With a self imposed deadline of Feb. 28th to name our final roster for this summer's games, we have had quite a bit of back and forth evaluating the players and trying to put together what we think will be the best group of players. With the nature of the games, it isn't quite about taking the best 20 players but about selecting certain players that can fill specific roles within the group. Additionaly, while all of these players are top players on their university programs, some may actually find themselves towards the end of the bench with our squad so we need to also evaluate who will feel can accept a lesser role than that which they might be accustomed to in their soccer careers.
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Well just returned from my annual trip out to Vancouver attending the Metro Recruitment Weekend. This was my 4th year attending the event and it has yielded us some some of our current players but additionaly 3 of the 4 players who have already signed for 2009 were first met at this event last year. There was a new group of organizers handling the weekend and as is expected there were some problems but all in all it went quite well. The biggest difference between this year and the past 3 years, was the fact that rather than watching the games thinking " if I could just get 3 or 4 quality players that would help our program" I was in the comfortable position of knowing that I had already been able to address some of our needs ahead of time with the 4 players already committed to Concordia and my recruitment could have a more focused approach as I looked to fill some very specific roster needs. What also made if different and fun, was that our 4 signed recruits attended the weekend and were an active part in the recruiting. It had a great impact of additional potential players when they could talk to local players who had already gone through the process of evaluating Concordia and had made their decision. Their presence may have actually help sway the decision of a few recruits. Only time will tell and we will have a better idea after this weekend once the deadline for application to Concordia passes on March 1st. The weekend's activities allowed me to reconnect with a few potential players I had met in 2008 at the same event but also see a few new faces in game action in order to better evaluate their possible impact on our team. Like always, some players stood out and some didn't live up to expectations. Many thanks to our four signees and their parents for beign available to attend and help out. Well not much to update in terms of the FISU games other than to say we should be naming our final selection at the end of February. A lot of behind the scenes going on as we plan our equipment purchases, start thinking ahead to our training camp and travel arrangements, evaluate the short list of players, etc. Well our indoor season continues to move forward. After our first win, we had a really tough game vs U of Montreal and I left the field feeling embarrassed by the lack of effort from certain players but more determined than ever to get this soccer program moving in the right direction. Our core group continues to work hard and improve and their remain numerous signs. The key for fall 2009 will be getting our new and returning players to gel quickly. |
AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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