Blog is on the move!

Born and unveiled on Friday, July 27, 2007, it's bittersweet to announce the JCWP Blog is moving. Please visit us at our new home....jcwp.tumblr.com.

Thanks for supporting the blog in its first incarnation. See you soon!


Coach Penilla

Awards

Congratulations to the first ever JCWP award winners!

Most Outstanding Kitten: Todd Losby, (Parkway South)
Most Outstanding Cub: Brad Gardner, Rockwood Summit
Most Improved: Matt Marcouiller, (SLUH)

Most Outstanding Leopard - Games: Zach Smith, Kirkwood
Most Outstanding Leopard - Practice: Michael Bowers, Parkway South
Most Improved: Brandon Pilas, Parkway South

Most Outstanding Lion: Dan Goeddel, SLUH
Most Improved: Nick Keao, Parkway North

Jungle Cat Pride

Most days, I am proud of Jungle Cat Water Polo. Today, I am more proud than usual.

In the third place game of the Kuppa Tournament, JCWP 4 played Flyers A, a team comprised of the best players from two top ten schools. After three quarters of substituting our stronger and weaker players evenly, JCWP 4 trailed Flyers A 4 - 9. As Coach Penilla suggested, the game was already a "victory" at that point. But playing only their best six players for the remainder of the game, JCWP 4 made a rousing comeback, tying the score 9 - 9 before giving up a late goal and losing by one.

Here's the kicker: Since we split into four balanced teams for the Kuppa Tournament, each of our teams had one fourth of our top-end talent. So when playing one fourth of our club's best against another club's best, we dominated the one quarter of play, 5 - 1.

This speaks to the strength of our club better than anything I could write. Had we put our best teams together at the Varsity and JV levels, we would not have gotten nearly as much out of this winter's games. I am pleased with our fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth place finishes, knowing that we sacrificed tangible success for opportunities to develop as players and teammates. Thank you for understanding.

And thank all of you, players and coaches, for what you do to make Jungle Cat Water Polo the best club in town.

Coach Baud

Kittens claw their way to win Middle School Championship

Since the inception of the middle school league a few years ago, JCWP has always had a strong group that has done considerable well. That tradition was extended Saturday, as this year’s Kitten squad ended the season by beating CCP 19-6 and Storm 20-1 and finishing the season undefeated with a 6-0 record.

Saturday was a great cap on a tremendous season, as the Kittens were able to implement many of the things they had learned over the course of the season into the game. However, although the scores made both games seem like blowouts, the game against CCP started out very close. CCP had one extremely impressive lefthander (#16), and at first, the Kittens could not contain him and match up with him quick enough. His two goals, in addition to the panicking Kittens’ play, kept the game at a 2-2 tie through the first quarter. As the game continued, CCP continued to hang with the Kittens, primarily due to the play of #16. It was not until the Kittens started to communicate on offense before they were able to find the open man and bury the ball into the goal. In the second quarter, the Kittens began double-teaming #16, and from that point forward, he was ineffective and did not get many shots except for from near half. He was clearly an excellent player, but the Kittens did a pretty good job of matching up with him once they recognized that he was far and away their best player.

In the second game against Storm, the game went much more smoothly from the start. On the first play of the game, the swimoff, Michael Mcward won and once again scored a goal after continuing to drive toward the goal and getting a pass from Joey Buelter. At the end of the first quarter, the Kittens were up 7-1, and they were once again on their way toward victory. The Kittens did a pretty solid job of matching up defensively in this game, as they prevented Storm from getting the ball down onto their offensive side of half at least once because of their playing in the passing lanes.

Throughout the course of the game, the Kittens drew a number of kickouts. The good news was that most of the time, we recognized this fact and we even set-up. The only problem was we often ended up throwing the ball to the 2 and 3 positions (the positions right in front of the goal) with wet passes, and this caused us to lose a couple of good chances to score on the 6-on-5. Although it looked rough, we only started practicing the 6-on-5 explicitly this last week, so it was good to see the 6-on-5 look a little better than it had at times in the past, and the players at least knew what they were supposed to be doing. There still is some work, but with most things, there always is a little work that can be done.

So Saturday was a great end to the season. The player of the day was Michael Mcward for playing the best games of his life thus far, but in reality, the team looked very solid as a whole. Todd Losby did a nice job setting and directing traffic from the 2-meter position. Victor Castro was doing a great job communicating as well, and he played a very important role in shutting down #16 in game #1. Peter Brooks and Michael Kennedy did a really nice job of counter-attacking. Matt Marcouiller and Phil LePoidevin made some nice defensive plays, and Ryan Finkelstein did a nice job of push-dribbling when the other team was trying to drown him. This list is not to all-inclusive. I was happy with the efforts of our whole team in general. It can be challenging to play two games back to back, and the team did an excellent job of playing hard for both games and thoroughly dominating both.

In closing, thanks on another great season. I really enjoyed working with these guys, and I think they all learned a ton and hopefully had a lot of fun. We hope you all can make it to our last two practices this week on Wednesday and Thursday night.

Coach Ray

Kuppa Games

Team 4 defeated Team 2, 9 - 6

Team 4 Stats
Goals: Goeddel 3, Sigman 3, P. Buelter, Erlinger, Ri. Mayer
Assists: Auinbauh 3, Erlinger 3, Kramer 2, Gardner
Shots: Erlinger 4, Goeddel 4, Sigman 4, J. Buelter 2, Brennan, P. Buelter, Chisholm, Fischer, Ri. Mayer, Ramacciotti
Kickouts Drawn: Erlinger 3, Goeddel, Meyer, Sigman
Steals: J. Buelter 3, Goeddel 2, Kramer 2, Chisholm, Fischer, Gardner, Meyer, Sigman, Stelmachowicz
Field Blocks: Goeddel 2, P. Buelter
Saves: Gardner 3, Chisholm 2

Team 2 Stats
Goals: Hagerty 2, Maloney, Ruzicka, Smith, Zenk
Assists: Ruzicka 2, C. Archer, P. Archer, Smith, Zenk
Shots: Hagerty 6, C. Archer 3, Burggraf 2, Ruzicka 2, Zenk 2, Maloney, Savio, Smith
Kickouts Drawn: Hagerty 4, Maloney
Steals: C. Archer 2, P. Archer 2, Ruzicka 2, Jellinek 2, Smith 2, Zenk
Field Blocks: Zenk
Saves: P. Archer 8


Team 1 defeated Team 3, 9 - 8 SV

Team 1 Stats
Goals: Morgan 3, Gitel 2, B. Castro, Keao, Pilas, Slaughter
Assists: Allen 2, B. Castro, Champion, Dharmavarapu, Luhmann
Shots: Morgan 7, Keao 4, Slaughter 4, Allen 3, Gitel 2, Golterman 2, B. Castro, Derdeyn, Kimbrough Luhmann, Pilas
Kickouts Drawn: Keao
Steals: Keao 6, Allen 3, Morgan 3, Golterman 2, Luhmann, Slaughter
Field Blocks: (none)
Saves: Dharmavarapu 7

Team 3 Stats
Goals: Pike 2, Adcock, Bowers, Dell'Orco, Faddis, Kabance, Schmidt
Assists: Pike 2, Faddis, Lewis, Schmidt, Tanner
Shots: Pike 5, Schmidt 5, Adcock 3, Lewis 3, Bowers 2, Dell'Orco 2, Faddis 2, Kabance 2, Jungels, Maurer
Kickouts Drawn: Adcock 3, Lewis 2, Faddis, Schmidt
Steals: Faddis 4, Bowers 2, Lewis 2, Adcock, Kabance, Pike
Field Blocks: (none)
Saves: Anderson 4, Jungels 4

Kittens handle SLAP 19-3

For me, one of the most gratifying parts of coaching is teaching your team something in practice and then seeing them carry it out successfully in a game situation. And on the first play of the game against SLAP on Saturday, that is just what the Kittens did. Michael Mcward won the swim-off and after passing it to Joey Buelter, who was at the three position, continued swimming unabated toward the goal, where he received a beautiful pass from Joey Buelter and put in the first goal of the game (Michael Mcward and Joey Buelter were co-POTG for this play). It was a hot start for the Kittens, who ended the first quarter with an 8-1 lead.

For the remainder of the game, the Kittens focused on trying to set-up the offense before shooting. After having a few problems early on setting up the offense, the team continued to improve, and by the fourth quarter, they were doing a very nice job of getting set-up and getting the ball in to the 2-meter. Throughout the course of the game, the Kittens scored multiple times off of drives from the point and other positions on offense.

One of the great strengths for the Kittens on Saturday was their passing lane defense. The Kittens were able to make countless steals, just by being in the passing lanes and knowing where the ball and their man were.

I also really loved the Kittens awareness in the pool. Once we started slowing the offense down, we started to use a majority of the shot clock. Multiple times, I heard people start yelling “yellow” and “red” when the shot clock started winding down. It started at the end of the first quarter, when Ryan Finkelstein, who was playing goal, started the tread. I was very impressed by Ryan’s leadership in starting this, and I was glad to see it continue throughout the game.

One thing that SLAP did very well was counter-attack toward offense. A few times we were caught off guard by this. However, most of the time we were able to re-cooperate because we were a little faster than SLAP, and our goaltending was very good today. However, in the future, we need to go to defense harder once it looks like we are about to take a shot or that we might lose the ball.

Overall, however, it was another good game for the Kittens. I told them after the game that I was extremely proud of their progress thus far this winter. A few weeks ago, the Kittens narrowly edged SLAP 15-12. However, today, it was not remotely close. The Kittens looked like a whole different team, and they didn’t even have the whole team there (we only had one sub). I think this is a very good indicator of how much these guys have improved this winter, and they should be commended for their great work.

Also, I was talking to the refs after the game, and they were very impressed with the team’s communication in the water. They specifically cited 2M Todd Losby as being an excellent leader in the water.

We hope to see you all at practice this week. With only two weeks left, we want to try and teach you guys as much as we can. And next weekend, the middle school championship will be on the line in our last weekend of games as we have a rematch against both CCP and Storm.

We’ll see you around the pool.

Coach Ray

JCWP Black 4 Flyers 7

The black team played a tough game of water polo, but mental errors allowed the flyers tesam to get the win. The cats played a tough press defense and a good drive based offense. The guys took and early 2-0 lead, but the mental mistakes of crashing off of the wing and not picking up the guy closest to the goal allowed the flyers to tie the game 2-2.

The cats offense continued to work hard drawing kick outs and making good passes into the two-meter. The problem was the players could not capitalize of their opportunities, but they did not lose their composure. They continued to play hard and the game went on as a stalemate for awhile.

The fourth quarter rolled around and the teams were tied 4-4. The cats did not play with the same intensity that they had the entire game. Frustrated with the lack of calls from the refs the guys were flustered and allowed two counterattack goals. After the game the guys talked about the importance of scoring on 6 on 5 opportunities and not letting the refs affect the outcome of the game. The guys played well until they did not get the calls that they expected and the game fell apart for them.

JCWP Yellow 3 Daisy A 14

The yellow team came out in the first quarter ready to play against the physically dominating Daisy team. The guys played smart defense matching up well with the better offensive players for Daisy. They had a rough time on the offensive end and were unable to notch a goal. The first quarter ended with the cats down 2-0.

The second and third quarters were not very pretty for the team. The Daisy team was playing a strong press defense, and looking to counter. Unfortunately the cats did not adjust their play. They got flustered on offense and did not match up well on defense. They did have a little offense generated mainly by Nick Keao, who was named player of the game for his efforts.

The fourth quarter began with the guys down by a large margin. The goal of the fourth was to win the quarter. Unfortunately they did not tally more goals than the Daisy team, but they did slow them down the counter and were able to run a better half court offense. After the game the team talked about improving their abilities to pass under pressure and exploiting the other teams weaknesses. There were many players that our two meters could have set on, but made no effort to swim out the Daisy two meter guards and swim in the smaller players.

Jungle Cat Orange vs. Flyer

Orange vs. Flyer B

After close games the last two weeks, Jungle Cat Orange showed that they were learning how to work as a team and how to correct their errors. While the flyers players were physically larger than us, we were able to exploit their relative inexperience. As well throughout the game the flyers players were walking on the bottom and holding, but we were able to play through at least for the first three quarters. Our biggest success was on defense where, multiple times, their goalie held the ball for their full shot clock. Archer commented after the game that he enjoyed not being shot on. As well, we made some good steals both 1-on-1 and as a team that fueled our offensive counter attack. With these attributes we clearly dominated the game the first three quarters. At the end of the first it was 3-0. In the second quarter we scored 3 more goals and in the forth we scored 4. Ahead 10-0 we went into the forth quarter with an attitude of complacency. While it is true that we didn’t need to score and only needed to play defense in that last quarter, the Orange team managed to keep the Flyers scoreless, but not with the same intensity that was present in the first three quarters. It is often difficult to learn when you are ahead by ten goalies, but that is the time to demonstrate consistency in the set up half court offense and continue the passing lane defense. Orange made dramatic improvements in the past two weeks, and this game really demonstrated what they had been learning on half court and 6-on-5. It was a very impressive performance. Players of the game were two meter guards.

Coach O’Neill

Green Team Dominates Mad Dog B-1

Riding high off of last week's victory against Charmander, the Green team came out on fire against Mad Dog B-1, winning the contest by a score of 10-2. We were quick to recognize which of our opponents were the biggest threats so that we could make the appropriate matchups, and our defense started to click immediately. Our presence in the passing lanes led to several counterattack goals that saw us up 7-1 at half. Afteward some sloppiness while controlling the ball hurt us a little. Remember, the first rule of passing is eye contact. We also want to keep the ball dry if possible because it's easier to be moved quickly if players don't have to pick it up every time the ball is to be passed. Still we did a pretty good job of moving the ball around the perimeter and finding open players. Tom Critchfield also had some nice drives from the wing that generated some very good opportunities, and Richie Mayer and Evan Stelmachowicz were quick to clear the middle for him.

Mad Dog's only goals came from a penalty shot and from a 6-on-5, so props to the boys for playing great full strength defense and for keeping them from countering. We coaches are also very proud of the entire team for not getting suckered into a lot of the kicking, pushing, sinking and grabbing that our opponents were employing, and for instead just playing better. We had six players notch goals (Archer, Critchfield, Gardner, Mayer, Rhoades, and Stelmachowicz) and several other did a great job of driving and attacking the goal to get good looks. Our goalies did great in the net, and received excellent help from the field. Matt Anderson's save percentage was at least 75% and Brad Gardner's ability to protect the ball under pressure in the deep end really stood out. Both also collected a few steals.

Our player of the game was Charlie Archer for outstanding two meter defense that frustrated Mad Dog's big guns, as well as great help on offense. We're very proud of how far the Green team has come this winter and we look forward to seeing them play alongside some of the more experienced players in the Kuppa da Daisy.

-Coach Merritt

Kittens wrestle to 20-8 victory

As you might imagine, there are a plethora of pages in the water polo rule book that explain all of the different ways that a player can commit an act which constitutes a foul, kick out, or roll. For those of you who were able attended the Kittens’ game on Saturday, you were able to witness one of the most comprehensive demonstrations of how to do some of these things that I have seen in a while.

In the end, the Kittens defeated the Storm 20 – 8. In a game that in the end deteriorated into more of a rugby game than a water polo game, the Kittens were able to stay strong and still battle even while stuff was happening to them.

At the beginning of the game, the Kittens once again hopped out to a nice lead. Although they were up by a handful of goals after the first quarter, the Kittens could have had more goals had they only shot near-side low rather than shooting elsewhere on the goal. The Kittens did have a few nice goals, including a nice cross-goal goal on a pass from Todd Losby to Michael Mcward.

The Kittens did a pretty good job of drawing kick outs, including a few drawn by Ryan F. and Joey Buelter. Joey Buelter also made some nice defensive plays, including at 2m guard, where he kept battling despite being held and prevented from getting the ball.

The offense looked a little less organized this week. That is not to say that the offense was poor, but there are a few things we still need to work on. Frequently, we would have people in the wrong location on offense. Although we might have the 2m set to one side, we had the flat and wing on that side sitting right next to each other so that they could not effectively release to get the ball. Despite this, Player of the Game Todd Losby did an awesome job playing 2m, especially given the amount of time he was playing that position and the physical play by the defensive. Losby buried a number of goals into the net throughout the course of the game.

Defensively, the Kittens played pretty well. I would have liked to have seen us in the passing lanes earlier than we were. On one play right off of Storm’s timeout, we got in the passing lanes and Matt Marcouiller made a great steal. If we would just get in the passing lanes more often, we would be even more successful and completely shut down the other team’s offense.

So in the end, it was a pretty good game for the Kittens. I really want to thank the team for playing through all of the stuff that was going on in the game. As a coach, you can only ask them to keep playing hard and try and get the refs to call something. Despite the latter not occurring, the team continued to play hard and have the mental toughness to get past the aggressive play of the opposing team. Philip L. and others many times were dragged under water, and they continued to push dribble, even though many times to no avail. As a coach, it is great to see this mental toughness. It is from my end to promise that in water polo, even though you will inevitably have to deal with this kind of play, the refereeing (at least I hope) will eventually recognize it, and you will be rewarded for your mental toughness. Although maybe this did not happen today, I hope that as you continue playing, you will eventually get the calls you should.

Thanks for a great effort, and I hope to see you all at practice this week.

Coach

1/16/10 Jungle Cat Orange vs. Daisy Red: Round 2

1/16/10 Jungle Cat Orange vs. Daisy Red: Round 2

Jungle Cat Orange learned from many of their mistakes of the first meeting. Over the course of the first three quarters the cats amassed a 4-0 lead. Smith, Maloney, and Bowers each notched a goal. Sigman scored off a 6-on-5, what we had just practiced! At the end of the first three quarters I was pretty excited not only were the players showing the offense intensity that they lack form the week prior, but allowing zero goals through three quarters was impressive as well.

Yet in the forth quarter Jungle Cat Orange took a break and allowed Daisy Red to catch back up. After four quick goals in the forth the game was tied 4-4. Smith scored off a foul outside the 5. After each team scored one more, the final was 6-5. The Jungle Cats had defeated the Daisy Red by the same margin as the previous weeks loss, 1. While the Cats had won, after game comments reflected the fact that everyone was disappointed we had let them come back. We agree that it was our attitude in the forth. We thought we had the game won so instead of playing a full four quarters, we played three and coasted the last one.

Overall it was great game played by the orange team. The player of the game was Zach Smith for his go ahead goal late in the game. The playa of the game was Coach Cutelli for his exemplary after game comments.

Goalie workout, Monday 1/18/2010

Hey guys,

I'm still in Boston for the next week and a half. The interview went well, so I've got my fingers crossed.

Here's the workout for tonight. One of the varsity goalies should lead it.

Workout:

-125 Free, medium pace
-100 Breast, emphasize kick

- 2 "Cujos"
- 4 Dutch Drills-- Do 3 jacks straight up at the 7, half, and 7. Keep your head above the water on your recovery.
- 5 sets of corners, not in the cage. Spread out in our usual lane. Hit each corner and the crossbar twice. Go as fast as you can, but make sure you get set in between each lunge and recover with your head above the water.
- 1 set corner, in the cage.-- same directions as before. If there's only 2-3 of you, do an extra set or two.
- 6 goalie walks

The last couple weeks, we've been working hard on building leg strength. Today we're focusing more on expolsions. Make sure you get set, then kick up as high and hard as you can on each rep. Hold each other accountable for the workout.

Thanks in advance for working hard.

Rick

JCWP Black 11 - SLAP 7

It was another lackadaisical start for JCWP, as the Black Cats spotted SLAP a three goal lead in the first quarter, which ended 5-2. One positive for the JCWP program, sort of, was the play of Keith Gitel. Unfortunately, Gitel scored his first quarter hat trick against the Cats, as he was one of three players to help out a depleted SLAP team. His goals were scored at the end of counter-attacks, following turnovers on the offensive end (a common theme for this JCWP group).

Going into the second quarter realizing that their first quarter play had been unacceptable, the Black Cats regained control. Nick Keao, player of the game, on several occasions decided to take charge, netting several goals from the 2-meter position. The energy boost was palpable on the Cats' side. No goals were allowed in the second quarter, and the turnaround was complete. JCWP entered the third quarter with the lead.

During the third quarter, the Cats maintained and at one point extended their advantage by a few goals only to see SLAP inch back into the game with, you guessed it, two takeaways on the perimeter, followed by a counter-attack goal. The emphasis for the fourth quarter would be protection of the ball, while finishing the game with focus and intensity.

Shooting deep and playing with confidence, the Cats were indeed able to finish the game much better than they started it. The lead was extended and the Cats' deep bench began to wear down their SLAP opponents, who were unable to generate offense and had difficulty getting back defensively.

The final score of the game was 11-7. Over the final three quarters, JCWP outscored their opponents by a score of 9-2. Why, then, was the first quarter such a debacle? Nothing changed between quarters one and two except for the mindset. In the future, the right "mind" should be "set" before the game begins, during warm-ups or even earlier. Try raising your pulse with a few sprints or by swimming the width of the pool underwater once or twice. Sometimes it takes a physical challenge to get your mind set. Whatever you do to get ready, do it each and every time you play, regardless of whom you are playing.

Coach Hayes

DAISY 6 - JCWP Yellow 4

In the first game of the day on Saturday, a weakened DAISY team surprised the Yellow Cats in the first half, and the Cats were not able to make up the difference after refocusing midway (i.e. too late) through the game.

Defensively, the Cats struggled in two related aspects of the game. First, the 2-meter defenders overplayed the ball side and got caught on 2-meter's right shoulder, and too often allowed the DAISY hole men to create enough space on their (left) goal side for a safe entry pass. To compound this defensive weakness, the wing defenders were unable to deny either of the following: a) the pass too the too the wing from the flat or point positions, or b) the hole entry pass from the wing. Remember, 2-meter defenders: the first rule of defense is to get to the goal side and overplay the 2-meter's strong shoulder. Then, work on denying the entry pass, but never allow your goal side to be compromised.

On the offensive end, the Cats were sloppy. Several "blind" over-shoulder-passes went straight to DAISY defenders, and several scoring opportunities were squandered with lackluster attempts to finish in front of the goal. In the second quarter, two sequences highlighted a collective passivity. First, the Cats' John Lewis drew an ordinary foul inside the five meter, and the other five Cats responded by floating in place. The same reaction followed an ordinary foul at the right wing. On another occasion, the Cats' Dan Pike was prepared to impose his will when he took a mismatch into 2-meter, but the failure to reverse the ball - even with the opportunity to do so - wasted the opportunity.

By the start of the second half, the Cats recognized, down by a score of 6-1, that an attitude adjustment was in order. And the adjustment showed, as DAISY was shut out for the entire half. The Cats, meanwhile, chipped away at the score, and eventually found themselves within striking distance, down 6-4 with a minute remaining. But two more missed scoring chances were emblematic of the second half, during which the Cats set the tone and imposed their will but were unable to put the bisquit in the basket. The DAISY goalie received several Mikasa tattoes, courtesy of JCWP.

A more disciplined approach in warm-ups can go a long way toward a succesful competition. This does not mean that you have to be some version of the Cobra Kai, but the joviality and jocularity (for you fans of the SAT) should cease when you get on the pool deck. I can remember a team from St. Louis that went out to JO's one year, and played against SoCal (a pretty good team) for a spot in the final eight of the 17U's. The SoCal team was stacked with guys going to UCLA, Irvine, etc. They were lauging and joking and jumping off the bottom in warm-ups, while the guys from St. Louis were all business. The guys from St. Louis led 2-1 after one half, and this was very upsetting for some people, including a certain game official. The point is that no amount of athletic ability will substitute for hard-nosed, focused water polo. And while flipping the switch at halftime will sometimes be enough, it also sometimes will not be.

Coach Hayes

Kittens pounce on CCP 15+-1

Despite giving up 12 goals the previous weekend against SLAP, the Kittens buckled down against CCP on Saturday, allowing only one goal, while showing significant improvements both on offensive and on defensive. At the beginning of the game, since CCP did not have enough players, Luke Brooks and Cullen Gerber graciously went to play for CCP. More on them a little later. In the first quarter, the Kittens struck early against CCP. Early goals came from, among others, Victor Castro, Joey Buelter, Michael Mcward, and Todd Losby. Defensively, the Kittens did a great job of getting into the passing lanes. Player of the Game Peter Brooks made multiple steals as a result of being in the passing lane. In addition, Victor Castro made some great defensive steals as well. At the end of the first, the Kittens were up 7-0.

In the second quarter, the Kittens continued their successes in the pool and even began running the “umbrella” offense. The Kittens scored a couple of times off of point drives, including a nice drive and goal by Todd Losby. The offense as a whole looked much improved this weekend, as the Kittens were more aware in the water and did a much better job of getting set up in the right spot in the pool. When halftime finally rolled around, the Kittens were up 14-0.

In the third quarter, we made it our goal offensively to run out the shot clock and then dump the ball. Although this is not something we had worked on or even mentioned in practice, the Kittens caught on quickly and were even yelling “yellow” and “red” when the shot clock was winding down. The Kittens’ shutout, however, came to an end in the third quarter with a skip shot from behind half by none other than Cullen Gerber. At the end of the third, the Kittens were still winning 14-1 and had completed a very successful quarter in holding the ball and running out the shot clock.

In the fourth quarter, the Kittens’ goal shifted to trying to run the offense using only off-hands. The Kittens did surprisingly well at this, scoring a few more goals in this manner, including one by POTG Peter Brooks. However, the Kittens could have gotten a good number of more goals had it not been for Luke Brooks, who played very well in the deep end goal for CCP. At the end of the game, some of his Kitten teammates were requesting that he play goalie more often for them.

Although the Kittens thoroughly dominated the game, it was still a great learning experience for the team. Offensively, it was great to see the team setting up and being patient, while defensively, the team was much more effective at getting into the passing lanes. Although there is still plenty of room for improvement, the progress from last weekend was extremely encouraging. Looking forward, the Kittens will look to further improve upon these things this week in practice as they look to face Storm next weekend.

One last note: After the end of the game, I had both refs and another team’s coach come up to me and tell me that they were very impressed with the team’s sportsmanship, especially with how the game ended up score-wise. This was great to hear, especially considering that we not only try to teach the players to play hard and well but also to play with good sportsmanship in the process. So, in conclusion, great job this weekend and congratulations on a great effort. We will hopefully see you all at practice this week.

Coach Ray

JCWP Green 6, SLAP Charmander 5 (SV)

We knew our first win would come soon, so congratulations to the boys for a much deserved victory. It was an exciting game that saw so much action in the dwindling minutes of the fourth quarter that I was tempted to run out to my car, open my doctor's bag, grab my sphygmomanometer (which measures blood pressure) and ensure that my arteries were not at risk of bursting.

Throughout most of the game we employed a great press defense that caused Charmander lots of trouble. However at times some of our players got a little lazy, dropped their hips and remained stagnant rather than working to stay in the passing lanes. This made Charmander's job on offense a lot easier. Truth be told, I don't remember how all of SLAP's goals were scored, but one came quickly on a powerplay, the cause of which we don't quite understand as our ejected player made no physical contact with the person he was guarding. Another came off of a drive from the wing which resulted in a nice lob that our goalie had little chance of saving. Their final goal, was a rare goal of chance, and no one can be faulted for it. I don't remember SLAP having as much success on counters as our previous opponents, so props to our boys for better ball control.

Offensively we were more organized than in the past but our hole sets still need to communicate more, and perimeter players need to be quicker to release for the ball. In general things looked sloppy, especially for the first 3 quarters, as players were quick to try and pass under pressure rather than push dribbling to open water, and our two meter players got off some good shots but they were rushed and wild. Taking a split second longer to ensure control likely would have meant several more goals. Our ball control has improved but we've still got a long way to go.

We played well defensively during the first quarter, only allowing one on a fluke powerplay. During the second quarter our boys stepped it up, and Richie Mayer and Brad Gardner quickly added goals. During the third we faltered a little and just looked lazy on both ends of the pool, at which time SLAP got a few goals back to take a 3-2 lead into the final quarter. Both teams hit the net in the fourth quarter, and with less than one minute left it was tied 4-4. With around 45 seconds left, SLAP's goalie threw it to their hole, at which time our goalie and three field players crashed in to steal the ball. It was great help defense, but unfortunately the ball bounced off of the SLAP player's head and right to another offensive player who quickly hit the open net. We can't fault anyone for what we thought would be the game winning goal because under the circumstances everyone did the right thing. Fortunately Evan Stelmachowicz got the ball and drew and ejection at hole, and after a SLAP player interfered with his free throw we had a 6 on 4 situation. Unlike the rest of the game, the boys didn't rush the opportunity. The ball was passed across the goal twice before Evan got it back and buried it near side low to tie it up. We played a solid press for the remaining 15 seconds to send the game into "DeSmet Overtime."

We were fired up and our press was strong. Good defense generated two 2-on-1 situations, the former failed, while the latter saw Charlie Archer score the golden goal. Our players of the game were our goalies for some outstanding saves, improved passing, and most importantly, defensive leadership via communication. So congratulations to Matt Anderson, Andy Fischer, and Brad Gardner, as well as all of our field players on our victory.
-Coach Merritt

1/9/10 Jungle Cats Orange vs. Daisy Red: Round 1

This was an important game for Jungle Cat Orange. The Cats played well throughout the game. The especially had strong defense and patience on offense. The Daisy players were only able to score on 4 occasions where defensive players made slight mistakes. Defensive players should remember to keep hips up, face the offensive goal, and never put your back to the player you are guarding. Keep your head on a swivel. Continuously look from the player you are guarding to the player with the ball. On offense we were patient, not pushing the counter attack too much and waiting for a two meter. Yet on occasion this offensive patience held back our offensive power. We only scored 3 goals. We also had a few very close shots by Bowers, but we should have been taking more shots. We should have tested their goalie more.

As well on offense, we need to continue to go to offense faster, but with the mind set of advancing the ball. We need to get a two-meter set faster. Two meters need to control the offense and be more vocal. And then we need to drive. We did many of these things on Saturday, but too often it took too long.

I think this was one of Orange’s best games because they played very well and the game was close. There was a lot we did well and a lot we could take away from that game. After strong practices this week, we play Daisy Red again this Saturday. We should maintain the same consistent defense we played last week, but we should step up the speed of the half court offense and shoot more often.

Coach O’Neill

shooting

This guy has been spying on my practices:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhhf_m_gtq8

And this??? Good for a few laughs, anyway:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZU6qBaXP4o

This ain't too shabby:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRGr5SfNj9s

-Coach Hayes

Flyers 7 - JCWP Black 2

On Saturday, the Black Cats had their most disappointing performance to date. They struggled to protect the ball on offense, which led to numerous fast-break opportunities for the Flyers.

From the outset, it was clear that the referrees would allow an aggressive press defense on the perimeter, and that fouls would not be given cheaply. The Cats were unable to make an adjustment, and found themselves squandering much of their shot clock and forcing bad passes under pressure. The Flyers did a good job anticipating the mistakes, and scored their goals off of turnovers.

In the second quarter, during a two minute stretch, the Cats had several opportunities to capitalize on counter-attack opportunities, but failed to execute. Several outlet passes went wide of their mark, leading to turnovers or killing the advantage, and on several occasions it appeared that players were simply unable to finish their counters. Energy levels were noticeably low.

The Cats were still within striking distance as the second half began, but the inability to protect the ball and step up under pressure persisted. A referee noted after the game that the "Flyers were just more aggressive, and I was waiting for [the Cats] to assert themselves a little more, which they never did."

The Cats allowed the defense to push them away from the goal on the perimeter, which resulted in terrible spacing and balance. The umbrella was effectively broken.

On the defensive end, JCWP did a fine job, overall. The Flyers accomplished very little in their half-court offense. However, more often than not the Cats found themselves chasing the Flyers in transition, constantly trying to recover and regroup after bad offensive series.

Sometimes the refs won't give anything, but as long as the calls (or non calls) are consistent, the onus is on the players to make the adjustment. Not a single offensive foul was called against the Cats, and one can only wonder what difference it would have made if they had adopted a more aggressive approach on the offensive end.

Coach Hayes

Saturday Jan. 9th, 2010

JCWP Yellow 8 SLAP Charizard 7

The Yellow team played three quarters of solid defense and offense before they got complacent and allowed SLAP back into the game. They started off the first quarter with strong offensive play from John Lewis, Thomas Morgan, and Michael Hagerty. They moved the ball well around the perimeter and were able to hold a side in two meter. The defense was anchored by Jack Buelter, Joe Kabance, and Jake Chisholm. They played a crash defense most of the game, which allowed very few shots from two meter. The Yellow team ended the first quarter up 2-1.

In the second and third quarters the yellow team continued to play a strong defense. They continued to crash hard from the point and flats limiting the SLAP team to a few shots on goal. The offense continued to be productive with some off the ball picks and drives, but the majority of goals came from the counterattack. The boys played with intensity and had many opportunities to score on counters, but some poor decision making and lack of vision in the pool limited them a couple of goals.

In the fourth quarter the yellow team made some mental errors, crashing off the wing and not getting back early to defense, which allowed SLAP to rally to a one goal deficit. The yellow team also played sloppy while up 6 on 5 passing to guys under pressure, but they were still able to come out on top. The players of the game were Joe Kabance and Jack Buelter for defensive effort. The team has some work to do on 6 on 5, but played a solid offense and defense in three out of the four quarters.

Storm 5 JCWP Green 3

It was another tough loss for the green team as we worked to weather a very physical St. Charles Storm. Despite being on the losing end of the scoreboard, our effort had its merits. Our team defense was great today, forcing several bad passes and leading to several steals, and several counterattack opportunities. Once again we were creating good scoring opportunities but our execution was a little off today. Physical mistakes like these sometimes just happen and the important thing is that we're having success creating opportunities.

Our offensive effort was improved as well, as two-meters Evan Stelmachowicz and Richie Mayer both continued to attack the goal and were much more vocal as leaders this time around. We still need to be quicker to release on the perimeter in order to help players under pressure. We also crowded the middle at times, which hurt our execution and made it harder to run an offensive sequence. Storm's go-ahead goals all came as a result of counterattacks off of turnovers, so a little more ball control will go a long way.

Here's to hoping that the weather will be kind and we will be able to hold practice next week so that we can tighten up our game.

-Coach Merritt

Kittens outlast SLAP 16-12 in offensive battle

Offense and counter-attacks were not hard to find as the Kittens opened their 2010 season with a win over SLAP Squirtle 16-12. However, defense was sometimes hard to find in the game in which both teams scored a combined 10 goals in the first quarter. The Kittens, with 12 players present, drew much of their inspiration in the pool from Player of the Game Victor Castro, who played a sensational game both offensively and defensively. His leadership in the pool, in addition to his play, made him the Player of the Game. When his teammates were sometimes not sure what they were supposed to be doing, he helped to direct them. The Kittens excelled offensively, despite the fact that few, if any, of their goals came in a way other than the counter-attack. The Kittens got solid offensive contributions from many of their players, but Todd Losby, Victor Castor, and Joey Buelter shined in this regard. Offensively, the Kittens also did a nice job of finding players open cross-goal when those players were open.

Despite the Kittens’ successes on offense, the Kittens had trouble integrating the things that they had been learning about defense in practice into game situations. For instance, SLAP scored multiple goals off of their players driving, and because our players were not keeping their head on a swivel, they never saw their player leaving and thus gave up a goal. Similarly, at the beginning of the game, the team did not do a good job of matching up on restarts. Instead of picking out a man that they were going to guard and stay with, they let players just swim by them straight toward the goal, giving SLAP multiple open shots at the goal. And even when we did play good defense and got in the passing lane, a few times, after we were able to force a bad pass and get a steal, we forgot to push-dribble and instead elected to heave the ball to a random area in the pool, thus giving the opposing team an unnecessary offensive opportunity. Despite these flaws, the team did a much better job of adjusting as the game went on. Michael Kennedy made some very nice defensive plays, and at the end of the game, we were seeing the positive results of playing in the passing lane by forcing some bad passes.

One other thing I really liked about the team’s effort today was their communication, especially from the bench. By the end of the game, even players on the bench were yelling at players in the water helping them to recognize what was going on. I hope that will continue as the season progresses.

So overall, it was a good start to the Kittens season. The leadership of some of the more experienced guys in the pool was awesome, and we did a pretty good job offensively of finding the open man. In the weeks to come, we will hopefully solve the defensive shortcomings and develop a more stable offensive plan with a 2-meter. But congrats on the first win, and we will hopefully see everyone at practice this week!

Coach Ray