STAND BY ME

I hear “That was magic! Your session was magic. This moment was magical. What you do is magic.”

Magic… What does magic really mean? -Something that takes your breath away?

 This dance is magical, this play is magical, this moment is magical, being able to move after a naprapat fixes you is magic, this conversation is magical, this training session is magical… a goal, a smile, a joy… the joyful moment.  It is something you will never forget.

Magic: Definition

Noun

1.    The power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural powers or art.

2.    Wonderful; exciting

3.    Any extraordinary or mystical influence, charm or power. Special Power, influence or skill

4.    Mysteriously enchanting

5.    A power that allows people to do impossible things by special words, tricks or performing special actions

Verb

1.    Move, change, transform or create by or as if by magic

Perform: Definition

1.    To carry out, to execute, to do.

2.     To carry into effect, to accomplish any action involving skill or ability.

3.     To fulfill a command, promise. To entertain.

I danced for 9 years. The dance company in my town, Hackworth School of Performing arts is one of the best! My friend Teddy Forance and his family are dancers and they are basically doing what I do with fotboll but with dance…

 

I was thinking about these two words Performance and Magic and my mind went back in a time where I was watching a performance and I felt the “magic”… My mom and I were watching a dance recital; Teddy came on stage… I have not seen him perform in awhile and when he started to move I became lost in it, lost deeper and deeper within every movement… He made time freeze and I lost my breath.  This was breathtaking. He made me completely disappear where all that existed was him on the stage. It was absolutely incredible!!

I went on YouTube and I watched one of my favorite performances from him.  After, I had training with a focus on possession in the midfield and then I thought of Teddy, this performance, when I danced, what my dance teachers have said to me, and how they set up and created a choreography.  It clicked…. I found a key…

Creating a Choreography

When you are creating a dance within a group the teachers talk about finding the “windows”, with these windows every dancer is seen at all times.

I think… The player with the ball is now the “audience” and the rest of the team needs to find the different “windows” (space) to be seen.

I watch this stand by me performance again and I see it so clearly……

Stand By Me

These three guys “attack in three” -My team attacks in three or more and defends in these attacking triangles I call the Bermuda triangle.

They have “Happy feet”-Their feet are always moving. My players’ feet are always moving. There are no “sad feet”

Positioning- They have different positions whether it is group/team positioning or individual positioning and they interchange just as we do in fotboll.

Spacing- They focus on spacing- the distance between the player (or ‘dancer’) attacking and defensively, whether it be in triangles, diamonds etc.

They have a game plan- a choreography where they attack, defend and have different movement transitions from attacking to defending and defending to attacking.

Special Skills- Each dancer, each player has a special skill and their stage or the field serves as a place for “self expression” They use their special skill and strength to make everyone look good and make each other better.

Balance- There is a balance between “improvisation and structure” They have a structure they follow but they have the freedom to “Improvise” within the structure.

Windows-No one is hiding everyone has a role within the performance. Everyone has a role on the team. If your friend is hiding you have to catch her, help her up so she finds her window again. HELP YOUR TEAMMATE UP!!

Audience- They are not only there for themselves and their teammates but they are also there for the audience… To PERFORM!  You have to be “there” and be ‘support’ for the player with the ball. The Audience also becomes the support to the players, dancers or team.

The crowd- In the great words of the gladiator “Win the crowd and you shall gain your freedom. Win the hearts of the mob” “ I will win the crowd. I will give them something they have never seen before” They not only win but they PERFORM!

What does it mean to truly win???

-I win but don’t play well and I am not happy or satisfied…

-I lose and play well but I am satisfied?

-What would you rather??

-But to achieve excellence and become a ‘champion’ do you need to find a way to win when you don’t play well?

-To play well you win?

To win and play well is the ultimate victory!!

Work, Trust, Commitment- I base my team’s philosophy on these three things. In this dance performance you need a lot of trust and commitment in oneself, teammate, coach and plan and you need to work to perfect it. Outwork every opponent even if that opponent is your self. Just as in this dance, trust to jump into your partners arms knowing fully that they are there to catch you. That they are there for you, to do everything in their power to make you look good because they know that you are doing the same for them!

ONE- They become one in this performance but they keep their individuality. They use their individuality to create “ONE” They are the same but have a plan to use their individuality to lift the group and the performance.  They put their strengths together to perform or reach a common goal (like scoring in fotboll) or creating an unbelievable show to not just be great but really really great!!

Freedom- create an environment where you give the game back to the players or the stage back to the performers, where they have the freedom to express themselves. How do you find your freedom?

Relating to football.

The player with the ball is the audience; the players off the ball are the performers and need to find the “windows” where everyone is seen.  My players have FREEDOM within the plan/ choreography where they are free to express themselves. They use their strengths to lift the team and the team lifts their strengths! Everyone has a role in the victory and to make the performance great. No one hides.

Why be there if you hide? Take the responsibility to have the courage to be seen.

I see that everything that has happened to me, every experience and every person that I have met (friends, family, professors, old dance teachers, and coaches) has helped me create my philosophy!  I keep adding, adapting and creating to come to that magical moment.

You see just tiny glimpses of magic from time to time.  I think of a magical time and magical moments and want to bring that to this great game not only win but also perform and create MAGIC. Something so great that it makes you disappear!