School has barely started, but R.D. Parker Collegiate's boys' soccer team has already been on the turf for a month, getting into game shape in preparation for the short high school season, which is over almost as soon as it begins.
The team boasts some imported help behind the bench from United Kingdom transplant James Crouch, an experienced soccer coach who joined forces with long-time local soccer coach Earl Kuldys in hopes of guiding the team to provincials.
"He got them out there early," said Crouch of Kuldys, who approached Crouch to coach the team because he didn't want to serve as the sole head coach anymore. The two eventually decided to act as co-coaches to make things a little easier on both of them.
Starting in August, they had as many as 25 players coming out to practise, with the final roster expected to include 16 or 17 players. Of those, says Kuldys, there are probably 10 who could play any position on the field, a luxury for the coaching staff.
"We've got a strong squad," said Crouch. "We're going to have a problem making a selection."
The team will play in one tournament in Swan River before heading to The Pas for the zone championships on the last weekend of September, where they'll likely need four or five wins to advance to the rural provincials. To make sure they're ready, the coaches have emphasized conditioning.
"We put a lot of work into their fitness," said Crouch, explaining that some of their practices have seen them go an hour without even touching a ball. "We've got to be the first team out practising. They actually are enjoying it. I see them going from strength to strength."
The biggest weakness that Crouch saw at their early practices was a lack of communication.
"It was so quiet," he said.
More aggression would also help their chances.
"Let's want to win 70-30 balls," said Crouch.
Kuldys says Crouch has brought some new ideas to the team, like set plays that suit the team's strengths, such as short corner kicks to let them use their foot skills, rather than long high crosses, since the players are not as good in the air.
They've also been putting in some game time against a team of adults and young men on Sunday nights.
Both coaches are confident that the team should have a shot at winning the zone championships, a feat which has eluded them the past two years.
"We should come out of the zones," said Kuldys, who notes that although the team is young overall, it has a core of players who have been together in local soccer nearly a decade.
"A lot of these kids have won," said Kuldys, "and also learned how to lose. The kids realize how good this team can be."
For Crouch, doing well at the zone championships is not just a goal, but part of a process to develop a high-quality soccer program in Thompson that will take years.
"If we get through zones, that's a step forward," said Crouch, who hopes to incorporate more indoor winter training into the Thompson soccer scene in the future.
"The season's only short because of the weather," said Crouch, and the difficulty in finding a place to play inside during the winter. Indoor five-a-a-side soccer would be a huge benefit for local players with its emphasis on constant action in tight quarters.
"If you're not attacking, you're defending in five-a-side," said Crouch. "There's no margin for error."
