Aug. 23, 2009

ALUMNI BLOG 1
My favorite time of the year has begun - preseason. It is always exciting to see the boys again after the three- month summer break. Also, it is always interesting to see if the newcomers prepared enough. Dayton Soccer is all about hard work and without the fitness element it can be a daunting task to play for us.

I wish I could say I was fully satisfied the first day but unfortunately a handful of newcomers came in unfit and a few returners were not as sharp. We have had to play catch-up the last few days.

Our legs are very heavy right now which showed in the Butler game. They outplayed us in every area and we have to use that as a wake-up call. The expectations are always higher when you come off a good season. Isaac Kissi proved to be our best attacking player in the game by far. Our back four was out of sync but we have full confidence they will be ready by our first match. They are an experienced group and know that their form is crucial to our success.

Two freshmen showed promising signs of pushing for roles this season- Ryan Bauer and Evan McCreary. Both have also proven to be the fittest out of the group of newcomers.

We keep the boys extremely busy during our 10-day pre-season. We just got back from the ropes course at Athlete's In Action which is always great for team building. We switched to the high course this year which helps many of our players get out of their comfort zones. I completed the course two years ago so I did the smart thing and watched from the safety of the ground this year. All the players made it through the course. It is a great escape from the demands of being on campus and constantly on the go.

This year's team has many returning faces that bring along experience and that taste of a championship that is very important. However, we did lose three critical starting players in Joe Olwig, Florian DeCamps and Simeon Zaprianov. These three players contributed a total of 12 goals and 11 assists. It will be critical to regain our balance and form before pre-season ends.

Alex Torda and Decamps proved to be an excellent partnership last season. We are relying on Jeff Popella to have a big season to finish out his career at Dayton and fill the hole that Decamps left us. He has all the tools to be very successful.

Our largest void right now is flank play. Olwig and Zaprianov both started wide for us and we have yet to find anyone who can consistently produce as well as they did. It is a challenge we continue to put forth to the players who are eager to see the field.

For the alumni class of 2005, congrats to Ian Mulligan who was recently married this summer. Ian is living in Colorado.

I was able to speak with Chris Rolfe a few times this summer as well. We tried to get him out for one of our camps but his schedule conflicted with the dates. We recently went through an office `refresh' and his jersey will be proudly displayed in the main area.

Glen Feltham (class of `88) and family stopped by this summer and was able to tour our facilities. I also want to give a shout out to Bob Forschner who I am able to have lunch with on a fairly regular basis now. I am hoping to teach him how to fish.

We appreciate the continued support of the alumni and it is great to receive the e-mails and letters. Thanks to everyone that donated to our gift fund this year- it made the difference!

Go Flyers!