May the Season Begin

Well, the new high school soccer season officially began last Monday with tryouts. This was the first time I was faced with cutting anybody from my own team in a couple of years. Since we lost about 12 people from last year's team, there were plenty of spaces to fill, but I knew I needed some kind of objective drills/tests to defend my actions to any concerned parents. Unfortunately, I had a hard time thinking of good objective measurements that would be a strong reflection of a player's ability during game time. So, we ended up doing a lot of scrimmaging. Always during tryouts, it seems to be a task to get communication and aggressive play out of the players who are "on the bubble." A few times I isolated the ones I needed to see more closely, and, of course, still little communication. But I guess another way to look at it would be that during games, these guys will be facing the best players of the opposing schools, so they need to experience working against the best our school has to offer. After four days of tryouts, I think I've got a pretty good roster of players. Lack of aggression and hustle can be strong detriments in the tryout process. I'd rather have people out there who not only have a knowledge of the game but are also motivated to succeed and improve.

Another interesting aspect that I will need to research is the idea of being in charge of an entire program again. This really hasn't been the case since I was in Logan coaching girls' cross-country. I don't know how long God wants to keep me in this position, but my words and actions as well as the words and actions of my players will be a reflection on the school, but more humbly, on me as well. I hope that I can encourage and motivate these players in ways that will make God proud and end the season with a sense of accomplishment and success for all involved.