Kicking Off A New Era
Despite the downpour and soggy pitch conditions, Angelina College’s women’s and men’s soccer teams hit the practice field on the AC campus Monday, making a little history in the process. The women practiced on grass until the torrents arrived, leaving the men to work out inside the AC gymnasium.
It didn’t matter where they were. They were all part of something new – and something big.
AC’s first-ever soccer teams conducted their first-ever practices, with head coach Freddy Drago and assistant coach Jorden Smith winding their way through various drills. Considering the players just moved on-campus this past weekend – many had never met until Monday – fundamentals would have to wait. The main goals of the day included building cohesion and monitoring conditioning, considering the season opens mere days from now.
“Our main goal this first few days is to get the kids comfortable with each other,” Drago said. “We have a big group on both sides, and we need to make sure they start playing as a team rather than as individuals. So for the next couple of days that’s going to be our main focus, for them to start getting to know each other on the field, getting to know each other’s tendencies, so we can start playing together as a team rather than just a bunch of strangers.
“In close second will be the fitness,” Drago added. “We give these kids a summer conditioning program to do on their own, and over the next few days we’ll find out who’s done it and who hasn’t.”
Drago said he’ll carry around 24 players on the women’s roster and 28-29 players on the men’s list. In Thursday’s pre-season doubleheader at the University of Houston-Victoria, Drago said, every player will make the trip, and every player will see action.
After that, it will be time to identify starting rotations. The Lady Roadrunners open the regular season with a pair of road trips: Monday at Richland College, and Friday, Aug. 26 at Navarro College. The men won’t see regular-season action until the two teams host a home opener against Ranger College on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at Jase Magers Field in Lufkin.
Over the next week and a half, Drago said building team unity will take priority. The basics of the game, he said, are already in place.
“Technique and fundamentals will be things we touch on every single day at every single practice,” Drago said. “But it’s not going to be something we’re going to focus on this early. These kids are here for a reason; they know how to play or we wouldn’t have signed them. They’ve all been there and done those things in their soccer progression.”
Thursday’s schedule at UH-Victoria includes the Roadrunners taking the pitch at 3 p.m., with the Lady Roadrunners following at 5 p.m. For match updates, follow @ACAthletics on Twitter.
The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
