On Monday, January 27th, Coach Kendal Shipley and company hosted soccer tryouts for the boys of Heritage High School. The tryouts were held at the upper fields with Coach Shipley and his assistant coaches and managers. The tryouts were about two hours long at most; Shipley expected them to last an hour and forty-five minutes.
With certain players graduating or deciding not to play this year, many newcomers had a better chance at making the team. Vinny Belcher, a senior trying to make the team for the first time, said, “A lot of people graduated, so I think it forces Shipley to completely change style and focus on the midfielders instead of the previous top of the state strikers.” A majority of players prepared for the tryouts in their own way. Eli Newsome, a senior and previous player, had this to say about his routine: “I usually do indoor soccer as well as outdoor. I also do cross country to try and stay in shape. Another thing I do is just take touches on the ball consistently.”
Conditioning is a big factor in how well in shape these kids are. One student, sophomore Kross Williams said, “Conditioning makes it easier for us to handle pressure in games, as well as making us able to run more often.”
Something that is new this year is a couple of game plans from Coach Shipley. He said, “I’ve been looking for new drills online, just to make me a better coach. I’ve been trying to find more effective drills.”
A new manager is also joining the staff this year, senior Bailey Wiggins, and she is expected to bring a new viewpoint to the team. When asked about how she was going to help the players during tryouts and after them she said, “We’re going to help them with film, so they can see what they did good and what they did wrong.”
This year Shipley expected 40-45 students to try out, with almost a third of them being freshman. The average turnout was about what was expected. He expected to see everyone giving their all out on the field even if it seems like an everyday practice.
