New head coach Steve Smucker looks for his soccer teams to incorporate a new system of play while learning the fundamentals – one step at a time.
Last season both the men’s and women’s teams didn’t put a lot of wins on the boards. The men’s team finished the season at 4-14, while the women finished 1-13. With this lack of success, Smucker is ready to take the program in a new direction.
“Things will happen depending on how quickly the athletes are able to grasp and apply new concepts that I’m teaching them,” Smucker said. “A lot of our style of play will depend on stamina as well. We need to be able to compete for 90 minutes. The style of play that we will look to incorporate will be possession oriented.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams will look to use styles of play that compliment the strengths of each team. The women will use a low-pressure style of defending, while the men will look to use a combination of both low pressure and high pressure defending – defending on the opponent. “Our goal is to gain possession and counter attack,” Smucker said.
“Both teams have set goals for themselves this season. The women desire to cut down on the number of shots, and goals against them. Team defense will play a major role in making this goal a reality,” Smucker said. “The strength of this defense will rely on communication and support.”
“The men will also have to rely on coordinated team defending to achieve their goals as well. It will take everyone working together consistently, to create quality play,” Smucker said. “Athleticism can only take a team so far. For the men, the next step is to think, organize and make our opponents play in a predictable pattern, so that we can adequately defend against stronger teams on our schedule.”
On the women’s side Smucker looks for players to stay competitive and keep their stamina and heads up for the entire game. Returners Briana Wakefield (Wooster/Northwestern), Rachel Saccomen (Ashland/Ashland), Hannah Kerr (Goshen, Ind./Bethany Christian) and Jennifer Hoyt (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) will be key contributors in 2003. The women’s team also returns a good core of supporting players with Gina Berelsman, Jenifer Byrne, Meredith Ingle, Rachel Oldham, Rachel Stine and Mary Brown.
“I’m really impressed with the level of play that we’re able to achieve without an entire team,” Smucker said. “I’d much rather have a smaller unit that can play together than a unit of 16 or 17 that can’t play the game. I’m pleased with the level that we are at right now.”
The men show greater numbers for 2003, but just like the women, Smucker acknowledges that there is much work to do and bad habits to get rid of. It will be a process for the team to find a system that will work well.
Goals will be a key aspect for the men’s team. Smucker says that the men’s side looks to make the Heartland conference tournament this season, which has not happened in recent history for Bluffton and to break a .500 record.
Key returners for the men include Diego Rodriguez (Kalona, Iowa/Iowa Mennonite), Ricky Stoner (Worthington/Tree of Life), Chad Perry (Dover/Dover), Jonathan Lindow (Columbia Station/Padua Franciscan), Dan Hershberger (Berlin/Highland) and Mike Moore (Naperville, Ill./Charlotte). Other men’s players include Francis Mitah, Scott Ball, Kevin Bicker, Sean Bichsel, Jared Byers, Andrew Ferguson, David Lanka, Robert Rohrer, Colin Raynon and Ryan Thomas.
For both the men and women, Smucker knows there is a light at the end of the tunnel. He wants his players to understand that this is the start of a new program, and things don’t turn around overnight.
“I want them to see the big picture,” Smucker said. “I want them to say no matter what happens this season, learning has occurred. If we can focus on playing the best soccer possible as a team, success and ‘winning’ will take care of themselves.”
