|
|
|
Independence, MO —
There was a point to all the sweating the William Chrisman boys soccer team was doing at the start of Wednesday’s practice.
The squad started the afternoon session with a set of lunges across the field, punishment for leaving some trash on the field at an earlier practice. The message is one Bears coach John Straub has been harping on in the season’s early stages: Individual actions have an impact on the entire team.
So Chrisman started Wednesday with some extra conditioning before completing three 10-minute runs with three-minute rests in between.
“We’re just really focusing the most on getting the boys to buy into the team concept,” Straub said.
The recent littering offense notwithstanding, Straub said it looks like he has a group willing to buy into that mentality. Of the 36 players who showed for the first practices, most were regulars at the Bears’ offseason camps and workouts.
“Probably the thing I’m impressed with the most is throughout the summer, June and July, we were averaging right around 30 boys out here all summer,” Straub said. “That’s real good and that’s going to give us a good foundation for the season.”
SOFTBALL SWITCH: Chris Walker is no stranger to coaching. But this fall, the longtime Fort Osage baseball coach is trying something new.
This year, Walker is serving as an assistant softball coach on Kelly Sullivan’s staff. The position was opened up to members of the Fort Osage staff last year, and Walker was one of the first to voice his interest.
Sullivan said the transition has been smooth as many of the girls are already familiar with Walker.
“He’s a quick learner,” she said. “It hasn’t been too difficult. There’s little minute things that are different (between baseball and softball), but he’s hanging right in there and stepped up right away. You wouldn’t even know it’s his first year with me.”
Walker might be learning some of softball’s intricacies, but Sullivan said it was obvious from Day 1 that he’s a coaching veteran.
“That’s been huge already,” she said. “... He was able to jump right in without a blink of an eye telling kids where to go and what to do and how to do it. It’s awesome because I don’t have to worry about getting to learn new kids and a new coach. I can trust he’s going to he there and just be successful.”
There was a point to all the sweating the William Chrisman boys soccer team was doing at the start of Wednesday’s practice.
The squad started the afternoon session with a set of lunges across the field, punishment for leaving some trash on the field at an earlier practice. The message is one Bears coach John Straub has been harping on in the season’s early stages: Individual actions have an impact on the entire team.
So Chrisman started Wednesday with some extra conditioning before completing three 10-minute runs with three-minute rests in between.
“We’re just really focusing the most on getting the boys to buy into the team concept,” Straub said.
The recent littering offense notwithstanding, Straub said it looks like he has a group willing to buy into that mentality. Of the 36 players who showed for the first practices, most were regulars at the Bears’ offseason camps and workouts.
“Probably the thing I’m impressed with the most is throughout the summer, June and July, we were averaging right around 30 boys out here all summer,” Straub said. “That’s real good and that’s going to give us a good foundation for the season.”
SOFTBALL SWITCH: Chris Walker is no stranger to coaching. But this fall, the longtime Fort Osage baseball coach is trying something new.
This year, Walker is serving as an assistant softball coach on Kelly Sullivan’s staff. The position was opened up to members of the Fort Osage staff last year, and Walker was one of the first to voice his interest.
Sullivan said the transition has been smooth as many of the girls are already familiar with Walker.
“He’s a quick learner,” she said. “It hasn’t been too difficult. There’s little minute things that are different (between baseball and softball), but he’s hanging right in there and stepped up right away. You wouldn’t even know it’s his first year with me.”
Walker might be learning some of softball’s intricacies, but Sullivan said it was obvious from Day 1 that he’s a coaching veteran.
“That’s been huge already,” she said. “... He was able to jump right in without a blink of an eye telling kids where to go and what to do and how to do it. It’s awesome because I don’t have to worry about getting to learn new kids and a new coach. I can trust he’s going to he there and just be successful.”
NEW SYSTEM: Truman boys soccer coach Jared Byrne didn’t want to go into specifics, but the Patriots are working on implementing a new offense this season.
Byrne said the system was chosen to fit the skills of his current group and he added that it should open up multiple attacking options.
“It will be a challenge,” Byrne said. “But we have the first three or four weeks and always go into a lot of practical stuff. Some of these guys have played (the system) before.”
Truman returns about half of their starters from last year, including seniors Zach Felz and Taylor Corwin, who Byrne said have emerged as the team’s leaders.
“We have a good core group that has played varsity,” Byrne said. “We have some good leadership but definitely have a few holes to fill. ... I really do have some good chemistry and this group has a good work ethic all around.”
