Last season, defense helped the Polson boys' soccer team streak to the conference championship. This year, it's something they're already focusing in on just three days into two-a-day practices.
"We as a defense need to tell the offense what to do," Polson head coach Jess Kittle explained during a drill on Wednesday afternoon.
Breaking down his team into 3-on-2 situations and working on passing lanes, the Pirates will hope to replicate their anaconda-esque approach when it comes to choking other teams' offenses.
"On defensive days like this, I want to keep the pressure on the boys so they'll keep the pressure on the other teams," Kittle said. "That way we can start with fundamentals and build into a team concept."
Polson has a mix of returning starters and young players that will be looking to step up, but right now their just finding their legs thanks to the ultra-intense "County Fair" conditioning workouts in the mornings.
And Wednesday just so happens to be the day that players hit a wall.
"Generally it's the third day that guys find the toughest," Kittle said. "Although after one full revolution in the fair today (meaning everyone has done every drill in the county fair), the team went on a one mile run and they rocked it. It was impressive."
Historically, Polson has started slow in the season but have picked things up once the season gets into gear.
"Last year we dropped our first three games then we stepped on it and went undefeated in conference," Kittle said.
The Pirates will have a tough first-game opponent with Hamilton on Aug. 30, a team that went undefeated in the regular season last year, but have an 11-day gap before they play another varsity match-up (Park at home on Sept. 10). Kittle said he expects plenty of improvement between the first and second games.
Polson will certain be in the cross-hairs this season after winning the conference championship last season. The bulls eye doesn't deter the Pirates though, they'll be gunning for more hardware at the end of the season.
"We know it and we're aiming for it again," Kittle said. "We want to be the two-time conference champions this season."
No comments:
Post a Comment