 yds onT
541 L 3 H 3 bo R 3 H 2 R 2 L --> 500 pm
50% sp 15 yds
542 L long chip bo --> 500 20
yds
544 L 6 L 6 L obstruct but 15 yds no
bo --> 330 pm 90% sp
546 L long hard roller --> 5
pm
547 L right-hand 6 L off onT
548 L obstruct ceiling
549 L 8 bo H 2 H, 15 yds onT 95%
sp
551 L long bo 20 yds --> 5 pm
note-less time to judge ball trajectory than
in game (I am reaching the ball just about 7 yds away from the point
at which it hit the wall, in a game there is more time to judge the
trajectory of the ball)
552 L long bo 15 yds onT
553 " same as above
554 L long roller --> 600
556 L off --> 200
556 L 8 H 8 4 L obstruct, 20 yds no bo onT
50% sp
558 L off --> 730 short &
slow
559 L off --> 530 line drive bo 15 yds
away
600 " same as above
601 L face --> 200 wall
obstruct
603 L long bo 15 yds away -->
600
604 L long bo 10 yds (away) -->
330
605 L 4 H 4 H obstruct kids but 12 yds no bo
onT 50% sp
(C4 Air Variant -Foot- to Right
45 mins 610-655 PM)
611 L 8 L obstruct-kid worries-but 12
yds no bo exactly onT 98% sp
612 L off --> 600 long bo 10 yds
away
613 L off --> 100 long
614 L 8 L off but 14 yds 98% sp no bo
onT
615 L long --> 530 bo 20 yds
away
616 L long --> 600 bo 20 yds
away
617 L off --> 1200
618 L long --> 530 bo 15 yds
away
620 L 6 H 5 H 4 H 3 H 25 yds no bo
50%/90% sp onT
622 L long --> 400 bo 15 yds
away
623 L 10 bo H obstruct wall -->
530 95% sp 15 yds 1 bo
625 L 6 L off --> 300 pm
626 L long bo 20 yds line drive -->
600
note - may be rushing in ball's direction too
quickly then stopping ( re the initital run to the right to intercept the
rebound)
628 L long bo 20 yds line drive --> 600
same as 626
629 L long line drive hit b-board 20 yds
away, hard effortless shot by mistake, onT
water, clean up spill (drank some water
cleaned up water spilled on ground)
632 L onT bo 13 yds away
633 L off --> 1100
635 L 8 H 4 H, headers underled lots of
backspin on ball but 12 yds no bo onT 60% sp
636 L 8 H 5 H 3 L off, 15 yds no bo 50% sp
--> 530
638 L long chip --> 600 bo 20 yds
away
639 L 6 H 6 L off, but 15 yds 75% sp
onT no bounce
641 L 8 L off but 12 yds no bo onT
80% sp
642 L long chip --> 530 bo 15 yds
away
644 L 6 H 4 H 3 R 3 L 2 L obstruct
gum floor fan but, 60/95% sp, 25 yds, no bo, onT
647 L 8 bo R 4 H obstruct wall but 20
yds 1 bo 95% sp onT
(drank some) water
650 L 8 L 8 L obstruct
wall; awesome 25 yds no bo 99% sp onT
652 L long --> 530 bo 20 yds
away
the throw at wall has alot to do w/
this
653 " same as above
654 L 10, R 1 right
shoulder, obstruct wall; but, 97% sp, approx onT, --> 500, no bo, 20
yds, impressive
After 2nd segment notes:
2nd segment better than 1st I could tell,
despite constantly rising expectations syndrome.
Looking back to the C4/B2/A4 bouncer
drills, I remember that sometimes it takes me more than two 45 min
segments, or approx 120 mins/ 2 hours, to begin to get the hang of a new
trick.
The run to intercept the ball on the rebound
on avg is at approx 60% max speed.
The L/R ft (foot) on ball improved 2nd half
of 2nd segment.
A couple of approx 10 yr old boys were
playing B-ball & soccer in the gym 2nd half 1st segment, 1st half of
2nd segment; black buddha was shooting baskets for about 5 mins during
each segment. When I got hot 2nd half 2nd segment nobody in gym. Felt
tired, but not hot/sweaty/winded after 2nd segment.
The temptation is to quit the practice while
you're ahead so you can feel good for the next 24 hrs, temptation is to
avoid practicing when tired (because when tired there are mistakes), but
such is somewhat foolish, because generally the more practice, the faster
the improvement, the more practive, the better you feel after
practice.
& re the
depressive personality:...(getting depressed over things that should not
be depressing is a problem, however, people who get depressed when they do
not do well at practice, spur themselves on to improvement, because people
do not like to get depressed, a thing called the pleasure-principle
exists)
(C4 Air Variant -Foot- to Right
45 mins 720-750 PM)
720 L hard line drive bo 15 yds away --> 530
721 L 10 bo, L-thigh, obstruct wall, 90% sp --> 330 pm
would have been 1 bo 25 yds
723 L 12 bo, H obstruct wall, 95% speed, 15 yds, 1 bo -->
330
725 L 6 L 6 L 1 L 1 L obstruct - kid worries - 20 yds no bo
90% sp --> 330
727 L 6 H 4 H 4 grounded with L 15 yds no bo 80% sp, -->
530 pm
728 L long --> 330 pm bo 15 yds away
729 L long line drive --> 500 bo 20 yds away
731 L 9 bo H obstruct bleachers 15 yds 1 bo onT 95%
sp
732 L long --> 530 bo 8 yds away
734 L 8 H 4 H onT 12 yds no bo 80% sp headers underled,
strong backspin on ball
735 L long bo 15 yds away --> 530
736 L long bo 20 yds away --> 530
737 " same as above
738 L off --> 130
739 L long --> 600 pm, bo 8 yds away
740 L 8 bo H H H 3, L, 20 yds 2 bo 92% sp onT
741 L long --> 530 chip bo 20 yds away
743 L 8 L 8 bo L obstruct wall, but 25
yds 1 bo 95% sp --> 400 approx onT
745 L 8 H 8 H obstruct bleachers, 15 yds
no bo 90% sp onT
746 L high 10 bo H obstruct wall 20 yds 98% sp 1 bo approx
onT --> 500 pm
747 L long --> 600 pm, bo 15 yds away
749 L 9 H off but 12 yds onT 98% sp no
bo
750 L long --> 600 bo 15 yds away
(end of verbatim transcription
of notes taken during practice with later additions in
parentheses) General Notes:
This was the most difficult drill
I've done so far. At first the first 45 minutes I felt like I had
finally run into something that I cannot do. But by the end of the second
45 minutes I felt like: difficult as this C4-Air-foot thing is I will
eventually be able to master it--it will take longer to master than the
other drills, but eventually I will master it.
Today the only thing done was the
C4-Airfoot-right variant involving me running to my right to intercept the
ball after it rebounded off the wall. This is because the right variant
involves me using my left foot. With something this difficult, I
figure learn how to do it with the favored foot first, then later apply
lessons learned to learning how to do it with the less favored foot.
Also, learn how to do it running in the direction before intercept of
rebound that you are best at, then later learn it runnng the opposite
direction before rebound intercept (it would be possible
for me to intercept the ball with my left foot when running to my left to
intercept the rebound of the ball, today I was runnng to my right to
intercept the rebounded ball with my left foot.).
The notes re what happened when
something went wrong, the ball was not kicked to where I wanted to kick
it, can be of use in the sense that the things that by nature I naturally
do by mistake, I can learn to do on purpose.
I estimate that it will take me 3-10
hours more of practicing the C4 Airfoot Right before I have mastered this
trick. I still feel kind of down over failing so many times with
it, but it is a difficult trick. Now 3.5 hours after practice
ended I finally realize, that I should be happy, happy as someone
who has achieved something great, because although the first 45
minutes I felt stumped, by the end of the 2nd 45 minutes I knew that
eventually I will master the C4 Airfoot Right--and the reality is that
when I do master this difficult and depressing C4 Airfoot Right, I will be
at a unique and high level of greatness...I will be getting to the point
where I will not have to worry about people failing to recognize that I am
a world class player (and that means alot it means
relaxation).
Faces in the Crowd: . See
verbatim section of notes.
Note: this soccer log entry
approx 2399 wds in length, minus the redundant 'how to read the
verbatim notes' section which is now 407 words that is 1992 words,
written/typed up from 908 PM - 1038 PM Sunday Sept 23, which is 90
minutes.
|
Replique ball 7.5 psi
Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
light
brown sweat-socks |
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Tuesday Sept 25
400-600
Waltham Y Gym
|
B3-Air-Foot-ToRight 45 mins
15 min break
40 mins |
B-3 Air Variant-FOOT running to
right
New B3
Drills (to Right) (Air Variant-FOOT) Done For First
Time
Method: was to throw
the ball at a point beneath the previously used 3 foot wide 5
foot high banner hanging on the wall, whose center is 11 feet above the
ground. Aiming for a point approx SEVEN feet above
the ground seemed to work (the line with 'corp' on it on the vending
banner). What worked best was a point 1 foot right of the "target"
which was at the horizontal center of the banner.
B-3 Air
Variant FOOT (Right) was executed both the 1st and 2nd
segments. The ball was thrown at the wall from a point
2 yds to the left of the point 6 yds in front of the point on the wall the
ball was thrown at (exactly speaking 1 foot right of this
point). After throwing the ball at the
target I ran forward and to my right, diagonally, to intercept after
running 3 paces the rebounding ball before it hit the ground, at
a point on average 1.5 yds to the right of the point 3 yds in front
of the target point (the ball was thrown 1 foot right of the 'target'
point. Then I attempted an air-dribble in the 3:00 direction
(given 12:00 on the imaginary clock for the wall the ball was
kicked at from the perspective of the point at which I made the first
touch on the rebounding ball). Then while walking I retrieved
the ball, walked back to the start point, and usually stopped at a chair
near the start point my clipboard was on to make notes, before making the
next run.
Intervals: 5 secs at the
starting point between attempts plus 8 secs ball retrieval, 10 sec
walk back to the starting point and 15 secs note
taking.. Speeds estimates: The run
before the intercept was (had to be) at about 7-90% max sprint speed,
producing a high degree of difficulty. See transcription of practice
session notes below re speeds thereafter.
Next I show a verbatim transcription
of the practice notes, with later additions in
parentheses.
(
How to Read these Notes: The
shorthand describes step-by-step what happened after
I threw or kicked the ball at the wall. I left the 4 paces
run before making first contact with the rebounding ball out of the
notes.
H=header; bo=ball bounced; no bo = ball did
not bounce during run; rite=correct; (somenumber)% = speed as percent of
max sprint speed for entire air dribble or segment of air dribble;
on=correct; Thigh=ball hit with thigh; (somenumber) = number of paces run
without touching the ball; L=ball kicked with left foot; R=ball kicked
with right foot; " = same as above; RF=right foot; bouncer=ball bounced;
off=incorrect--there was something wrong with the touch on the ball
preceding the word 'off'; dir=direction; LF=ball kicked with left foot;
non bounce = ball did not bounce; no bounce = ball did not bounce; bo =
ball bounced; (number like times shown on a clock) = a direction
given the point on the wall the ball was thrown at as twelve o'clock;
obstruction/obstruct = ran into some obstacle such as bleachers
curtain or wall; good = an especially good run; AD = air dribble; air drib
- air dribble; some number followed by 'PM' = a direction as on a clock
again; zero/no bo = ball did not bounce; Ft = ball kicked with foot did
not remember which foot; --> = to or towards; long = ball hit too far;
?? = dont remember what happened at this point; on target/on targ/onT =
the air-dribble was in the correct intended direction as prescribed by the
drill; up = ball kicked up towards ceiling); sp=speed; some number
followed by 'yds' = the air-dribble covered this distance; underled
= the contact with the ball followed by the word 'underled', resulted in
the ball being underled for the subsequent contact with the ball as I ran
in some direction; long-ball kicked too far; (example): L long bo 15
yds away 530 means the ball was kicked out too far, in the 530 direction
on the imaginary clock, and bounced on the ground 15 yds from the point I
kicked it; if a bounce is not mentioned that means the ball did not bounce
during the air-dribble; (example): 60%/80% sp means the speed on the air
dribble was 60% of maximum sprint speed for the first part of the air
dribble and 80% of max sprint speed for the second part of the air
dribble; dk = ball was kicked immediately after it touched the ground
after having been in the air, drop-kick style;
)
(B3-right Air Variant FOOT 6/2
1st 45 mins 415-530 PM):
415-420 Not noted
should have worn shinguards alot of drop kick off shin type
touches
420 L 6 wall obstruct 200
421 L long --> 200
422 L long --> 100
423 L 8 bo H 4 obstruct --> 430
424 L 8 L --> 200 wall obstruct
425 L/dropkick=dk/ long roller --> 730
426 L roller long --> 500
427 L long chip bo 20 yds away --> 330
428 L long --> 100 hit wall
429 L 10 bo L 2 R 2 L 2 R 2 L3, 1 bo 20 yds 60%
sp --> 600 (this showed how the E3 pattern though
it has not been practiced for a while is executed with
competence)
430 L 10 bo, whould have been L at 20 obstruct bboard,
--> 330
432 L long --> 230
433 L long --> 430
434 L 10 bo H obstruct wall 20 yds, onT, 95% sp, 1st close to
success
435 L 8 bo chest off but 12 yds onT 95% sp, 2nd close to
success
438 L 8 --> 400, H --> 300, 5,
L-thigh, 1, L-thigh, 1, L off, but zig zag 15 yds onT 1 bo 60% sp, 3rd
close to success
440 L 10 bo H off, 95% sp 15 yds --> 400
441 L long onT bo 15 yds away
443 L, 11 bo H, obstr wall, 20 yds 95% sp only 1 bo
--> 330
444 L long hard effortless line dr bo 20 yds away -->
400
446 L long --> 200
447 L 4 bo --> 200; then several touch AD onT
(--> 300) 20 yds 2 bo (2 bounces over the 20 yds) 60% sp close to
success
449 L miss
451 L off --> 130 long ctg ( counting) paces to
ball
452 L miss / paces to ball = ptb = 3
453 L off --> 430 ptb=3
454 L off long --> 200 ptb=3
455 L long --> 400 bo 15 yds away ptb=3
456 L 8 bo --> 400, R 6 -->
300, L 6, R 2 L, zig-sag 15 yds 1 bo 90% sp onT; success or close to
success
458 L 8 bo obstr curt ( curtain) --> 600
459 9 L long onT hit wall 20 ds away w/o (without) bo (bounce),
effortless
(500-520 Intermission)
20 minutes after start there was definite significant
improvement. The last 9 mins even counting the paces run to reach
the ball, was enough of a distraction to impair performance. This
is the toughest drill so far, but there is observable defninite gradual
improvement in terms of frequency/magnitutde of error.
The 3 paces taken to reach the ball after the throw have to
be long fast, 70-90% speed paces, which makes this drill tough. But when
its mastered I'll really have something.
The 3 paces take me to a point 1.5 yds right of target, (not
counting aiming ball 1' right of target, & 3 yds from target wall
("target" is the exact center of the banner, I ended up aiming ball a foot
to right of "target").
Ball thrown with right foot forward.
(B3-right Air Variant FOOT 6/2
2nd 45 mins 520-600 PM):
520 L 8 L off, but 12 yds exactly onT 95% sp, first undoubted
success seems ball should be thrown at wall a little softly
522 dk (drop-kick, ball hit ground just before foot hit ball) L off
--> 230
523 L off --> 200 might (could) have been zig zag -->
300 onT but wall obstr
524 L off --> 430 long bo 15 yds away hard effortless
525 would have been L 10 bo H 20 yds 95% sp only 1 bo -->
130 but wall obstruct
forced break to 534, 'Strong & Heart Kids' scheduled for 600,
arrived at 530, insisted on taking over 1/2 gym (had to move to far left
corner area of gym)
535 good start (good first kick on rebound) w/ (with) L
--> 230 (not kicked too far) (but) obstructed by bboard (basketball
backboard) suspension bar
538 same as above obstruct wall
539 L /ball kept low/ 1, L 8 H 4 L 1 L:
Tremendous success, 95% sp, onT no bo. Significant ball kept low on first
L?
541 L 8 obstruct wall --> 730 could have been fast titely
controlled curve success --> 300
542 L off roller --> 430
543 throw off
544 L off roller -->
430
B3 Air-foot-right should be easier (because I am left footed
and will be moving to my left to intercept rebound)
546 L 3 H 3 H 6 L obstr wall, 20 yds 95%
sp exactly onT no bo, tite well controlled fast start,
great.
547 8 bo thigh 2 L obstr wall, 95% sp 1
bo (only one bounce the entire air dribble) over 20 yds exactly
onT
548 L 3 L 6 L 3 L-thigh, 20 yds no bo 95%
sp exactly onT titely controlled, great
throwing ball at wall a little more softly than is natural seems to
produce good results
551 L onT long bo 15 yds away
552 could have been: L 12 then something -->
230 but wall obstruct (the ball was kicked well on the first touch but the
angle was such that the air-dribble encountered the wall)
553 L dk (dropkick) ground little bouncers dribble onT 20 yds
(the ball hit the ground a moment before I kicked it and I started a
controlled ground dribble in the correct direction
555 L onT, long bo 15 yds away
557 L long bo 15 yds away
--> 430
558 L 8 bo L-thigh, chest, 2, L obstr
wall but 20 yds 97% sp onT only one bo, good
-------------------------------------
(end of 2nd segment)
end, this drill hard as it is will
eventually be mastered, w/ (with) spectacular
results.
Seems presence of BBOARD obstr (obstruction) 6 yds from start
forced me into a good, tight, first L in 2nd half. (the presence of the
basketball backboard obstruction seems to have forced me into making the
first kick on the rebounding ball in the drill, tight, not kicked so far
as to hit the basketball backboard)
General Notes: Looks like the trick is ( in this drill ) to keep the foot
angle as it first strikes the ball on the first touch with the foot on the
ball, sort of loose, by keeping the ankle sort of loose, so the ball will
not be kicked too far away.
Seems that being forced to change to a different area of the
gym helped me to break bad habits displayed in the first
segment.
I wonder if the fact the ball is white with black figure-8
shaped markings, and is appearing to my eyes in front of gym walls that
are painted white, is producing impairment of performance through
camouflage effect.
Faces in the Crowd:
Black Buddha was there in the first part of the first half while I
was messing up. He kept retrieving balls kicked too far for me, I told him
that I was trying to master a new tough drill so alot of balls would go to
far into his side of the gym, so he should not bother with retrieving them
for me. Before Black Buddha left he was sitting on the bleachers in the
gym talking on his cell phone. When I finally got hot (performance got
good) at the end of the 2nd segment there was nobody around I had drawn
the curtain between me on one side of the gym and the kids on the
other.
This approx 2062 word entry minus 427 redundant words re how to read
the minute by minute notes, equals 1635 word entry written/typed in approx
61 minutes. Getting more words done per minute, less
verbose. |
Replique ball 7.5 psi
Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
black
sweat-socks |
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Wednesday
Sept 26 07
300-500
Waltham Y
Gym
|
A4 Air FOOT (air dribble to right after intercept of rebound) 45 mins
15 min break
A4 Air FOOT (to right) 45 mins
|
A4 Air-Variant using FOOT (air
dribble to right) done for first time
Method: The A4
(air-head) drill was described in the previous
Sept 20 entry. The A4 air variant done today
involved throwing the ball (soccer style) at the 3 foot wide 5
foot high advertising banner target on the wall 7 yds away, then
charging forwards 3 yds at approx 50-80% speed (varies depending on
methodology) using 3 paces to meet the rebounding ball, and then upon
intercept of the rebounding ball before it bounced ( using the left
foot) commencing an air-dribble in the 4:30 direction (given the wall
the target is on as 12:00 from the perspective at the point of
intercept).
At first I found that throwing the ball
somewhat softly at a point on the wall 6.5 feet high produced a
rebound difficult to handle with the foot. Then I changed to hitting the
wall when throwing the ball at a point 9.5 feet above the ground this
produced better results. Then I added the innnovation of waiting until the
ball hit the wall before charging forward to intercept the ball with my
foot; this further improved results since when I charged forward before I
hit the ball this would result in getting too close to the ball making
hitting the ball with the foot awkward.
The idea today was to try to make first
contact with the ball with the foot every time. I felt this would develop
the aspired after skill faster than at this early point, allowing for
variation in terms of which part of the body the ball was first contacted
with.
Meaning of air dribble: for example if I head
the ball in a given direction, and then take 4 paces, and then kick the
ball before it hits the ground in the same direction, and then take 3
paces and kick the ball again before it hits the ground, and then take 2
paces and miss, and the last time I touched the ball was 15 yds from the
start, that would be a "15 yd no bounce air-dribble". Here begins the verbatim
transcription of the notes taken in practice today with later additions in
parentheses
(
How to Read these Notes: The
shorthand describes step-by-step what happened after
I threw or kicked the ball at the wall. I left the 3 paces
run before making first contact with the rebounding ball out of the
notes. if a bounce is not mentioned that means the ball did not
bounce during the air-dribble.
H=header; bo=ball bounced; no bo = ball did
not bounce during run; bouncer=ball bounced; no/non bounce = ball
did not bounce; zero/no bo = ball did not bounce; rite=correct;
(somenumber)% = speed as percent of max sprint speed for entire air
dribble or segment of air dribble; (example): 60%/80% sp means the speed
on the air dribble was 60% of maximum sprint speed for the first part of
the air dribble and 80% of max sprint speed for the second part of the air
dribble; on=correct; Thigh=ball hit with thigh; (somenumber) = number of
paces run without touching the ball in between touches; L=ball kicked with
left foot; R=ball kicked with right foot; " = same as above; RF=right
foot; off=incorrect--there was something wrong with the touch on the ball
preceding the word 'off'; dir=direction; LF=ball kicked with left foot;
(number like times shown on a clock) = a direction given the point on
the wall the ball was thrown at - from the perspective of the point
first contact was made with the ball-- as twelve o'clock;
obstruction/obstruct/obstr= ran into some obstacle such as bleachers
curtain or wall; good = an especially good run; AD = air dribble; air drib
- air dribble; some number followed by 'PM' = a direction as on a clock
again; Ft = ball kicked with foot did not remember which foot; --> = to
or towards; long = ball hit too far; ?? = dont remember what happened at
this point; on target/on targ/onT = the air-dribble was in the correct
intended direction as prescribed by the drill; up = ball kicked up towards
ceiling); sp=speed; some number followed by 'yds' = the air-dribble
covered this distance; underled = the contact with the ball followed
by the word 'underled', resulted in the ball being underled for the
subsequent contact with the ball as I ran in some direction;
long=ball kicked too far; (example): L long bo 15 yds away 530 means the
ball was kicked out too far, in the 530 direction on the imaginary clock,
and bounced on the ground 15 yds from the point I kicked it;dk = ball was
kicked immediately after it touched the ground after having been in the
air, drop-kick style; whb= would have been;
)
(A4-air dribble to right and
backwards after intercept of rebound using left foot) Air
FOOT Variant 45 mins 415-500 PM)
(Aiming for 430 on imaginary clock
dial)
315 start aim 6.5' wait till ball hits wall
before running forward (seems to be) a good idea (I started out aiming for
a point 6.5 feet above the wall with the initial throw; during the first 5
minutes the idea of waiting until the ball hit the wall before charging at
it seemed a good idea but I did not immediately implement the idea. Did
not note 1st 5 mins of runs).
321 off long --> 1100
322 L 8 bo L 8 bo 15 yds 50% sp onT, ball
thrown 9' high, softly (for now the ball is being thrown 6.5' high usually
the ball was thrown unusually high this time)
323 long bo 12 yds away -->
600
325 long bo 12 yds away -->
730
326 Aiming for 'strong' line on
Carolyn Mark Ain banner ball thrown soft: (from now on throwing the
ball softly at a point 9.5 feet above the ground on the wall instead of
6.5 feet above the ground) L 6 H 6 bo L onT 1 bo 95% sp,
SUCCESS
328 off long --> 900
330 L 4 L 6 bo chest 3 bo L obstruct
wall, 20 yds onT 95% sp 1 bo
332 L 8 L off onT 10 yds 80% sp, not
bad
333 L off long --> 1100
334 L chest bo --> 1100 2 yds
away
335 L off long --> 200
336 would have been (acronym for
would have been is whb) L 12 bo L 6 L 25 yds only 1 bo 95% sp onT, except
wall obstr after 2nd L. Success
338 L off --> long 700 bo 12 yds
away
339 whb L 12 L, 15 yds no bo 75% sp
--> 300, but bboard bar obstr
341 whb L 8 bo L 8 L 6 L 6 L 30 yds 95% sp 1
bo --> 600, but wall obstr after 3rd L
--sluggish wine last night-- (I am sort of
the opposite of an alcoholic but the wine I drank the previous evening,
approx 30 oz of it, made me feel sluggish today)
344 L off --> 100 hit
wall
345 L off long --> 100
346 L straight up, good
head despite strong spin, ultimately 25 yds 1 bo 95% sp onT, w/ approx 5
touches total
348 L off long --> 1230
onT
349 L 2, perfect turn -->
430, but R off long --> 430 onT 12 yds away
350 L off --> 1200
351 L a little long onT, bo 12 yds
away
352 L off bo 2 yds away --> 1200
could have been continued but did not
354 L 8 L off -shot straight ahead-
but 12 yds 98% sp no bo, onT
356 would have been L 10 bo L 6 L 95%
sp 25 yds only 1 bo --> 500 but obstruct wall--bleachers
hispanic boy and girlfriend, fan (I ran into all these things at the end
of this run)
358 would have been L 12 bo L 20 yds
95% sp --> 400 approx onT obstr wall
359 L off --> 300 bo 12 yds
away
Intermission:
Aimed for 'strong' line on Carolyn & Mark
Ain banner, 9.5' above ground. Ball thrown softly helped. Thrown w/ right
foot forward. Ran forward as follows: L $ L/kick, at on avg approx 50%
sp
Roughly speaking havent done anything more
difficult.
Surprised self w/early successes. This had to
do w/ switch from throwing ball at pt (point) 6.5' high to pt 9.5' high,
9.5' high better results as of now. Implications for how passes should be
made...
Passers concerned w/ looking good not
producing a good pass that is easy to handle.
(A4-to right Air FOOT Variant 45
mins 415-500 PM)
(Aiming for 430 on imaginary clock
dial)
415 L 12 bo L, but 95% sp approx onT, 15 yds only 1 bo -->
400
417 L off --> 300 bo 8 yds away
418 L off long --> 1230
420 L off long --> 130
420 L off long --> 530
421 L off long --> 530 bo 8 yds away
422 zig zag 2 bo 20 yds onT 85% sp
423 whb L 12 bo L 6 L 25 yds onT 95% sp
only 1 bo but wall obstr after 2nd L
424 L off long --> 1200
Try not charging until ball hits wall
(wait until ball has hit wall before charging forward to meet rebound.
This innovation in effect until end of practice).
426 L 10 bo, bo -2 bounces, rare-, L 4 L obstr wall 20 yds
onT 2 bo 95% sp
427 L 6 bo chest 1 thigh 15 yds 1 bo onT 95%
sp
429 whb L 8 L-thigh 4 L 4 L 25 yds no bo
95% sp onT but wall obstr after 3rd touch
note-passes, timing and pace till ball
(and how this relates to waiting) till ball hits wall for rush (rush at
rebounding ball)
431 L 10 bo L off, shot str ahead by mistake but 97% sp onT
only 1 bo
433 L off long --> 300
434 L long onT bo 12 yds away
435 L straight up, fierce spin (on ball), good H, 8 bo L 2 R
wall obstr, after 2nd touch 95% sp, onT only 1 bo over 20
yds
437 10.5' high at wall (ball thrown at
point 10.5' above ground on wall), even soft (even thrown softly) produces
rebound too high it seems
438 L 10 bo R 3 R obstr wall last R good,
getting real good at scooping up bouncers
--> fast tight air drib of at LEAST 12 yds, wall etc. getting in
way alot.
440 L long --> 100
w/ pause for ball to hit wall before rush
speed up to approx avg 80% on rush forward to meet
rebound
442 L 1 H 1 H (good right turn) 2 L 2 R 1
R obstr wall; 20 yds onT, 95% sp no bo, great,
classic!
444 L off long 1200 ball hit shin, as it often does w/ such
mishaps
445 L off --> 1100
445 L 10 bo L obstr wall, 15 yds 1 bo 95% sp approx onT
--> 400
447 L 8 R off onT 50% sp
448 L well kicked but off --> 130, wall obstr
449 L 8 L off-shot ahead, but 97% sp, exactly onT, 12 yds no
bo
450 L 10 R-thigh, 2, R off: 15 yds 95% sp 1 bo -->
500 close to target
452 L 12 bo L off --> 300 60% sp
453 L H 7 bo L 2 R obstr wall, 95% sp
after H, onT, 20 yds only 1 bo;
455 L 1 L off a little long but fast, tightly controlled turn
of ball (on first touch of rebound)
457 L off long --> 1030
458 L 8 R off, but onT, 1st L was perfect, reached ball at
97% sp w/ R & miskicked it (on the second touch of the
run)
459 L, 9, bo, R obstruct wall, but 15 yds 1 bo
onT
End Comments-
As of now after B3 Air foot, I can
officially declare superstardom within my reach, if I can just devote
enough hours to the right kind of drills.
Explanation:..The A4 Air Foot done today was very difficult but I had
begun to master it after just 90 minutes. The remaining drill for
intercepting rebounds off walls with the foot and commencing an air
dribble in some direction is the relatively easy D2. Thus the optimistic
conclusion.
Here ends the verbatim transcription
of the notes taken in practice today with later additions in
parentheses (end of verbatim transcription
of notes taken during practice with later additions in
parentheses) General Notes:
Seems it would be splitting hairs to try to
figure out which of A4-Airfoot, B3-Airfoot, and C4 Air foot are harder.
They are all sort of in a tie for most difficult drill, but I
showed promise with all of them thus the future looks good.
My estimate now is that this A4 Airfoot should be done with the
ball thrown at a point 9.5 feet high on the wall, and the 3 yards rush
forward towards the rebounding ball should be delayed until the ball has
hit the wall, because this way the rush towards the ball is at a high
speed and the ball is at a height such that I can strike it with my foot
to commence the air dribble in the 430 direction.
Faces in the Crowd: There
were hispanic teenagers and a hispanic dad who works at the Y wearing a
Patriots Bruschi shirt going in and out of the gym while I was practicing.
The dad had his little toddler in diapers with him running around the gym.
He smiled at me and flashed me a thumbs-up sign. Seems by the time my
performance improved in the second part of the second half I was most of
the time alone in the gym.
Note: this soccer log entry
approx 2363 wds in length, minus redundant 420 wds re how to read the
notes, equals 1943 words. Took 83 minutes to type/write up. Seems I am
getting more productive in terms of words per minute and at the same time
less verbose, with less words of secondary importance written. Ta
da!
|
Replique ball 7.5 psi
Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
white sweat-socks |
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Friday Sept 28 07
400-600
Waltham Y Gym
|
Watched boys play Indoor Soccer
Game
40 minutes D2 Air Foot
|
D2 Air Variant-FOOT to Right Done First Time Method: Throw ball at point
11.5' above ground on wall 2 yds away; run 4 paces in direction away
from wall covering 4 yds; intercept rebounding ball with foot before it
hits the ground; commence air-dribble in 430 or 730 direction given point
ball rebounded from as approx 1200 on imaginary clock dial.
I got to the gym about 415 PM.
The hispanic grade school kids took over the
entire YMCA Gym from before 415 to ...about 505 for their impromptu indoor
soccer game. I talked to Joe Manzoli about it. My objection to such things
happening too often for too long, is that: lots of gym time is taken in
organized scheduled full court activity; then the remaining gym time is
taken in unscheduled full court activity, so there is no time that is
truly 'open' gym. Seemed to me that to some extent it would be
better if these people who keep taking over the entire gym, took over only
one half of the gym instead.
I watched the tricky close quarters ground
dribbling displayed by the hispanic grade school and junior high kids. I
felt like I could learn from watching their trickiness in the art of close
quarters ground dribbling. Seemed to me that in a sense I would be better
off watching these kids as opposed to watching the best Latin American
pros, because I am a novice in the art of Latin-style close quarters
ground dribbling vs defenders. The simple fact is that I have had
relatively very few hours of practice during my life and especially
recently doing close quarters ground dribbling vs defenders.
About a third of the hispanic boys
playing in the game in the gym, I guess, displayed that classic
Latin Am style of close quarters ground dribbling. I tried to learn as I
watched them.
One of them reminded me that an aspect of
Latin Am dribbling is habitual feinting, feinting first this way and then
that before taking off in some direction (by way of contrast I personally
minimize the art of deliberate feints, though I do change my mind re where
I am going to go with the ball and the position of my body reflects these
changes of mind).
Another of them reminded me that swinging the
ball this way and that by rolling it using the sole of the foot is a
fundamental part and parcel of Latin Am dribbling.
Another of them reminded me that feinting by
dancing around a ball that is rolling forward is a fundamental part of
Latin Am dribbling.
But as of now Italy has pulled ahead of
Brazil and Argentina in the FIFA World Rankings. Italy is relatively
speaking very aerial like me, judging from what I saw of the 2006 World
Cup.
True the hispanic boys I watched at the YMCA
today have at an early age already developed the Latin Am style; true,
this kind of style looks good and works well in games featuring goals 3
feet high and 5 feet wide like the boys were using today in small spaces
like an indoor basketball court. But regulation size soccer with
regulation size 8 feet high 24 feet wide goals on a field 100 yards
long and 60 yards wide, facing the toughest defenses in the world and
having the best passers in the world on your side, is still the
number one type of soccer and it is very different compared to indoors
small pitch small goal amateur-boy type stuff.
512 PM after the boys
left, I started making noted attempts at D2 Air Foot. All the
while I was trying to compute the proper methodology for doing the drill,
then trying to keep track of the specs of doing the drill properly,
juggling all these responsibilities impaired performance.
I concluded that: hiting the line
with "corp' in it in the banner hanging on the wall, which is a line that
is 11.5 feet above the ground, produces good results if I wait until the
ball hits the wall before beginning to run away from the wall to intercept
the ball with my foot before it bounces (today this 11.5' method is the
one I used the most); throwing the ball so as to hit a
point 12.5 feet above the ground produces so far as I can tell, good
results if you do not wait until the ball hits the wall before starting to
run away from the wall.
With the 12.5' method you have more time to
judge the trajectory of the ball after you have turned your body away from
facing the wall, compared to the 11.5' method. With the 11.5' method
you get the quick reactions and high speeds you expect in top class
soccer. In both cases you have about half as much time to judge ball
trajectory as you do in a game--because in a game, you can see the
ball from the time your team-mate passes it until the time it is near your
body; whereas in this D2 Air-FOOT drill, you can see the ball trajectory
as it comes at you only after it has bounced off the wall.
My guess is that certain spectators are
underawed by rebound off the wall drill successes, because they do not
understand how with such drills the time to judge trajectory is less than
in a game.
What makes D2 Air-FOOT especially harsh or
difficult, is the fact that you switch from watching the ball as it
bounces off the wall to watching it as it is in front of you, immediately
prior to attempting to kick the ball with your foot before it hits the
ground.
I concluded the best method for me as
of now, is to: throw the ball at the wall from 2 yds from the wall at a
point 11.5' above the wall; throw with my right foot facing forward; after
the ball hits the wall, move my right foot away from the wall, take a step
with my left, step with my right, and then kick the ball with my left
before it hit the ground in an attempt to initiate an air dribble in some
direction.
I concluded with this 11.5' method:
the 4 paces run prior to kicking the ball are run at approx 90% max sprint
speed; the drill is tough, tougher than I expected D2 Air FOOT to
be, because of the fast approach to ball intercept speed, and due to the
switch between looking towards the wall and looking away from the wall
while tracking the ball rebounding off the wall with the eye prior to
kicking it before it hits the ground.
The 40 minutes from 520 to
600 there was all this activity in the gym: Y staff setting up
the 'Teen Night' for 630-930; teenage black girls and white girls showing
up early for teen night, running around shooting basketball.
Seemed like when I took off in the 430
direction after intercepting the rebounding ball (given the point the ball
rebounded from approx as 1200 on the imaginary clock dial) people/things
would get in the way, and I would have to switch to taking off in the 730
direction; and then people/things would get in the way again and I would
have to switch to the 430 direction and so forth.
The teenagers IMHO, ran around as if they
were exceedingly oblivious to what the other person/people in the gym were
doing (such appears somewhat typical with people who use the Waltham Y
Gym).
This tall black teenage female who arrived at
the gym long after I had started doing the D2 Air Foot drill in the gym,
wandered into exactly the wrong spot on the gym with regards to
avoiding a collision with me or the ball I was practicing with. I watched
the ball rebound off the wall, turned to face away from the wall as it
rebounded off the wall, ran 3 yds hit the ball with my left foot before it
hit the ground, it sailed like a line drive in the 730 direction 15
yds before it bounced, I had put no effort into it it was effortless, the
ball unintentionally went off like a shot when what I was trying to do was
start an air dribble. And the black teenage female who wandered into the
wrong spot screamed. Then she shouted "boy better watch it" in my
direction-- I held my peace...I did alot of ball retrieving for one
of them who smiled at me and they did not clash with
me.
Note to US Population: the
fact a gym has basketball bacboard/rings in it, does not mean that
basketball always takes precedence in said gym.
Anyway as there were obstacles in the
form of teen-aged girls and preparations for 'Teen Night' hither and
thither I ended up taking off in the 600 direction after intercept of
rebound often. Once I kind of slowed my air-dribble speed down to 50% max
and sailed through the girls playing basketball touching the ball a few
times keeping it controlled but off the ground. Undoubtedly they can
remember me doing this.
There were some good runs after rebound
intercept today on the D2 Air FOOT, which went far and fast on one
bounce or less, but at the same time I was surprised at the
difficulty of it and at how many of the attempts in the 40 minutes today
sailed off my foot like line drives, flying off so far so fast that it was
impossible to continue the air-dribble.
|
Replique ball 7.5 psi Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
white sweat-socks |
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Friday Sept 28 07
Peter Gilmore Playground
Corner of Lowell & High
Waltham MA
830-955 PM
|
On Field Research into LHLH drill 85 mins |
Research into how First Move on New LHLH
Drill should be made
Looking at the results over the previous few days, I attempted to use the info recorded, to come up with a useful drill for outdoors when there is no wall to rebound the ball off of. I looked at what happens after I first contact the ball on the intercept rebound off the wall drills. I decided that a good drill would be: flip
ball up and kick forward, run five paces without ball, on sixth pace head
ball, run five paces without touching ball, on sixth pace kick ball, run
five paces without touching ball, on sixth pace head ball.
My initial estimate was that on the first
kick of this LHLH drill, I should kick the ball so that it is 6 feet high
when 5 yds away from where it was kicked from, and run forward to head it,
as the first move in this drill.
My goal today was to calculate exactly how
high the ball should go at arc of apex on the first kick of the LHLH, and
how far away from the point the ball was first kicked the ball should be
when it is first headed on the first header in the LHLH.
I started out on the playground at
835 PM. I would kick the ball from a point marked by a marker
cone to a point again marked by a marker cone usually somewhere around 7
yds ahead of me and above the ground and run forward to head
the ball before it hit the ground. I wanted to determine what the optimum
apex height and distance on the first kick of of the LHLH is and my notes
taken during the practice served this intention.
From 835-859 there was the
clumsiness I expected with the difficult art of flipping the ball up,
kicking it forward and then heading it. But from 900 to 955 I was
surprised at the consistency with which I did a good job of this foot to
head trick: during this time there were 30 successes, 20 of which were
high quality and 7 of which were perfect, from the point of view that a
perfect run would be: flip the ball up, kick it forward, run at
least 5 yards forward at top speed, and head ball before it
bounces.
I concluded that the first move on
the LHLH should be as follows: flip ball up; kick ball forward with left
foot, run 4 paces forward at top speed without touching ball; at end of
5th pace of run forward head ball at a point that is horizontally 7 yds
from the point fhe ball was first kicked from; kick ball so that its apex
height between being kicked and headed is 8 feet.
I concluded that a
secondary alternative for the LHLH would be: flip ball up; kick ball
forward with left foot, run 6 paces forward at top speed without
touching ball; at end of 7th pace of run forward head ball at a point that
is horizontally 10 yds from the point fhe ball was first kicked from;
kick ball so that its apex height between being kicked and headed
is 11 feet. There is less evidence to support this
latter 7 pace method than there is to support the 5 pace
method.
At the start my intention was that I
should concentrate on kicking the ball forward so that at the end of
the 7th pace sprinted forward it was headed but the distances involved in
this seemed a bit much for accuracy today.
I think it is important that usually
the first step taken on the run forward after kicking the ball was with
the right foot but sometimes it was with the left foot...this is of
importance with regards to counting paces between
kicks.
There were about a dozen hispanic grade
school boys out on the court while I was doing the drill. A few of
them were still out there from 900-930 the first hour of the hour I was
hot (performing well).
Then I heard the roaring of a male voice
which sounded like a father shouting at the boys on the court. The voice
reminded me of the officers leading the regiments shouting out their
commands during the Republic Day Parade (national military parade) in
India.
After this voice made itself known the
playground quietly and rapidly emptied of boys, it reminded me of the
angels around God the father, who constantly chant, "chasten us not
(Oh God) in thine hot displeasure'.
After the hispanic boys left some white boys
with wavy brown hair ran around on the court for a while. I could not help
noticing how they were significantly fatter than the hispanic
boys.
|
Replique ball 7.5 psi Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
MAROON
(as in 'U-High Maroons' my high school soccer team) soccer
socks |
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Sunday Sept 30 07
610-755
Waltham Y Gym
|
45 minutes D2 Air Foot -->
730
15 min break
45 min D2 Air Foot
--> 730
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D2 Air Variant-FOOT TO 7:30 Method: Today was
throw ball at point 11.5' above ground on wall 2 yds away; run 4
paces in direction away from wall covering 4 yds so as to get ball to
left of body; intercept rebounding ball with foot before it hits the
ground; commence air-dribble in 730 direction given point ball rebounded
from as approx 1200 on imaginary clock dial. Air dribble means running
forward keeping ball off the ground under some degree of
control.
Verbatim Transcription of Notes Taken
During Practice with comments added after Practice in
Parentheses:
(
How to Read these Notes: The
shorthand describes step-by-step what happened after
I threw or kicked the ball at the wall. I left the 3 paces
run before making first contact with the rebounding ball out of the
notes. if a bounce is not mentioned that means the ball did not
bounce during the air-dribble.
H=header; bo=ball bounced; no bo = ball did
not bounce during run; bouncer=ball bounced; no/non bounce = ball
did not bounce; zero/no bo = ball did not bounce; rite=correct;
(somenumber)% = speed as percent of max sprint speed for entire air
dribble or segment of air dribble; (example): 60%/80% sp means the speed
on the air dribble was 60% of maximum sprint speed for the first part of
the air dribble and 80% of max sprint speed for the second part of the air
dribble; on=correct; Thigh=ball hit with thigh; (somenumber) = number of
paces run without touching the ball in between touches; L=ball kicked with
left foot; R=ball kicked with right foot; " = same as above; RF=right
foot; off=incorrect--there was something wrong with the touch on the ball
preceding the word 'off'; dir=direction; LF=ball kicked with left foot;
(number like times shown on a clock) = a direction given the point on
the wall the ball was thrown at - from the perspective of the point
first contact was made with the ball-- as twelve o'clock;
obstruction/obstruct/obstr= ran into some obstacle such as bleachers
curtain or wall; good = an especially good run; AD = air dribble; air drib
- air dribble; some number followed by 'PM' = a direction as on a clock
again; Ft = ball kicked with foot did not remember which foot; --> = to
or towards; long = ball hit too far; ?? = dont remember what happened at
this point; on target/on targ/onT = the air-dribble was in the correct
intended direction as prescribed by the drill; up = ball kicked up towards
ceiling); sp=speed; some number followed by 'yds' = the air-dribble
covered this distance; underled = the contact with the ball followed
by the word 'underled', resulted in the ball being underled for the
subsequent contact with the ball as I ran in some direction;
long=ball kicked too far; (example): L long bo 15 yds away 530 means the
ball was kicked out too far, in the 530 direction on the imaginary clock,
and bounced on the ground 15 yds from the point I kicked it;dk = ball was
kicked immediately after it touched the ground after having been in the
air, drop-kick style; whb= would have been; hand=hand touched ball;
aw=away; w/ = with; curve= path to target marked by cones on air dribble
after intercept, was a curving path.
)
(First 45 Mins 610-655 D2 Air-Foot
AD-->730)
First 5 minutes not noted
615 L bo R 4 L 1: 20 yds 1 bo zig zag
80% sp
617 L 6 L obstr wall onT 80%
sp
619 long bo 15 yds away -->
600
620 L 2 H 8 bo, bo R 6 bo: 70% sp 3 bo
--> 730
622 L off --> 730
623 L exactly onT bo 20 yds away
623 L off --> 430
urination break
626 L --> 800, 6, bo, R,
followed by no bounce several touch w/ feet air drib to target onT: 1 bo,
20 yds 70% sp zig zag
628 L 3 L --> Hand (ball hit
hand) --> 600
629 L 1 L -a good
catch of ball with foot-, 8 bo L --> 600 50-95% sp
--> 600
631 L up 4 H up 4 H --> 600,
followed by several foot/thigh touch air drib --> 730, 30-75% sp,
no bo 20 yds onT
633 L off long --> 530 bo 20 yds
away effortless line drive
634 L off long line drive no bo hit backboard
20 yds away at 700, went in basket scored basket ( the ball was kicked 20
yds to where it hit the backboard and bounced into the
basket)
636 L 11 bo H wall obstr, 20 yds 1 bo 95%
sp --> 630
637 L off long roller -->
430
638 L ? H ? bo ?, thigh & foot
touches: 20 yds onT 85% sp, -->630 followed by
730
640 L off long --> 530 bo 20 yds
away
-getting too close to
ball surprisingly bigger problem than being too far away from
it-
642 L off long bo 15 yds away -->
600
643 L off long --> 530 bo 15 yds
away
-just now remembered to
wait till ball hits wall before run-
644 L 10 bo R-thigh 5 bo obstr wall: 15 yds
95% sp zig zag 1 bo onT
646 L 8 H 8 L obstr
bleachers: 0 bo, 90-95% sp, onT, 20 yds, 1st classic
success
648 zig zag 1 bo onT 20 yds, 80/90%
sp, dont remember details
650 L off long --> 400 bo 20 yds
away
651 L off long --> 630 bo 20 yds
away
652 L roller long onT
653 L 10 bo --> 630, L1 L 1
L 3 L --> 730: 20 yds curve onT 95/75% sp only 1
bo
655 L off --> 830 bo 15 yds
away
Intermission.
Too little food - explain (I did not feel
hungry for a long time before the practice and ate practically
nothing) - caused low number runs, slower runs, lower quality.
This D2 Air Foot tougher than I thought it would be in fact as
tough as other air-foots, but it will eventually be mastered as I
concluded the other air-foots will will be mastered, then I'll really have
something skill-wise.
At beginning forgot
to wait till ball hit wall before starting run.
Good on Air Dribs
once ball goten into approx correct position. (my ability to go on
long fast tightly controlled air dribbles after I get the ball in approx
correct position, is strong and improving).
(Second 45 Mins 710-755 D2 Air-Foot
AD-->730)
710 L long bo 25 yds away, --> 500 effortless
711 L long, off --> 500
bo 15 yds away
713 L 10 bo L off long, 15 yds 95% sp, only 1 bo onT
715 L --> 600, L dk,
long -->
730
716 L off long bo 12 yds away --> 500
717 L 6 R off hard low shot straight ahead, but: 12 yds
exactly onT 99% sp on 0 bo
718 L off long --> 530
bo 15 yds away
720 L long bo 15 yds aw onT
721 L 6 --> 600,
L 6 --> 730, L dk 6 bo L: 20
yds onT curve, on only 1 bo, onT
722 L off long bo 15 yds away onT
724 L off -->
230
725 L off slow roller --> 230
726 L off long --> 530
bo 12 yds away
727 L 4 H 4 H 4 H 3 R chest 1 R: 15 yds curve first to 800
then --> 730, no bo onT,
50/85% sp
730 L 10 bo --> 600,
L --> 730 obstruct bleachers,
95% sp
731 L bo 25 yds away exactly onT
732 L 6 H 6 L off, but: 12 yds no bo onT 85/95%
sp
734 L 8 bo chest --> 500, 2 L -->
730 obstr bleachers: 20 yds 1 bo 95/85% sp on only 1 bo, onT,
curve
737 L long bo 15 yds away --> 600
738 L H 1 H 2 H 2 H 2 L, obstr wall: 15
yds onT no bo 85% sp titely controlled
740 L off long --> 530
bo 10 yds away
741 L 6 L 1 right-forearm --> 530, 1
L --> 730 L 3 L 1 L 3 L obstr
bleachers: 25 yds curve onT no bo titely controlled 95/90% sp, zero
bo
744 L off --> 630 bo 15
yds aw
746 L off long -->
430
747 L 10 bo H 2 L: 25 yds onT 95% sp only 1 bo
749 L off long --> 500
bo 15 yds away
END
Showing improvement in terms of fast
controlled Air Drivs combined with intentional changes of direction, after
ball is in approx proper position.
Seems a good strategy for D2 Air
Foot situations might be to on 1st kick, first get control of the ball,
and forget about direction, then on 2nd touch go in proper
direction.
Being underfed decreases both confidence and
sense of achievement.
Frig should be stocked w/ not just food but
also kind of stuff you want to eat (when you are not hungry). (the
frig being filled with food is incomplete without stuff that you feel like
eating even when you are not hungry).
End of Verbatim Transcription of Notes Taken During Practice
with comments added after Practice in Parentheses
General Notes: See above verbatim section. Looks
like what is important on D2 Air Foot is: curving line towards target on
air dribble may be natural and advantageous; controlling intercepted ball
before moving in some direction on air dribble might be wise. Waiting
until ball bounces off wall to start run away from wall did not seem to
improve performance taken into account expected improvement with passage
of time; but waiting until ball bounces off wall seems to make things
quicker (faster aproach run before intercept), be more interesting and fun
and more realistic, more game like.
Last night I had a dream in which I saw a soccer log like this. There
was a mug shot type photo of a typical India-Indian guy with no beard and
a bug mustache. He had something to do with the blog. There was a diagram
of the intercept of the ball on the D2 Air FOOT which showed the
trajectory of the ball after the intercept of the ball after the ball
rebounded from the wall. A blue line in this diagram showed this
trajectory as approx knee high and parallel to the ground, which is not
the way it actually was today.
Throwing the ball higher up on the wall and turning to run away from
the ball before the ball hits the wall would be easier, there would be
more time to judge trajectory after the ball rebounds, but it would not be
as interesting, exciting, challenging, fun, fast.
Faces in the Crowd: Except for a couple of white
guys shooting baskets for about ten minutes each had gym to self.
|
Replique ball 7.5 psi
Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
MAROON
(as in 'U-High Maroons' my high school soccer team) soccer
socks |
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Tuesday
October 2 '07
Waltham Y Gym
354-700 PM |
186 minutes without break, taking angle
measurements on first kick of LHLH Drill |
Researched How Angle of Kick and
Hardness of Kick on First Kick of LHLH Drill Effects
Outcomes
The LHLH Drill was discussed in a previous
entry (Sept 28). It's first segment involves me flipping the ball up
with my left foot, kicking the ball forward so as to be able to after
sprinting forwards 7 yds head the ball before it touches the ground.
I decided that I needed information regarding
how the angle the ball travels at after it is first kicked, and the
hardness with which the ball is kicked, effects outcomes. After some trial
and error I settled upon what I was going to record in the notes, how I
was going to measure the angles. I found that it is too difficult to
mentally keep track of angle and hardness for both the first
kick and also on the first header of the LHLH. So I retreated into keeping
track of such for the first kick only.
Table Showing Data on First Kick of
LHLH Drill for Tuesday October 2
I flipped the ball up from the ground with my
left foot and kicked it forward with my left foot. My intention was to
after kicking the ball, sprint forward at full speed and then head the
ball at a point 7 yards in front of the point at which I first kicked the
ball with my left foot.
While I did this I kept track of the
angle the ball traveled at from the point it left my foot to the point it
reached its apex (1st column of table). The ball going straight
up towards the ceiling would be counted as 90 degrees. The ball moving
parallel to the ground would be counted as 0 degrees. The ball going at a
45 degree angle moving a yard forward for every yard it rose was counted
as 45 degrees. And then there were the angles in between.
I also kept track of how hard I
kicked the ball: soft, medium-soft, medium, medium-hard, hard, or very
hard (2nd column of table).
In the table below, in the 3rd column
you can find the time when the attempt was made, and what happened after
the ball was kicked, for each combination of angle of ball after kick to
apex of trajectory, and hardness of kick.
Figures such as 90% speed mean I
sprinted at 90% the speed I can sprint at when I sprint as fast as I
possibly can. If it says simply that I sprinted with no number given that
means the sprint was at approx maximum sprint speed. If no
mention is made of the ball bouncing between the time I kicked it and the
time I headed it, that means the ball did not bounce between the time I
kicked it and the time I headed it.
Conclusion
Today the intention was to head the ball at a marker
7 yds from the point at which I flipped the ball up with my left foot
before kicking it with my left without taking a pace forward. The result
was that the best results came on kicks featuring me heading the ball 8
yds away from the point at which I first flipped the ball up.
This implies that if I want to tighten things up and
head the ball say 5 yds away from the point at which I first kick it, the
marker cone showing the point at which I will be heading the ball should
be set 4 yds away from the start not 5 yds away.
The results today showed that
if I want to sprint full speed for 8 yds after I kick the ball before I
head it, I should aim for a 58 degree trajectory and give the ball
what I call a medium level of hardness in the kick.
The results today showed that
if I want to sprint full speed for 10.5 yds after I kick the ball
before I head it, I should aim for a 67 degree trajectory and give the
ball what I call a 'hard' level of hardness in the
kick.
What if I want to kick
the ball and sprint forward not 8 but 7 yds before I head it, which was
the original intention of the drill? The data obtained
today makes it hard to say. But looking at the 658 and the 700 results it
seems the wise approach would be to aim for a
52 degree angle (one third of the way from 45 to 67 degrees), or a 56
degree angle (half the way from 45 to 67 degrees), and kick the
ball at 'medium' level of hardness and take it from
there.
Looks like: to reach
ball after 11 yd sprint with foot before ball bounces, kick
ball 'hard' at 38 degree angle (half way between 30 and 45); to
reach ball after 9 yd sprint with foot before ball
bounces, kick ball 'medium-hard' at 52 degree angle (1/3rd of
the way between 45 and 67); to reach
ball after 12 yd sprint with foot after ball bounces
once, kick ball 'hard' at 45 degree
angle.
Generally the results today speak for
themselves--about half of the attempts on which the first kick was so off
that it could not be headed or kicked again after a decent run forward
before it bounced twice were recorded--and only a couple of such
occurrences were recorded. Obviously I have
quickly developed the ability to consistently (accomplishing such on 95%
of attempts) from a standing start flip the ball up and kick it
forward so as to be able to sprint forward 6-12 yards at full
speed and kick the ball again or head it before
it bounces twice. I always felt clumsy on this first kick
but I have surprised myself by my sudden mastery of it. I learned that the best way for me to approach this first
kick is to: approach the ball from 45 degrees; kick the ball using force
derived from body hip and knee not ankle.
Faces in the Crowd:
When I got to the YMCA about 330 PM I noticed that
the Hispanic boys who were playing indoors in the basketball court last
time (about a week ago), were on the outdoors field this time. I felt
grateful for this as last time my practice was radically shortened since
they were using the entire indoor basketball court. I remember thinking,
that people who want to use the entire gym should take their game
outdoors. I was wondering if the boys were being saintly or something
allowing me to use the indoor gym.
At 5:30 PM the "strong and healthy kids"group led by
the white woman with the shortish wavy brown hair, again arrived a half
hour ahead of the time marked off for them on the schedule. They drew the
curtain between my half and their half. Problem was I was practicing along
the exact line the curtan was drawn on so I had to move. As a result I had
to recalculate the visual markers on the ceiling and on the far wall that
I was using to estimate ball trajectory angles. This was a time consuming
and difficult thing to do especially since I was already tired out from
having done the drill non-stop from 350-530 without a break.
The old bespectacled white guy at the
Y who a few months ago said to me, "you're a king", this time was
different; he muttered about my 'delinquent' brother being 'junk'. I have
such luck. I go somewhere a thousand miles away from my brother, people
think of me as some kind of king. Then my father helps my brother to
follow me to where I have gone, and all they can think about is what junk
he is.
|
Replique ball 7.5 psi
Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
Light brown sweat
socks |
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Wednesday
October 3
Waltham Y Gym
348-526 PM |
98 minutes without break, taking angle
measurements on first kick of LHLH Drill |
Researched How Angle of
Header after First Kick of LHLH Drill Effects
Outcomes
The LHLH Drill was discussed in a previous
entry (sept 28). It's first segment involves me flipping the ball up
with my left foot, kicking the ball forward so as to be able to after
sprinting forwards 7 yds head the ball before it touches the ground. It's
second segment involves heading the ball forward so as to
be able to kick it before it hits the ground, ideally without slowing
down sprint speed.
I decided that I needed information regarding
how the angle the ball travels at after it is first headed in the LHLH
drill, effects outcomes.
Table Showing Data on
First Header of LHLH Drill for Wednesday October 3
I flipped the ball up from the ground with my
left foot and kicked it forward with my left foot. My intention was to
after kicking the ball, sprint forward at full speed and then head the
ball at a point 7 yards in front of the point at which I first kicked the
ball with my left foot; and then after heading the ball continue the
sprint forward and kick the ball before it hit the ground.
While I did this I kept track of the
angle the ball traveled at from the point it bounced off my head to the
apex of its arc. The ball going straight up towards the ceiling
would be counted as 90 degrees. The ball moving parallel to the ground
would be counted as 0 degrees. The ball going at a 45 degree angle moving
a yard forward for every yard it rose was counted as 45 degrees. And then
there were the angles in between.
I also kept track of what kind of
kick preceded the header. In the second column of the table if it
says 'distance:short height: low', this means that relatively speaking the
ball that was headed after it was kicked forward, was a ball that traveled
forward a relatively small distance, and a ball whose apex height before I
headed it was relatively low. if it says 'distance:long height:
high', this means that relatively speaking the ball that was headed after
it was kicked forward, was a ball that traveled forward a
relatively long distance, and a ball whose apex height before I
headed it was relatively high.
In the table below, in the 3rd column
you can find the time when the attempt was made, and what happened after
the ball was kicked, for each combination of angle of ball--after being
headed--to apex of trajectory, and type of kicked ball that was
headed.
The third column in the table is a slightly modified verbatim
transcription of the notes I took between runs.
The balls that were kicked out and then headed before they
bounced today, were on average headed at a point 7 yards away from the
point at which they were kicked.
How to read the shorthand in the third column:
Figures such as 90% speed mean I
sprinted at 90% the speed I can sprint at when I sprint as fast as I
possibly can. If it says simply that I sprinted with no number
given that means the sprint was at approx maximum sprint speed.
If no mention is made of the ball bouncing between the time I
kicked it and the time I headed it, that means the ball did not bounce
between the time I kicked it and the time I headed
it.
Med=medium; w/ = with; H=head; H followed by a number = ball headed
at angle given by number after letter H; ht = height; hi = high; sp =
speed; hite = height; w/o = without; spr = sprint; obstr = obstruction
such as a wall impeded continuance of run; B followed by a negative number
= the ball was falling to earth at this angle, 90 equals straight down, 45
equals moving forward a foot for every foot it falls; L = ball kicked with
left foot; R = ball kicked with right foot; K = ball kicked with left or
right foot; COS = caught on sprint at full speed unless speed specified;
Re the balls not headed after a kick and various other miskicks, a
shorthand description is given showing step by step what happened.a number
by itself = this many paces were run without touching the ball prior to
what happened next; AD = air dribble, running forward while keeping the
ball off the ground under some level of control;
Conclusion
Seemed like the stress of having to attempt to keep
track of the angle at which the ball was headed after it was kicked and
what happened after the ball was headed, even impaired performance on the
first kick that preceded the header.
I felt like it took me longer than usual to hit my
stride today which resulted in errors at the beginning, and then at
the end fatigue resulted in an increase in the error rate, but in the
middle time period the error rate was low--I felt that putting into effect
the info I had obtained yesterday improved performance on the balls that
were kicked to a point where they could be headed, even if a third of the
time I did not succeed in kicking the ball out into such a position.
I recorded all the errors on the first kick
at the bottom of the table. 13 out of 39 runs (33%) resulted in the
error of the ball not being headed after a run of at least 4 yds forward
before it bounced. But remember there was no warmup, everything was noted
and recorded from the beginning.
Only 2 out of the 13 errors on first kick
produced an end result of most probably losing possession of the ball;
most of the errors produced approximately the same end result as would
have occurred if the ball was headed after a run forward before it bounced
after it was first kicked.
Heck I would say that on 95%
of the runs today, despite one third of the first kicks producing no
header on the second touch of the run, something cool/respectable happened
anyway.
I was not able to collect alot of data
today, but roughly speaking it now seems that on
kicked balls caught with the head after a full speed sprint in this LHLH
drill: medium length low height balls should be headed forward at a 22
degree angle; medium length medium height balls should be headed forward
at a 30 degree angle; and medium length high balls should be headed
forward at a 45 degree angle.
Seems: short length low balls should be
headed forward at a 45 degree angle; short length medium height
balls should be headed forward at a ?? angle; and short
length high balls should be headed forward at a ?? angle.
Seems: long length low balls should be
headed forward at a ?? degree angle; long length medium height
balls should be headed forward at a ?? angle; and long
length high balls should be headed forward at a 45 angle.
All the balls today were headed neither hard
(putting the neck into heading the ball especially hard) or soft (getting
rubber-necked, so as to head the ball softly). Seems wisdom re angles can
later be combined with effecting how hard the ball is headed.
Faces in the Crowd:
The hispanic boys and notably mustache-boy, were
playing soccer half court on the other half of the gym the whole time I
was practicing today. Edgar who mustache-boy said is the best player on
the Waltham High School soccer team was with them. I felt like they were
being saints to be using only half the gym so that I could use the other
half of the gym (seems when there is a lack of civility in society, small
acts of civility seem saintly). I hustled to retrieve balls for them.
After the workout they were in the hallway. As I passed through them I
thanked Mustache-boy for letting me use half the gym. He said no problem
or something. Then after I had passed them on the way down the hallway,
Mustache-boy shouted what sounded like "Komee!", and all his friends burst
out into laughter. I turned and said, 'what was that?', and mustache-boy
who was still smiling at the hilariousness of him having shouted what
sounded like "Komee" just shook his head, I was too tired to interrogate
them about it, maybe later I'll ask him what he meant. But they did not
seem unfriendly or disrespectful in their laughter.
On the internet I found that "comie" means, a flashy
teenager (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=comie) Note: This entry (before the data of days subsequent
to today added to table) 2603 words in length prior to additions to table
after today.
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Replique ball 7.5 psi
Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
black sweat
socks |
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Thursday October 4
344-530 PM
Waltham Y Gym |
This entry covers research from 420-530 (70 minutes) re angle of first kick on LHLH when ball is headed five yds from kick point at start |
Researched How Angle of Kick and
Hardness of Kick on First Kick of LHLH Drill Effects
Outcomes
Focus on balls headed FIVE yards from
kick-point
The LHLH Drill has been discussed
in previous entries. It's first segment usually involves me
flipping the ball up with my left foot, kicking the ball forward so as to
be able to after sprinting forwards 7 yds head the ball before it touches
the ground.
I had decided that I needed more information
regarding how the angle the ball is headed at after it is kicked effects
outcomes, when the kick is such that the ball is headed FIVE yards away
from the point at which it is first kicked.
On October 3rd I recorded data showing how
the angle the ball is headed at after it is kicked effects outcomes,
looking at my performance in a drill in which the object was to head the
ball SEVEN yards away from the point at which it was kicked. I found
that I ended up with too little information re heading the ball after what
I called "short distance" kicks which produced headers five or less yards
away from the kick point.
So I decided I needed more data re such
"short distance" kicks; and I realized that the first step in acquiring
such data was to master the technique of kicking the ball so as to later
head it five yards away from the point at which it was
kicked.
Table Showing Angle of First
Kick on LH and Distance at which Ball Headed After Kick When Object is to
Head Ball FIVE Yards Away From Kick Point I flipped the ball up from the ground with my
left foot and kicked it forward with my left foot. My intention was to
after kicking the ball, sprint forward at full speed and then head the
ball at a point FIVE yards in front of the point at
which I first kicked the ball with my left foot.
While I did this I kept track
of the angle the ball traveled at from the point it left my foot to the
point it reached its apex (1st column of table). The ball going
straight up towards the ceiling would be counted as 90 degrees. The ball
moving parallel to the ground would be counted as 0 degrees. The ball
going at a 45 degree angle moving a yard forward for every yard it rose
was counted as 45 degrees. And then there were the angles in between.
I also usually kept track of
how hard I kicked the ball: soft, medium-soft, medium, medium-hard, hard,
or very hard.
In the table below, in the 2nd column
you can find the time when the attempt was made, and what happened after
the ball was kicked, for each angle of ball after kick to apex of
trajectory.
How to read the shorthand in
the second column:
The second Column gives a brief step by step
description of what happened after I kicked the ball, which is basically
the notes taken in practice verbatim.
Numbers such as L74 L52 mean the ball was
kicked with the left foot at a 74 or 52 degree angle. Words such as soft
medium and hard after these figures tell how hard the ball was kicked.
Figures such as 90%, 20% etc. mean I
sprinted at 90% the speed I can sprint at when I sprint as fast as I
possibly can. If it says simply that I sprinted with no number given that
means the sprint was at approx maximum sprint speed. If no
mention is made of the ball bouncing between the time I kicked it on the
first touch and the time I headed/kicked it on the second touch, that
means the ball did not bounce between the first touch and the second
touch.
Med=medium; w/ = with; H=head; H
followed by a number = ball headed at angle given by number after letter
H; ht = height; hi = high; sp = speed; hite = height; w/o = without; spr =
sprint; obstr = obstruction such as a wall impeded continuance of run; B
followed by a negative number = the ball was falling to earth at this
angle, 90 equals straight down, 45 equals moving forward a foot for every
foot it falls; L = ball kicked with left foot; R = ball kicked with right
foot; COS/cos = caught on sprint; a number by itself = this many paces
were run without touching the ball prior to what happened next; AD = air
dribble, running forward while keeping the ball off the ground under some
level of control;
General
Notes/Conclusion:
Today I did not bother with recording what
happened on a few of the unimportant runs.
I feel that it was a mistake today to
fail to pursue balls that were so low/far that I was unable to head the
ball before it hit the ground after I kicked the ball at the beginning.
Data re such occurrences is also helpful.
Seems that to be able to head the ball five
yards from the point at which it was kicked on the sprint, one needs to
kick the ball more softly than when one is aiming to head the ball at a
point 7 yards away
428 L67 ball kicked medium
hard COS at 5 yds 442 L60 medium COS at 5
yds
448 L56 medium-soft COS at 5
yds
454 L52 med-soft COS w/ H at 5
yds
455 L52 med-soft COS w/ H at 5
yds
515 L52 medium soft COS at 5
yds
527 L52 COS at 5
yds
It is kind of difficult based on these 7 exact successes to
decide what to do. Take an average of all the seven angle numbers (equals
56)? Have two methods, a medium hard L60 and a soft L52? I decided that for now I would use the L52 medium-soft
approach and that is what I used in the second practice session of
Thursday October 4.
Faces in the Crowd
Mustache-boy and his friends were playing in the gym while I was
practicing, towards the end the friendly white and I guess also hispanic
woman who works at the Y pulled the curtain between them and us, she
thought this was something that should be done. Some junior high school
type white girls played some basketball while I was practicing. The Pop
Warner Cheerleaders showed up again at the end of practice to take over
the gym as they had yesterday.
Mustache-boy notified me that tomorrow they would be taking over the
entire basketball court from 230 to 400 to play their indoor soccer game.
He invited me to play with them. I marveled at this; seems like he had
been reading this hyar soccer blog and knew all about how I think
such full court takeovers should be officially scheduled ahead of time,
how I think that when non-scheduled groups take over the full court they
should allow YMCA members who want to join in to join in to the
game.
Mustache-boy wanted to borrow my precious Adidas Replique soccer
ball. I began to try to explain politely why he could not borrow the
ball. A boy who was with Mustach-boy, for now I'll call him Herod
the Second, grew impatient with my polite explanations. If you do'nt want
to (loan us your ball) just tell us, he exclaimed in apparent
exasperation. I was thinking that Herod the Second looked Jewish, what
with his round/square intelligent/capable-of-meanness face.
I introduced myself to Mustache-boy, shook his hand. Turns out his
name is Sebastian.
I got my gauge and pump out of my car and pumped up the old worn out
soccer ball they were playing with for them. Their ball was inflated
to exactly zero point five pounds per square inch! I explained to them the
importance of consistency/knowledge of PSI, and pumped their ball up to
about 6.0 psi.
Then I drove home, got my spare soccer ball, pumped it to 7.5 psi,
and loaned it to them. I was thinking, what kind of banana-republic is
this, these junior-high-school-age boys have nothing but an old worn out
undersized ultra-underinflated soccer ball, they want to borrow my
ball.
Edgar, one of them, while standing at the front desk of the Y,
took official possession of the loaned ball.
Which reminds me, that Sebastian says that Edgar is the best player
on the Waltham High School soccer team. Sebastian has been almost
constantly accompanied by Edgar lately. Edgar was there yesterday, Edgar
has seen alot of me practicing.
The thing is, the practices he has seen have not been the flashy
impressive type but rather the technical type, featuring: impaired
performance due to mental recording of distance/angle/etc data; runs being
aborted before they become spectacular because continuing the run impairs
ability to recall and note the mentally recorded data; new and very
difficult maneuvers being attempted; and, the hidden aspect that is the
fact that the ball bouncing off the wall allows for less reaction time
compared to what would be the case in an actual game.
Clerical Note: This soccer log entry took me 103
minutes to write/type. It is 1914 words long.
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Replique ball 7.5 psi
Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
light brown sweat
socks |
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Thursday
Oct 4 second practice
Waltham Y
817-950 PM |
93 minutes testing what angle ball should be kicked at if ball is to be headed on the sprint before it bounces 5 yds from the point at which it was kicked |
Researched How Angle of
Header after First Kick of LHLH Drill Effects
Outcomes
With Special Emphasis on balls headed 5
yds away from the point they were
kicked I started out the first practice today
Thursday, with an objective in mind: to continue the research of the
previous day Wednesday, into the question of how the angle of the header
after the first kick of the LHLH drill effects Outcomes.
Wednesday the method was to: attempt
to flip the ball up, kick it forward, sprint forward and on the
sprint head the ball at a point seven yards from which it was kicked
before it bounced. The result was, as you can see looking
at the table in the entry for Wednesday October 3, that there was too
little data obtained regarding how the angle of the header effects
outcomes when the ball is headed on the sprint FIVE or so yards away
from the point at which it was kicked before it bounces.
My general theoretical progression has been:
first I concluded studying the data obtained from the C4, B3, A2, and D2
drills (see September 11-30 entries) that the LHLH drill should be
performed with the ball being headed on the sprint before it bounces
SEVEN yards away from the point at which it is kicked; I concluded that
this seven yard distance is what comes naturally when an air-dribble is
commenced starting with an airborne ball that come's one's way on the
bounce or on the fly; I concluded that given the difficulty of the
C4/B3/A4/D2 type drills at first I should be satisfied with what comes
naturally; I realized however that given the need for tight
control of the ball in game situations, I should aim to progress from what
comes naturally, meaning the ball being headed before it bounces on the
sprint SEVEN yards away from the point at which it is kicked, to what
is less natural such as the ball being headed FIVE or THREE yards
from the point at which it was kicked (nevertheless in my scheme
of things the less natural techniques that are developed are based on what
is most natural and developed first).
Thus in the second practice today I
repeated the drill/data-taking done October 3, recording in my
mind during the runs and afterwards in notes how the angle of the header
after the first kick effected outcomes, with the modification of aiming to
head the ball five yards from the point at which I kicked it, as opposed
to seven yards from the point at which I kicked it.
I started out the first practice session
today doing what I did in the second practice session today. Then in the
first practice session 26 minutes after I started, I switched to mentally
and in my notes recording what the angle of the first kick should be if
the ball is to be headed five yards away from the point at which
it was kicked before it bounces--I realized the necessity of such,
the results are recorded in the entry for the first practice today. Then
in the second practice I went back to mentally and in my notes recording
how the angles of the header after the first kick effects things.
There is a problem with regards to mentally
recording what happens during the runs: it has been almost impossible for
me to mentally record the angle of the trajectory both on the first kick
of the run and also on the subsequent header. I have had to switch between
recording one and recording the other. Thus the switching back and forth
between recording this and recording that.
The mental recording of angles and distances
and heights and lengths etc has been so difficult, that I have been
aborting the runs as soon as I get the data I need, so as to insure that I
do not forget the data that I mentally recorded in my head during the run.
I find that for example if I kick the ball forward, mentally record the
angle, catch the ball on the sprint with my head, and then continue the
air-dribble producing the most spectacular effect possible, by the time I
am done I have trouble remembering exactly what the angle was on the first
kick.
And so the results of the data recorded
regarding how the angle of the header effects things, when I was
attempting to head the ball five yards from the kick point as done in part
of the first practice and in the entire second practice today, are
now recorded in the table in the Wednesday October 3 entry. In the
October 3 recording of data I noted all the "miskicks"; Oct 4 I noted only
some of them.
During the 26 minutes in the first practice
today when I was recording the angle of the header, I did not know
what angle the ball should be kicked at in order to head the ball on the
sprint before it bounces five yards away from the point at which it is
kicked. By the time I started the second practice I had settled on
kicking the ball at a 52 degree angle so as to be able to head it on the
sprint before it bounces five yards away from the point at which it was
kicked.
As of now my conclusions are, to maintain
full sprint speed or go up to full sprint speed when
heading 'short' (ball headed approx 5 yds from kick
point before it bounces) balls and to produce a kick after the
header:
On short low height (ball relatively low at apex
of arc) balls: head
ball at 45 degree angle to kick ball after 3-4 paces before it
bounces without slowdown in speed; head ball at 37 degree
angle to hit ball with thigh after 1 pace with no slowdown in speed; head
ball at negative 17 degrees angle to move up to or maintain full sprint
speed and catch ball on bounce after 3-4 paces.
On
short medium height (ball medium high at apex of arc)
balls: head ball at 30
degree angle to kick ball after 3 paces before it bounces without
slowdown in speed (seems H22 will result in ball kicked after 2
paces H37 after 4); head ball at 56 degree angle to head ball again
after 1 pace without slowdown in speed.
On short high
height (ball high at apex of arc) balls:
head ball
at 22 degree angle to kick ball after 2-3 paces before it
bounces without slowdown in speed; head ball at 67 degree
angle to head ball again after 1 pace without slowdown in
speed.
Thus when it comes to
the object of the LHLH drill, which is to kick the ball again after
heading it without slowing down or while speeding up: for short low balls
head ball at 45 degrees; for short medium balls head ball at 30 degrees;
for short high balls head ball at 22 degrees; the average of these three
is 32 degrees.
By way of comparison, I had earlier
concluded that for medium length (ball headed 7 yds from kick point before
it bounces) balls, in order to achieve the object of the LHLH drill which
is to kick the ball after heading it before it bounces, one should: on low
balls head the ball at 22 degrees, on medium balls head the ball at 30
degrees, and on high balls head the ball at 45 degrees. The average of all
of these three is again 32 degrees.
Interesting how the diagnosis for
medium length seven yards balls is the exact opposite of the diagnosis for
short length five yards balls. It is as if the angle at which the ball
hits the head plus the angle at which the ball is headed, should be a
constant, or something like that.
NOTE: this entry was written
night of October 6-7. It is 1343 words in length. Plus the additions to
the Wednesday Oct 3 table amounted to 903 words. Total 2246 words.
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Replique ball 7.5 psi
Bracara indoor shoes 2 layers sole
padding
light brown sweat
socks |
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Friday October 5 Waltham Y Gym
250-525 PM
|
155 minutes soccer game on basketball court with Hispanic Boys |
Full Court Soccer Game on Basketball
Court at Waltham Y with Hispanic Boys
Typically we played for 20 minutes, took a 5
minute break, re-shuffled teams, played another 20 minute game and so
on. The rule was that the goalie could use his hands in the area near the
goal. The goal was about four feet high and five feet wide. (at Oak Sq Y
the goals are again 4x5' but the goalie cannot use his hands).
I did not get much of a chance to take notes
in between games this afternoon. I guess the breaks were too short, or
there was too much conversation with the boys during the breaks. They
became very curious when I told them about this soccer blog that you are
now reading--it got to the point where one of them kept shouting that we
should stop the conversation about the internet soccer blog and start the
next game. I wrote out the URL web address of this blog you now read for
them--they could not read my handwriting even though I tried extra
hard to be legible. One of them volunteered to write out the URL in his
own supposedly more legible handwriting. Sebastian was given the paper
with the URL
Here is a verbatim transcription of
the notes I took During the Between Game Breaks today, with comments added
by me later in parentheses:
Friday Oct 5
250-310
Edgar,. Julio, Alfonso, and Sebastian (were
my team-mates the first game)
2-0 we won;
dribbled (by) 3 (maybe 2) of their
guys, lost ball to 4th, on fast 17 yd penetration dribble (did this in my
first minute on the court/pitch without warming up in any way at all)
(Sebastian loudly cheered this dribble)
never beaten on defense (they tried to
dribble the ball by me but never could)
alwez stripped attacker of the ball (whenever
they attempted to dribble by me, and whenever I as a defender attacked
them while one of them had possession of the ball, I succeeded in
stripping the ball from them, knocking it away or taking possession of
it)
310-330
I was moved to goalie. Their 1st shot on me,
1 on zero (the boy with the ball faced just me the goalie) they scored (my
first minute as a goalie in months). Then lots of saves several really
good saves (next I made alot of saves some admirable ones); then they
scored again. The goalie (me) peppered w shots once I not on defense (the
number of shots on goal increased dramatically when I was moved from
goalie to defense which evinces how effective I was on defense). Had 30 yd
shot missed by 6" (the ball rolled towards me in the goal, I shot it 30
yds at the other goal because I noticed the goalie was up and out of
position, it traveled as a 6 feet high at apex of arc line drive towards
the other goal and missed the left goalpost by 6", ball did not hit ground
entire time--the left side of the goal is what I noticed was unguarded and
I did indeed get the ball to the left side of the goal, beat the out of
position goalie, missed by a little).
330-350
Continued solid defense, other team shying
away from me (the boys on the other team began to avoid the area
of the field I was in. I felt as if there was a force field around me of
about 8 yd radius which no boy on the other team would enter...I have
noticed this phenom before...it results in getting less steals etc than
one otherwise would). Almost alwez stealing the ball when I try
to, never being beat, less sense of more tired than other players now.
Almost beat defender on dribble up the middle (defender just barely got
his foot on the ball).
End of Verbatim transcription of
notes taken during the games
We continued playing from 350-530, 20 minute
games with 5 minute breaks between, I did not manage to take any notes
during this time period. But I can remember some things.
I dribbled the ball fast towards the other
team's goal, beat the defender by cutting from the outside of the court
towards the middle, shot too quickly with my right foot (I am left
footed), hard rolling shot went to right of right goalpost (I call the
goalpost that from the goalie's perspective as he faces towards the field
is to his right, the right goalpost).
Again I dribbled the
ball fast towards the other team's goal, beat a defender by cutting
from the outside, left side of the court towards the middle, shot
with dont know which foot, hit left goalpost very hard--I was trying to
get the ball to the left side of the goal and I did. Sebastian gave a loud
cheer.
Yet again I dribbled the ball fast towards
the other team's goal, beat the defender by cutting from the outside left
side of the court towards the middle, shot towards the left side of
the goal which the goalie had left open, and scored, I'm almost sure with
my left foot. Sebastian gave a loud cheer.
Edgar, who Sebastian said is from
Guatemala and Waltham High School's best player, was on my
team most of the game. He tried to dribble by me twice, he lost the ball
to me both times--but almost every time he tried to dribble past one
of the boys he succeeded. Then Edgar gave up on trying to dribble by
me, I sort of dared him to try to dribble the ball through my legs, he
shot the ball through my legs, and scored, the ball beat the goalie behind
me also. Apparently on the technical note there is a problem with
defenders blocking the goalie's field of vision.
I think I can learn something significant by
watching Edgar closely. He allows the defender to touch the ball with
his feet--when he Edgar is dribbling he sort ot takes such contact in
stride is prepared for it and gets advantage out of it in the end, and in
this me resembles the other Latin Am boys. His body changes position
relative to where the ball is without him moving the ball, often and
quickly--one second the ball will be to his right, the next second to his
left as he moves around it. He makes alot of almost 180 degree turns.
Edgar and me both seem to be dribblers who
suddenly change their mind as opposed to deliberate feinters, but our
dribbling styles are different. I am (and was today) more like an arrow
that flies straight towards the other team's goal at high speed than he is
or most dribblers are.
Edgar benefits from playing with
boys who are younger than him and beneath him in skill and physical
ability; I think I too could benefit from such. There
are actions which are just as hard to succeed with vs boys as they
are hard to succeed with vs young men. There are actions which
are almost as hard to succeed with vs boys as they are hard to
succeed with vs young men. There are things that you succeed with vs boys
and you know you know inside that if the boys were young men you would
still have succeeded with the thing.
Boys are more relaxed about you doing things
like keeping the ball to yourself and attempting to dribble by
someone. Every weightlifter knows that sometimes it is a
good idea to lift less than the maximum you are capable of; likewise it
can be a good idea to play against opposition such as boys instead of
young men.
In general during the games today:
At Oak Sq Y seemed that every time I
beat a defender I beat him by cutting to my left. Today it seemed every
time I beat a defender I beat him by cutting to my right. Such is
grounds for hope.
I mostly played defense not goalie. Playing
with new people for the first time you get more balls that way, it is less
tiring, it is humble it makes friends. 100% of the time they were unable
to dribble by me. 90% of the time when I as a defender attacked a dribbler
the dribbler lost the ball. As a defender (not goalie) I blocked lots of
shots and fired off lots of good passes. But I felt as if for some reason
the boys did not appreciate my defense. I could be wrong but I guess that
there are boys who expect a man who plays with them to take it easy on
defense.
I did alot of passing, I was able to almost
always chip or line drive the ball accurately, to where I wanted to
on passes with either foot--I did not experience the rustiness I
sometimes experienced at Oak Sq Y when I had not practiced chipping the
ball for a while. I was able to do this both on first and second
touch. Similarly the ball rolled to me while I was goalie and I shot it on
the first touch with my off-foot my right it went as a hard
line drive straight to the goalie, like a pitch fired into the catcher's
glove from 30 yds away.
This was different in several ways from the
Oak Sq Y. The gym was much cooler and much less humid at the Waltham Y
today. The games were mostly 5 on 5 whereas at Oak Sq they were mostly 4
on 4, at my level of fitness this is crucial. The ball we played with was
one of my balls, the Sunoco ball, size 5, personally inflated by me to
exactly 7.5 psi. I am not saying that the Okies were
intentional rigged things in favor of youth, but seems to
me everything at Oak Sq Y was rigged to favor the young fit player over
the older skilled player.
Seems the practice I had been doing
the previous few days (technical aspects of first kick
and header on second touch in air dribble) somehow prepared me
well for the games today, even though such practice involved doing
things that I did not do even once during the games today, as today I
refrained from air-dribbling.
At the beginning I was more winded
than the boys and the soles of my feet hurt but after an hour we were
all equally winded and the pain in the soles of my feet went
away; maybe those windsprints that I would do for 90 minutes
nonstop with just a 15 minute break in the middle has something to do with
this. I did not get nearly as winded as I used to at the Oak Sq Y.
I was impressed by Edgar and one of
the other boys when I saw them actually beat defenders using the
air-dribble, each did this once, knocking the ball over the
defender with their foot and then catching it on the bounce once past the
defender. Such happened only twice but I rarely see even that much air
dribbling from Latin Ams or any other group. Hey they are fellow
Walthamites of yours truly, who is "obsessed" with air-dribbling.
Kevin from Brazil spoke with me
towards the end. He thought I was a "striker" who had been playing soccer
for a long time. As such he was the opposite of Tariq at
the Oak Sq Y who is I guess a Jamaican black and who implied that I lacked
experience as a player. I t old Kevin that I started playing
soccer when I was in 2nd grade but had not played this kind of game that
much during my life. Kevin is whiter than most of the other boys,
most of the other boys are brown and from Latin American nations
that speak Spanish, whereas Brazil features Portuguese ancestry and
language.
Sebastian told me that everyone was clamoring
for me to play goalie because I am very good at playing
goalie.
At the end of the game the boys assured me
that they did not need to continue to borrow my Sunoco soccer ball we
played with today, it was as if they had read yesterday's blog and felt
embarrassed. But Carlos borrowed it in the end.
In conclusion the big thing for me
today, which happened four or five times, was me getting the ball at
midfield on the left side of the field (actually a basketball court),
beating one to three defenders while dribbling forward and towards the
middle of the field.
Generally speaking I felt after
today's game what I felt after games at the Oak Sq Y, which is: once I get
in shape I will be able to: dribble by the defenders right up to the
other goal whenever I want to using fast ground dribbling combined
with changes of direction without bothering with deliberately
feinting; produce superior passing; never allow a defender to
dribble by me. But I felt closer to my goal of being in shape than I
did during the Oak Sq Y days.
This 2245 word report took me
126 minutes to write/type. |
@2007 David Virgil
Hobbs