Dynamos in Action
2018 CAMP BIG SUCCESS
"You all have been outstanding all week, thank you for all your efforts; despite the weather issues you have made the camp a great success."--Director of Training Olivier Finidor in a note to his Select Camp coaches
Yes, Old Man Weather finally prevailed, forcing the Dynamos to cancel the final night of the annual two-a-day Select Camp this week, but not before the Finidori-led corps of super coaches completed four fun-filled days. Whenever the blue skies turned dark with rain-swollen clouds, every time rain splattered the Dyess Park fields with showers, each time bolts of lightning flashed, the coaches and campers countered by taking cover, delaying the action, and coming back strong to find dry areas for busy soccer action. Three hundred twenty-five campers experienced one of the most fun-filled camps in the club's 25-plus-year history of staging this huge event.
"Way to go, fellas and gals," praised Commander-in-Chief Finidori, as he maneuvered the all-star cast of coaches, closing this field and opening that one, tweaking locations for group play, providing dynamic games and off-field activities, small-sided games that elicited fun, highly-skilled free play, and laughs from the throng of energetic boys and girls. Even during the final night's long delay before cancellation, there was dancing and shrieks of laughter in the North Pavilion from the kids in Dynamos Blue having a good time.
Sorry we can't identify everyone, but there are more than 300 (count 'em--325!) campers in this photo near the Dyess Park "Far Horizon" for last week's Select Camp.
#DynamosDifference
A SPECIAL VACATION
For one of our Dynamos families, a recent visit to Washington state was another opportunity to spend time with cousin Clint Dempsey of the Seattle Sounders. The Goytia family reported on their adventures: "It was truly an amazing experience. . .you know to us, Clint is family, we look forward to seeing everyone at Christmas and special family events. As much as we love what he has been able to accomplish in his career, and are ever so proud to have him as a role model, we also love our family time, which believe it or not, sometimes has nothing to do with soccer. Our family is pretty close, and we cherish the time spent together. We had the opportunity to experience a Seattle Sounders game at CenturyLink Field and the boys had a great time training at Starfire, the official Seattle Sounders training facility, as they participated in advanced technical camp. I asked the kids their favorite part of the trip, they all had different cherished memories, from going to work with Clint, to meeting and hanging out with the training staff and ever so talented players, however the best moments were trips to the beach and daily games of night soccer in the back yard with all the cousins. Seattle is a beautiful city, and we were blessed by the hospitality and will forever treasure our time spent there with family, and the Sounders."
Addison, Jayden, and Keegan Goytia displayed the Dynamos banner at the Starfire training facility of the Seattle Sounders in the state of Washington, then posed for a photo with their cousin, Sounders superstar Clint Dempsey.
DYNAMOS SUMMER CAMPS 2018
Dyess Park
Future Stars Camp, Aug 13-17, ages 5-12, 6-8pm
Goalkeeper Camp, Aug. 15-17, ages 9-18, 5-8pm
THE BUZZ
Beautiful downtown Dyess Park is never so alive as during the summer select camp. Despite its battle with the unpredictable weather, this year's encampment was lively and fun-filled as always, the many coaches and assistants making use of every inch of turf to provide quality instruction and, most important, enjoyable activities for everybody. . .Juggling champion for the 2018 Select Camp is Graesen Redding of the for the Dynamos 03B Gold (under-16) team. . .Old friends were delighted to see Carlos Lessa back in action as part of the all-star roster of coaches providing instruction for 325 campers at the Dynamos Select Camp last week. Carlos, a former professional player and longtime Houston-area coach, suffered a heart attack last November while visiting Brazil, his home country. . .This week the Future Stars, with Director of Youth Development Roland Sikinger at the helm, will hold forth all week and the annual Keeper Club Goalkeeper Camp will operate Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with three alumni, Brandon Renken, Heather Koudelka Sgro, and Kacie Paine assisting Jim Walker for three hours (5-8pm) each day. . .Dynamos longtime friend Glenn Davis provides Houston with in-depth soccer conversation weekly on "Soccer Matters" ESPN Radio FM97.5, call-in number: 713-780-3776; give Glenn a call. . .To submit items for The Buzz, or the Coaches Memo, email jwalker@dynamossoccer.com.
QUOTABLE
“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.”—Coach Jane Goodall
THOUGHT ON COACHING
Players often come to you having been shaped in their thinking by numerous others who coached them before you. Thus, it can be difficult to impose a stylistic change with a new team (or with players new to your team) if your preferred style of play differs significantly from what previous coaches have taught and trained. If you seek to redefine the way your players play the game, you must recognize that this change can only come gradually. Players will experience significant cognitive dissonance at first, especially if the new approach varies notably from their existing tactical comfort zone. Even in best-case scenarios, experienced players will be challenged to embrace a new style as quickly as you might otherwise expect, since they must "re-program" their mental models of the game, break old habits, and establish new ones.—Robert Parr, www.soccerrom.com, from his essay “Understanding Styles and Systems of Play”
ANOTHER THOUGHT ON COACHING
"In the end, it's about the teaching, and what I always loved about coaching was the practices. Not the games, not the tournaments, not the alumni stuff. But teaching the players during practice was what coaching was all about to me."--Coach John Wooden
IT’S ONLY FAIR
At least it gives us coaches a way to start a conversation, Coach Cy Fair says about the weather. Coach Flo claims she did a week's worth of cardio after walking into a spider web.