Coaches Corner with Boy’s Soccer, Warren Graham
Jordan Sczech makes his move against Fredericksburg (pictures by Carpenter)
The ReSporter caught up with Boy’s Soccer Coach Warren Graham as the first round of district games are coming to a close after tonights game with Wimberley.
The ReSporter: Hey Coach, give us an idea of how you assess the team and prepare them for the round of district games.
Coach Graham: “We record all of our games, so reviewing film is a big part of preparation as you enter the second round. The boys try to learn tendencies of the other team, see what we did that worked well against them, and learn from the mistakes we made in the first round. We then take what worked well and develop drills in practice to reinforce that so they feel comfortable going into the next game.”
The ReSporter: This district is not an easy group of games for the Hawks, tell us about the competition.
Coach Graham: “We play in a very competitive district. Three of the five teams were ranked in the top 10 in our region at the beginning of the year.”
The ReSporter: How did these teams do last year?
Coach Graham: “All three of them went fairly deep into the playoffs, with Fredericksburg coming within one game of the state tournament.”
The ReSporter: Give us your overall thoughts with the games that have been played thus far.
Coach Graham: “With the exception of one game, all of the games played in district so far have been decided by less than two goals. Even though we are 0-3 in district, it could easily be a 0-1-2 record as we played really tight games with Bandera and Fredericksburg.”
The ReSporter: What are your goals as you prepare for your next games?
Coach Graham: “The one point of focus right now is shoring things up defensively. If we can fix that area then we have a good chance of turning things around and getting back in the hunt.”
The ReSporter: How is the team doing in the health department and injuries?
Coach Graham: “We’ve been fortunate to be mostly injury free. Jordan Sczech tore his ACL in the Liberty Hill game but other than that we haven’t had any major injuries.”
The ReSporter: Is there a distinct advantage in Soccer with playing at home versus away games?
Coach Graham: “Although we play the majority of our remaining games on the road, home field advantage isn’t as big in soccer as it is in other sports. Very few teams draw huge crowds, which reduces the advantage of playing at home.”
The ReSporter: Give the Hawk Nation your overall view of the Soccer program.
Coach Graham: “Overall, our quality of play this year has greatly improved. The team made great strides in the previous two years I’ve been here and our JV has also been much more competitive. That, combined with the development of our freshmen and sophomores, gives me hope that we can push through the next barrier and make the playoffs.”
The ReSporter: Thanks Coach and beat the Texans tonight!!
