2018! A Year of Lessons - Part 1

Hi Everyone.

The 2019 pre-season is about to kick off and I realized that I am so excited for the year ahead I forgot to give a break down of the 2018 season. There was a lot of milestones reached and a lot of individual awards were achieved in the team but as a team we didn’t reach any of our targets but I saw boys develop on and off the field which is what we want to do. Winning would have been great but was always going to be a challenge hence the title “2018! A year of lessons!”

The lessons taught were both on the field and off the field and I have taken each and every lesson, studied it and prepared myself for the exam in the 2019 year. It has prepared me for what I am about to deal with in the new season.

U15 Wits Juniors Football Team

The 2018 season started off great, we won almost every pre-season game and only drawing against Orlando Pirates (3 – 3). The team was strong and playing some beautiful football, everyone seems to have adapted to the style of football that we wanted to play. These boys could keep possession of the ball and attack with a purpose. They had a goal and the goal that we wanted is going to be attainable. We prepared well for the season ahead, until one of the PSL teams that didn’t have a junior structure decided that they will be opening a junior team and entering the same league that we are competing in. We lost one of the crucial players in the team, it was like losing the recent Pogba in Manchester United and trying to replace him would be a difficult.

The first game was a eye opener for us, we played Black Aces away. We conceded two quick goals in the first half and we needed to dig deep. It was a game that brought out the side of me that everyone knows. Let’s just say I ended up in the stands as there was some questionable calls that lead to some heated arguments but that was the last such happened as it was a lesson learnt hahaha. We came back from 2 down to draw the game 2 – 2, great spirit by the team but we had an even bigger challenge coming up against our name sake Bidvest Wits (Wits Derby Day). A lesson was taught that day but mentally we were not ready for the challenge and I think the boys took that lesson to heart and I feel as a coach I could have handled the lesson better but emotion took control and things started to change. That was the second lesson in the space of 2 weeks but we continued pushing on but I saw boys spirits drop as they started thinking they weren’t good enough, something needed to be done differently, something needed to change but that change never came. I just saw boys wanting more, some were even questioning if they will ever get to be apart of the big leagues because they don’t see how can they. It was a sad moment as a coach but something needed to change the spirit in the camp needed to change, these boys needed to start enjoying this game again and believing that they have what it takes to be on the top.

Rand Central ADP tournament, just what was needed for us to lift our spirits. We entered the tournament in hope that we would take Gold, which we eventually did. We probably played the best football at the tournament as majority of the boys were selected to play in the Rand Central district team which I will touch on later. We have received our first gold medal of the year, does this mean things could be looking up for us? The mood in the camp changed, there was belief again and the league games started picking up, not enough wins but more draws, anything better than a loss though right.

We ended the season in 9th position, 5 places off the top 4 which would have been an ideal finish for us but honestly, we didn’t play like a top 4 finish team and there was a lot that we needed to work on to get that finish but we learnt our lessons and we ready for what is to come.

The individual achievements for the year was having 3 players selected for the u14 District team and 6 players selected for the u15 district team. There were more achievements that were accomplished as 4 of the players were selected to represent SAFA Gauteng in an inter-provincial tournament that took place in Johannesburg. You could see the development in these boys during the year and it was evident in what they achieved during the year, all these 9 players were also selected for a trip to Portugal during the 2019 season.

To my boys:

It was a tough season but I saw you boys grow in so many ways both on and off the field. The future looks bright for each and every one of you but that is only up to you. You got to put the work in, in order to get the results. You could get 100 No’s but keep going because the Yes is coming and when it does you will appreciate it more than ever. Trust the process that you are going through because it preparing you for what is coming, it is moulding you for what you destined for so no matter what happens always find the positive in the situation.

Keep Pushing.

Keep Working Hard.

But most importantly never stop believing in your ability to reach for the stars.

Engen Knockout Challenge 2018

I got the opportunity to be apart of the technical team of our Engen Knockout team and what an experience to be a part of such an experienced team but I was looking forward to what the tournament would bring for me. We were put in a tough group, it saw us facing Kazier Chiefs, Highlands Park & Jomo Cosmos. The spirit in the camp was high because we believed we could take anyone on and go all the way but then again which team doesn’t believe that before the tournament starts but we had home ground advantage right? Opening game was against Kaizer Chiefs, you could see the hunger in the boys as they had a few MDC players in the team and they were obviously the favourites so according to everyone we were supposed to get hammered. Well football is a great sport because we shut some mouths, lets just say we ran them to the ground as our fitness levels were way ahead of theirs. We went on to score the first goal in the second half against all odds but we just couldn’t hold it out till the end and conceded in the last few seconds and the game ended 1 – 1. We were happy with the result but knew there was a lot that need to be done to beat Highlands park in the next game.

That same afternoon we played Highlands Park and this we couldn’t lose this game so all we wanted was a win that is all we needed as Cosmos and Highlands also drew their game so the group is still wide open. The game was a dull game that lead to a 0 – 0 draw but we had the night to re group and come back to face Cosmos. The result from the other group game played in our favour as it was also a draw. No wins in the group that meant any team that wins now goes through. The Cosmos game didn’t go as planned and we ended up losing it 1 – 0, it was a game of intimidation and let’s get that goal and park the bus, tournament football at its best.

This put us in the plate section and having to fight for 9th position. We ended off 9th overall which is not a bad result for us so we regroup and plan for a better 2019 Engen knockout tournament. Oh, and you guessed it yours truly has been selected as one of the coaches in the technical team!! Could 2019 be our year? Make sure you there to witness it.

Believe it or not this is only half of the year there is still the district team, Stix Morewa Tournament and the great Discovery tournament.

Let me not keep you for too long and touch on my experience in those tournaments and teams in Part 2 of this story.

2018 didn’t give me everything I wanted but it gave me more in experience.

2019 comes with its own challenges but this is the year of breakthrough.

Brice Petersen