The Heart of the Matter
After a quick water break, the players divide up and get ready for an hour of high-intensity drills. Once head coach Abner Rogers is ready to go, the teams start with a 3-v-3 drill, with the offensive players moving swiftly toward waiting defenders. Rogers never stops instructing his players, correcting some, commending others and making suggestions throughout the practice.
The Sol's Aya Miyama tries
to escape defensive pressure.
During 3 v 3, the offensive players are looking for space while the defense is trying to stay a step ahead. If the offense gets behind the defenders with the ball--or if the defense grabs possession and clears it out--the next six players go.
Away from the position players, the goalkeepers are getting their best challenge yet. Powell is blasting shots toward the corners of the goal from 15 yards out--very close range for a wide-open shooter. Plenty of shots scream by the outreached arms of the keeper, but their reaction time is improving with each point-blank ball that comes their way.
At 11 a.m.--36 minutes after practice started--the players grab water and prepare for full-team work. The goalkeepers leave their island and join the rest of their teammates.
Communication is Key
The Sol have 21 non-goalkeepers on their official roster, and a couple were injured on this day and working with the trainer on the sideline. That left enough bodies for different variations of 9-v-9 work, using half of the field.
During one session, the attacking side had a normal-sized goal to aim for--with LeBlanc and the other keepers trying to protect it--but Rogers made sure the defending players had a reward, too. So he put two miniature goals on each end of the midfield line, and encouraged the defense to shoot for them in their counterattack if they gain possession. This would represent a good pass upfield to an outside midfielder.
As the practice heats up, the noise at Home Depot Center is intense. LeBlanc is hollering at the defenders. Defenders are hollering at each other. Forwards are screaming at teammates.
"Put her out! Put her out!" shouts one.
"Step to, step to!" says another.
"Middle! Middle!" says another.
It's a loud workout--just the way L.A. wants it. At one point, LeBlanc gets upset with her defenders about a brief lack of communication. After play stops, she speaks her mind.
"I shouldn't be the only one telling her!" she shouts. "You should all be telling her!"
During the next water break, LeBlanc and the defense huddles up and straighten things out.
As the workout continues, the competitiveness steps up. While practice is no time to get injured, the intensity leads to a few players getting knocked to the ground--sometimes hard--during battles for the ball.
Marta is considered the best
women's player in the world.
The practice also isn't without fireworks. Near the end of the scrimmage, Marta receives the ball at the top of the box and has just enough room for a shot. With her powerful left foot, she drills the ball into the corner of the goal.
While it's just practice, the Sol's defense has become another victim of Marta's phenomenal talent. The Brazilian led WPS in scoring during the regular season, and has scored 47 goals in just 45 international matches. She was named FIFA's women's player of the year in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Marta's resume in the post-Mia Hamm era is unmatched.
"She's just so fast, and she's really hard to defend with how quick she is," Sol defender Stephanie Cox said. "She's so technical and so skilled."
Still, Cox said she was pleased with how the 9-v-9 work went for the defenders.
"We wanted to work on our defensive shapes," she said. "Applying pressure on the ball. Especially on the wings when their outside players have the ball, so they can't make good passes to the middle."