You get to a point during the pre-season when the kids get tired of doing the same old thing every day. They get to practice and we do ball touches and conditioning. Some days we scrimmage, but then that is against the same kids as the time before. We do shooting and other various drills, but even that gets old. The kids are ready for a game! On Thursday night we have the Blue/White scrimmage and even though they will be scrimmaging against the same old team they always scrimmage against, they at least will be on Flinn Stadium and that in itself will be different.
I have yet to see the fire in practice to convince me that we are ready for our first game, but I think that we need to play that first game. I know that sounds strange, but there comes a time when you need to play somebody besides yourself to get a true evaluation of yourself. In Kentucky and Indiana, teams are allowed to schedule scrimmages prior to the start of their season. I think that would be beneficial to a lot of teams.
We are just over a week away from the first game and it's not like we are starting off with a group of patsies. We open with McHenry High from the Chicago area in the 1st round of the tournament we host and end that weekend against traditional power Collinsville. We will know exactly where we stand after that weekend and will then know what we need to work on.
This week the coaches have taken the time to talk to the Soph's - Sr's about where we see them in our program. We have always believed in the honest approach and hope that the kids relay exactly what was said when they get home. I think most of the young men deep down know where they stand, accepting it is a whole different story. Coach Longo always tells the kids, "don't worry about where you want to be, but focus on where you are at." I think those are very good words to go by. There are only so many spots on a field. We are very fortunate to have a strong program top to bottom and with that comes a lot of competition for playing time. Sometimes it's not a case of the player not being a good player, but more about them not being "good enough" to beat out a player in front of them. We have kids on our team who will struggle to find minutes at the varsity level, but would be good enough to be a starter on 70% of the teams we play. This is why our program has been very consistent from year to year.
Will try to post something tonight after the Blue/White. It starts at 5:30 and admission is Free. Come on out!!!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
indoor Practice
6 inches of rain kind of puts a damper on things when you play an outdoor sport and that is exactly what happened in about a 12 hour period here in Quincy. We decided to stay inside rather than go out and tear up the field (but it didn't stop the band from going out there and marching around). We practiced inside Baldwin Gym and didn't get a whole lot accomplished. We did some condition and a little bit of ball work, but other than that, there wasn't much else.
Tuesday's practice will be the last one before school officially starts. It is also the day we are going to hand out uniforms to the kids. I will post some pictures if I get around to it.
Tuesday is also the night we are going to tell Jr.'s and Soph's where we see them as of right now in the program. Sr.'s were talked to on Monday night and Freshman on Wednesday. We will have 3 teams as always Varsity and JV, but this year we will have a Sophomore team that will be made up of freshman and Sophomores. We went this route because we have 26 Jr.'s and Sr.'s and not really enough Freshman to field a deep team. If you go to www.qhssoccer.net and click on schedules on the left you can see what type of schedule the teams are playing this year.
On a sour note, Sophomore Allan Sieck got word that he has a broken foot and will miss some time. That is too bad as he was really having a strong showing and was pushing for minutes at the varsity level. We now need someone else to step up and show they are ready to fill in. No doubt in my mind that this will be a challenge several will step up to.
Tuesday's practice will be the last one before school officially starts. It is also the day we are going to hand out uniforms to the kids. I will post some pictures if I get around to it.
Tuesday is also the night we are going to tell Jr.'s and Soph's where we see them as of right now in the program. Sr.'s were talked to on Monday night and Freshman on Wednesday. We will have 3 teams as always Varsity and JV, but this year we will have a Sophomore team that will be made up of freshman and Sophomores. We went this route because we have 26 Jr.'s and Sr.'s and not really enough Freshman to field a deep team. If you go to www.qhssoccer.net and click on schedules on the left you can see what type of schedule the teams are playing this year.
On a sour note, Sophomore Allan Sieck got word that he has a broken foot and will miss some time. That is too bad as he was really having a strong showing and was pushing for minutes at the varsity level. We now need someone else to step up and show they are ready to fill in. No doubt in my mind that this will be a challenge several will step up to.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
First week thoughts
So much for the daily blogs I was going to do. Time get's away from you when you are having fun. I will try and update daily as the season moves on.
After 6 total practices we are finally starting to see a bit more intensity from the boys. I often wonder if maybe we just do too much in the way of soccer. They play a fall season, followed by 2 indoor sessions, club teams in the spring, and high school team camps in the summer. Not to mention we start on the 12th and nour first game is the 28th.
We worked the kids very hard and some kids you can tell are in tremendous shape. I would have to say that for the first time, the majority of the kids we are looking at for the varsity team are in very good condition. We did the blitz on Saturday after 70 minutes of scrimmage and not 1 kid dropped out, which is impressive in itself. The blitz is a 16-18 minute conditioning drill. In that time, they run forwards and backwards for 4 minutes each and then do hills for 4 minutes forwards and 4 minutes backwards. We culminate it with about a 300 yard sprint that they had 1:30 to finish. Not only did everyone finish it in plenty of time, but I have to say I walked away from that drill so impressed by several of our boys. Gavin Schaefer last year would have struggled to get through the drill and would have used all 1:30 to make that ending run. On Saturday he never struggled and did the final run in under 50 seconds. Matt Burrus and Zach Forbes went to the back of the group and ran with the kids who were struggeling, encouraging them the entire way. What a great thing to see.
The older kids on the team are taking the younger ones under their wing a teaching them the way things are done and what the espectations are. I see the younger kids very intent to learn and listen to what the older kids have to say. A true sence of TEAM is evident. Our kids have gone from cheering kids on who don't make a run in time to now running it with them. Soccer is a team sport and when one person struggles, the whole team struggles. If we are going to be as successful as I think we can be, we have to work together and be there for each other.
This team has all the ability in the world to make it to the final 4 in Naperville in November. However, without hard work, we will never reach our goals.
Blue/White scrimmage is this Thursday at 5:30. Hope people can make it out.
After 6 total practices we are finally starting to see a bit more intensity from the boys. I often wonder if maybe we just do too much in the way of soccer. They play a fall season, followed by 2 indoor sessions, club teams in the spring, and high school team camps in the summer. Not to mention we start on the 12th and nour first game is the 28th.
We worked the kids very hard and some kids you can tell are in tremendous shape. I would have to say that for the first time, the majority of the kids we are looking at for the varsity team are in very good condition. We did the blitz on Saturday after 70 minutes of scrimmage and not 1 kid dropped out, which is impressive in itself. The blitz is a 16-18 minute conditioning drill. In that time, they run forwards and backwards for 4 minutes each and then do hills for 4 minutes forwards and 4 minutes backwards. We culminate it with about a 300 yard sprint that they had 1:30 to finish. Not only did everyone finish it in plenty of time, but I have to say I walked away from that drill so impressed by several of our boys. Gavin Schaefer last year would have struggled to get through the drill and would have used all 1:30 to make that ending run. On Saturday he never struggled and did the final run in under 50 seconds. Matt Burrus and Zach Forbes went to the back of the group and ran with the kids who were struggeling, encouraging them the entire way. What a great thing to see.
The older kids on the team are taking the younger ones under their wing a teaching them the way things are done and what the espectations are. I see the younger kids very intent to learn and listen to what the older kids have to say. A true sence of TEAM is evident. Our kids have gone from cheering kids on who don't make a run in time to now running it with them. Soccer is a team sport and when one person struggles, the whole team struggles. If we are going to be as successful as I think we can be, we have to work together and be there for each other.
This team has all the ability in the world to make it to the final 4 in Naperville in November. However, without hard work, we will never reach our goals.
Blue/White scrimmage is this Thursday at 5:30. Hope people can make it out.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
First Night Practice
Usually after the first morning session, reality has set in the kids come back with some enthusiasm for the evening session. Evening sessions generally are low on the conditioning side and more work with the ball. Let's just say, that wasn't the case on this night.
The kids were working hard but not at the level that was expected of them. This team has all the potential in the world to be something special and thus our expectation level is very high of them. Midway through practice, during a 7 v 7 drill, Coach Longo stopped them and told them that, "You made 17 consecutive passes and not one player said another players name." We really encourage our kids to talk on the field and communicate, which is why we ask them to say the persons name they pass it to as much as possible.
After this suttle hint and warning, they proceeded to go right back out and again not using names. That was it for ball work for a while, we were gonna run. For how long, "Til I get tired of watching you run," said Longo.
Practice was better after the short attention getter and we accomplished everything we wanted to get out of the first night
Let's hope the boy's come out ready to go this morning. Lot's to work on and more condition awaits.
The kids were working hard but not at the level that was expected of them. This team has all the potential in the world to be something special and thus our expectation level is very high of them. Midway through practice, during a 7 v 7 drill, Coach Longo stopped them and told them that, "You made 17 consecutive passes and not one player said another players name." We really encourage our kids to talk on the field and communicate, which is why we ask them to say the persons name they pass it to as much as possible.
After this suttle hint and warning, they proceeded to go right back out and again not using names. That was it for ball work for a while, we were gonna run. For how long, "Til I get tired of watching you run," said Longo.
Practice was better after the short attention getter and we accomplished everything we wanted to get out of the first night
Let's hope the boy's come out ready to go this morning. Lot's to work on and more condition awaits.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
First Day Morning Practice
Well, the first morning is over and as always, some kids came prepared and in shape and others look like they haven't done anything since last October. 52 kids were there and ready to go and a total of 56 will be trying out after the morning session. This is a good number of players to choose from. Coach Longo announced that because it doesn't look like we will have a lot of numbers at the freshman level, we will be having a Freshman/Sophomore team this year as opposed to just a Freshman team.
Practice today was a little on the slow and lethargic side, as I think it has been every year we have been doing this. For some, reality set in that they are out of shape and some were not use to being up and moving at 7:30 AM.
The morning session consisted of a lot of conditioning and some ball work. We puched the kids hard and many rose to the occasion.
We did some shooting drills and you can see just how far this group has come as compared to the first group that we had 5 years ago. I'm not sure our keepers had much of a chance to stop very many shots in the early going as several shots were finding the upper and lower corners.
The freshman group only goes once a day and I imagone that some are wondering what in the world they got themselves into. They did some shooting as well and we constantly have to remind them that at this level we need to work on doing things the right way rather than what the easiest way may be. No different than every other freshman group we have had.
Practice again tonight from 6-8 and more ball work will happen. Will update later this evening.
Practice today was a little on the slow and lethargic side, as I think it has been every year we have been doing this. For some, reality set in that they are out of shape and some were not use to being up and moving at 7:30 AM.
The morning session consisted of a lot of conditioning and some ball work. We puched the kids hard and many rose to the occasion.
We did some shooting drills and you can see just how far this group has come as compared to the first group that we had 5 years ago. I'm not sure our keepers had much of a chance to stop very many shots in the early going as several shots were finding the upper and lower corners.
The freshman group only goes once a day and I imagone that some are wondering what in the world they got themselves into. They did some shooting as well and we constantly have to remind them that at this level we need to work on doing things the right way rather than what the easiest way may be. No different than every other freshman group we have had.
Practice again tonight from 6-8 and more ball work will happen. Will update later this evening.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
As I sit and reflect at all the kids I've coached since 1987, I see many different things from decade to decade. It's interesting to see how kids react to coaching over the years. What I did in "87" would never work with the kids of "09" and the things I do with the "09" would have NEVER worked with the kids of "87". It's all good, but THINGS are different and I think over the years that is why I continue to coach.
Kids in the late 80's worked harder because they didn't have the travel opportunities that kids have now. They had travel soccer but not even close to what kids have today. Late 80's would have at the most 2 tournaments, where today they can do up to 4 if not 5 tournament and 10 league games. The competition is so much better because soccer has come a long way since then.
Weights have more impact on kids today then the 80's. Kids are bigger, stronger but not necessarily faster. We have indoor soccer now which give kids a chance to play year-round. In the 80's we had Hoc-Soc. For those who can remember it was in the gym at the high school and it was AWESOME! I would kill to set that contraption up and play one more weekend.
The three class system (1A, 2A, & 3A) gives more of a chance to win and play at the State Tournament. Myself, I love the 1A and 2A which is old school but good school. Don't know if we will every see that again.
As for the parents, I will leave that alone except for one thing. Let the coaches coach and let the kids play! Sit back and watch, enjoy but most of all let the moment and thrill of watching your child play be something to remember for a lifetime. Because before you know it, they are done and move onto to another chapter of their life and you want them to enjoy it as much as yourself.
Coach Longo
Kids in the late 80's worked harder because they didn't have the travel opportunities that kids have now. They had travel soccer but not even close to what kids have today. Late 80's would have at the most 2 tournaments, where today they can do up to 4 if not 5 tournament and 10 league games. The competition is so much better because soccer has come a long way since then.
Weights have more impact on kids today then the 80's. Kids are bigger, stronger but not necessarily faster. We have indoor soccer now which give kids a chance to play year-round. In the 80's we had Hoc-Soc. For those who can remember it was in the gym at the high school and it was AWESOME! I would kill to set that contraption up and play one more weekend.
The three class system (1A, 2A, & 3A) gives more of a chance to win and play at the State Tournament. Myself, I love the 1A and 2A which is old school but good school. Don't know if we will every see that again.
As for the parents, I will leave that alone except for one thing. Let the coaches coach and let the kids play! Sit back and watch, enjoy but most of all let the moment and thrill of watching your child play be something to remember for a lifetime. Because before you know it, they are done and move onto to another chapter of their life and you want them to enjoy it as much as yourself.
Coach Longo
Saturday, August 1, 2009
3 Decades of Blue Devil Soccer
In the fall of 1974, Blue Devil soccer began under the leadership of Mario Camacho. Mario coached for 4 years and I can only imagine as he watches his grandson Blake play as a current Blue Devil, the pride he must feel inside knowing he was the person who started this successful program.
35 years later, I find myself looking at this years coaching staff and one thing jumps out at me. Head coach Matt Longo has coached in 3 different decades (80's, 90's, 00's) and not only is that interesting, but what I think is even more interesting is that 5 of the coaches in the program also played for coach Longo. Even more interesting to me is that there is a coach that represents each decade as well. I, coach Eric Stratman, played for Coach Longo in his first 2 years (87 & 88) and right out of the shoot we were successful. In 1987, we advanced to the state tournament losing in the Elite 8 in PK's to Naperville North.
Coach Travis Dinkheller and Coach Ron Bridal both played in the early 90's and were both part of the best season by the Blue Devils. In their senior year, they were 20-1-2 and only gave up 7 goals all year. That is a great stat for both of them since Coach Dink was a defender and Coach Bridal the goalkeeper.
Coach Andy Hoskins played for the Blue Devils in 1996 and was part of what many thought might be the last ever for Coach Longo as he resigned after that season. In 10 seasons at the helm, the Blue Devils were 163-39-33 and had three elite 8 appearances.
However, in 2004 Coach Longo returned to lead the Blue Devils and coach Ryne Schrage was part of the first two seasons and played a major part in rebuilding a program that had struggled in recent years. Prior to coach Longo returning in 2004, the Blue Devils had won just 8 games combind in the previous two seasons
In 2004, the Blue Devils doubled that total with 16 wins and order was restored in Blue Devil soccer nation. Since returning, QHS is 81-29-9.
It may seem strange to some, but as players for Coach Longo, never in our wildest dreams would we have thought that one day we would coach with him. It is so funny to watch the expressions and comments of current players and we all remember the times when we too made those same expressions and comments. Not a week goes by where a Longoism (an expression only Matt Longo would use) fly's out and the coaches look at each other and just laugh, remembering a day when we likely heard that as a player.
Coach Longo will always be Coach Longo to every one of us that played for him. However, every one of guys who now coach with him can also call him a very close friend. Just don't expect us Coach Longo, to tell everything we did and said when we played for you. Those stories are best left for your retirement years when you can't fire us!
35 years later, I find myself looking at this years coaching staff and one thing jumps out at me. Head coach Matt Longo has coached in 3 different decades (80's, 90's, 00's) and not only is that interesting, but what I think is even more interesting is that 5 of the coaches in the program also played for coach Longo. Even more interesting to me is that there is a coach that represents each decade as well. I, coach Eric Stratman, played for Coach Longo in his first 2 years (87 & 88) and right out of the shoot we were successful. In 1987, we advanced to the state tournament losing in the Elite 8 in PK's to Naperville North.
Coach Travis Dinkheller and Coach Ron Bridal both played in the early 90's and were both part of the best season by the Blue Devils. In their senior year, they were 20-1-2 and only gave up 7 goals all year. That is a great stat for both of them since Coach Dink was a defender and Coach Bridal the goalkeeper.
Coach Andy Hoskins played for the Blue Devils in 1996 and was part of what many thought might be the last ever for Coach Longo as he resigned after that season. In 10 seasons at the helm, the Blue Devils were 163-39-33 and had three elite 8 appearances.
However, in 2004 Coach Longo returned to lead the Blue Devils and coach Ryne Schrage was part of the first two seasons and played a major part in rebuilding a program that had struggled in recent years. Prior to coach Longo returning in 2004, the Blue Devils had won just 8 games combind in the previous two seasons
In 2004, the Blue Devils doubled that total with 16 wins and order was restored in Blue Devil soccer nation. Since returning, QHS is 81-29-9.
It may seem strange to some, but as players for Coach Longo, never in our wildest dreams would we have thought that one day we would coach with him. It is so funny to watch the expressions and comments of current players and we all remember the times when we too made those same expressions and comments. Not a week goes by where a Longoism (an expression only Matt Longo would use) fly's out and the coaches look at each other and just laugh, remembering a day when we likely heard that as a player.
Coach Longo will always be Coach Longo to every one of us that played for him. However, every one of guys who now coach with him can also call him a very close friend. Just don't expect us Coach Longo, to tell everything we did and said when we played for you. Those stories are best left for your retirement years when you can't fire us!
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