Back in the day, we used to take a two-week break from calisthenics and flag football and our coaches would march us down to the high school pool for swimming instruction. By the end of the week, we would sometimes finish the lessons early and Mr. Zanoli - who was normally a football coach - would toss a ball into the shallow end of the pool and yell, "Kill the man with the ball!" At this point, 50 14-year olds would frantically make their way toward the ball with the intent of either grabbing it or pummeling or attempting to drown the individual who was in current possession of the ball. Actually, only 49 boys were heading toward the ball because I was trying my damnest to make my way out of harm's way. The only problem was that all of those teenagers striding toward the ball, using their arms as oars to propel them actually created a current that would suck even the most ardent of non-combatants back toward the ball.
What seemed like a really bad idea back in Mr. Zanoli's gym class, however, seems to me like a really good idea when it comes to soccer. After all of that endless dribbling and ping-ponging of passes back and forth across the field, here's an activity that has a good chance in producing a goal. Just tee it up, launch a pass into the middle of the players jockeying for position and hope that someone kicks or heads one in.
I'm looking for a team that excels at the corner kick and I definitely don't want one that continually air mails their kicks across the middle of the field, blowing the chance. After all, Mr. Zanoli never threw the ball in such a way that he missed the pool entirely. That would have been irresponsible.
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