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U11 & U14s Flag Coach Darren Mitchell’s Post Match Review – Kent Exiles Home Tournament

 

On reflecting on our Under 11’s and Under 14’s performance at the Exiles’ home tournament last Saturday, Head Coach Darren Mitchell had this to say:

 

‘It felt good to finally line up against somebody unfamiliar to us and I think the players felt that way too.

The U11 team, though short on numbers and practice time as a group, played well – all of them gave me their best effort. We had a few TDs vs the Phoenix along with a defensive TD as well, we struggled against a very good Blitz team but never backed down while giving maximum effort, which is all I ask of them!

I was only able to get glimpses of the U14 team at times, due to being with the U11 team but I definitely could hear their matches! I observed some big plays on offense, which are always exciting and I was impressed with their disciplined play on defense, which surprised more than one team. The ability to throw the long ball on offense will help keep the opposing defenses in check. I spoke at length with Coach Neil and Coach Adam and they were very happy with the teams performance, we know that the day could have easily ended up with the team 4-0 on the day…..this team will only get better!

I would like to add that our sportsmanship was on display all day and I am very proud of them as it is easy to get caught up in the “hype”. Our goal as coaches is to teach them to love the game but not at the expense of sportsmanship.

Looking ahead to this Sunday where we will be attending the ‘Kent Phoenix Fire Bowl’, we will face a couple of teams yet unseen, the U11 will be maxed out due to only having a small squad again this week – so they will see tons of repetitions and that will only help them improve their game from top to bottom.

The U14 team will pick up where they left off and should be able to showcase their offensive weapons along with playing solid defense.’