Doubles

"I would hate to lose a game because my players were not in shape."

A large part of preseason training is conditioning. Every player is expected to be able to play for 80 minutes. In that 80 minutes, I think the average soccer player will run around 6 miles. I'd also say that midfielders run more and based on the system of play, strikers may run a little less. Therefore, it is imperative that we train everyday for this reality of soccer during the preseason. Coach Belmonte has kept Varsity busy (and tired) with a variety of fitness tests during the morning sessions. Coach Wolf and coach Thornburg have also been making sure that the Freshmen and Sophomores are in tip top shape. We believe believe that soccer players have to be able to play tired. This is where it takes mental discipline to keep pushing and giving 100%.

I have been working each day with the goalkeepers. I'm impressed by their hard work and mutual support. It's also nice (and extremely valuable) to hear Paras giving tips and suggestions based on what he sees. Keep up the good work Paras, Armando, Grant and Jose!

Varsity had a scrimmage on Tuesday night (5:30) and we will play again tonight. It was nice to see that a few parents were able to make it. The coaches were glad to see that the players treated the scrimmage seriously, as if it were the game against Wheaton Warrenville South on Tuesday. From the coaches perspective, we saw some good things and we saw some bad things. In the end, we all agreed that we have a lot to work on. Kudos to Joe P. for the nasty shot and ensuing celebratory belly slide that opened up the scoring.

Turf update - not done. The last due date I received was September 16. Our home games will be played on the practice turf field and the adjacent "shelf" field at 5pm until the stadium turf is ready. The bleachers are located on the east side of the field. More information to follow.

Something to ponder -
"Class is demonstrated when you do something for someone who can do nothing for you."