Breakdown: Temwa Chawinga, Kansas City Current teach critical lesson

Welcome… or welcome back. It has been a bit since the last Breakdown of the Match. Life, ya’ know. Summer. And lots of soccer. Kansas City has been extra blessed with the U.S. Men’s Olympic team playing their last tune-up v Japan and Canada, Peru, Uruguay, and the U.S. Men’s National Team in Copa America here in Kansas City. Of course, Sporting Kansas City are about to play in Leagues Cup and a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Semifinal. However, bringing the most quality and excitement have been Kansas City Current.

Yet, there was not much to highlight in the Current’s 3-1 win over Houston Dash in each club’s first match in the NWSL vs Liga MX Feminil Summer Cup last Saturday night at CPKC Stadium.

Except for the singularly most important object lesson in the world of sport, illustrated by a brilliant goal.

National Women’s Soccer League Official Site | NWSL (nwslsoccer.com) (see the goal 38 seconds in).

The pass from Izzy Rodriguez to Chawinga is exquisite. The final ball is brilliant. The touch by Michelle Cooper to ripple the net, tremendous. But it is all set up by the ball doing the work. Because the ball is faster than any player on the pitch.

For young players – or players especially physically gifted – realizing that the ball is faster than anything on the field is often a revelation, a somewhat humbling lesson for many. I’ve seen it.

Sure, every match, every sporting competition ever played illustrates the lesson. But when Temwa Chawinga – the fastest player in the NWSL – is involved, the lesson hits hard.

When Chawinga initially receives on the left flank with a defender pressuring (but not quite there), she could have run her mark and probably beat her. But she would have attracted more defenders and – this is the key point – Chawinga would not have had as much space to serve such a ball.

Credit: NWSL+

The ball got to the perfect spot for the cross before Chawinga. It gave Chawinga the chance to make good. A chance is all any player needs. And the ball doing the work sets up the vast majority of strong chances. Chawinga takes full advantage.

One way to teach the lesson… Make the lesson natural. Kids love to run, so make it a race. Ask who thinks they are the fastest players on the team. Match three at most in two or three races to get a final for the winners. After each race and the final, praise, as always. Then, challenge the champion yourself. When the signal sounds, pass a nearby ball past the runner to the finish line. Your verbal skills take over now. Be sure to have the players generate examples from previous games and definitely focus on the lesson in trainings from there on.

It’s a lesson that Chawinga is well to learn: allowing the ball to work for you multiplies your physical gifts. And Chawinga has not only learned it, she has ingrained it. Early in the 2024 season, if the Malawi native got the ball, she was most likely driving forward taking on all comers. In Saturday night’s win, receiving and laying the ball off to perhaps get it back was her MO. It will serve her and the Kansas City Current well, eternally.