Blog 24: Exit Interview Questions

Content:

(1)   What is your essential question? What is the best answer to your question and why?

What is most important in winning an under 19 year old soccer league championship? My best answer is, the best way to win an under 19 year old soccer league championship is for the coach to use a 4-2-3-1 formation during his games as a main formation, providing a balance between defense and the creation of goal opportunities in the offense while also maintaining ball possession because it is what helps create scoring possibilities and not receive goals. You also need the players to know their positions and be clearly defined because if it is not, everyone will just do what they want; there will be a lot of misunderstandings in the field, weakening the team and retaining progress of the offense and may lead to a loss.

(2)   What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

My topic is soccer performance, or soccer player, and me having played for about 10 years made it easy for me to choose this as a topic. I tried focusing on soccer players individually in the beginning of the year and then was given feedback, and I was guided into a different direction, changing it to a general team concept and figuring out how to win a soccer league championship. Dieting was the first thing that came to mind as well as stretching because they seemed to be the most obvious answers. Dieting because you should be healthy if wanting to play a demanding sport like this at a competitive level, and stretching in order to prevent injuries because with injures, come no game time. Then I came across something that was in front of me the whole time, when playing and watching games. That was strategy. While playing FIFA, I noticed that many great teams such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, have their defined formations and I saw how it would benefit them for the most part when they would use their personal tactics during an actual, live game. Bayern Munich and Barcelona became league champions, while Chelsea won the 2011-12, UEFA Champions League, which is the highest ranked, European competition. I had seen how much the formations helped each team perform to the best of their abilities. I also noticed how we also used a certain formation, and we also won several league championships in the past years. I then knew, this had to be one of my answers.

(3)   What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

First problem, I did not have a definite essential question or focus. I was focused on individual soccer player. I was able to resolve this once given feedback from Purther, and I was guided into a different direction with a focus on how to win a league championship, which is still about soccer players, but as a whole. That led to me defining my EQ and progressing with my project. My second problem was finding research that directly related to my essential question which was about U-19 soccer leagues. The way I resolved this was by finding research through my independent component which was about participating in an under 19 year old soccer league.

(4)   What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

First most significant source: Coach Rod Jativa from my independent component because he was able to share information with me about soccer players through two points of views, which were being a professional soccer player, and being a coach. My independent component itself also helped because I was able to find my own research and witness the different affects every decision on the field made.

Second most significant source: “4-2-3-1 Soccer Formation” soccermaniak.com really helped get an understanding of the 4-2-3-1 soccer formation is. It was very specific and detailed as to what areas need to be covered by each position on the field, how the different players should move when on offense and defense, and the different tactics that help make this formation successful and get the best out of it. It also discusses how it is a very balanced formation, which makes it that much more valuable to soccer.

(5)   What is your product and why?

My product is that I improved immensely in playing the defensive role/position. Playing defender was one of my major weaknesses and I had never been able to master it, which also didn’t help me when I would play midfielder and had to defend. I played defense throughout many league matches and I was given a major responsibility to defend well when we were short a couple of players, especially since no one else knew or wanted to play defense. My experience as an offensive player also helped me while playing defense because in many occasions, I would intercept the ball thinking to myself what it is I would do, and assume the opponent would do the same.