“New Waltham boys soccer coach brings his philosophy to the field - Abington Mariner” plus 1 more |
| New Waltham boys soccer coach brings his philosophy to the field - Abington Mariner Posted: 04 Sep 2010 09:41 AM PDT When first-year Waltham High varsity boys soccer coach Andrew Bernard spoke to his team prior to Tuesday's workout at Veterans Field, the first day of school the next day took precedence over the second scrimmage of the preseason later that afternoon. "I preach that academics and athletics go hand in hand," he said during an early break in the practice. "That's the priority of it all. You can't do one without the other. "I started a tutoring program, in case they need it, catering directly to them," added the Waltham High conflict resolution counselor. "They have other tutoring programs at the school, but I didn't want any of them to slip through the cracks. Now they can come directly to me." Bernard takes over for his brother, Kelvin, who announced prior to last season it would be his final year with the program. The siblings share the same enthusiasm for the game and player-friendly personalities. But the new coach said there are be plenty of differences between the way he coaches compared to his brother, even if many of his first-year varsity players don't have the frame of reference to know it. "I know a lot of these kids from school, and there are a lot of new kids, so there is a whole new culture here," he said. "There's nothing wrong with what my brother did. He accomplished his goals of what he wanted to do with the program, but now it's what I want to do and that may be different. It's now Andrew Bernard and his young, aggressive team." Last year's senior-laded squad entered the season with sky-high expectations to challenge for the Dual County League championship and make a long tournament run. But those hopes took a blow late in the season when the team was forced to forfeit a game it was winning due to excessive yellow cards, and the short slump in the aftermath of the controversial loss was enough to keep it from the postseason. With a far less-experienced team this fall, the new coach is looking to start small and build rapidly from there. "Everything is goal-oriented," he said. "We had our first scrimmage (on Monday) against Stoneham and we won. So we accomplished that goal. We know we're young and we have to go one step at a time." Those steps began this summer in team-building exercises with senior Jonathan Villa taking charge. "We are pretty much starting a new team," the second-year varsity player said, "so I wanted to bring everyone together and start a family like coach said for us to do." Villa organized a series of captain's practices aimed at getting the team prepared for the season and players acclimated with each other. "It was just getting people playing together and getting our goalkeepers ready," he said. "We had to get ready and get to know each other." Bernard said the offseason efforts have helped the young team get off to a quick start in preseason. "What I've noticed with this team already is that it is very, very, very attentive," he said. "Being the freshman coach in the past, I've dealt with a lot of the kids who are here. Therefore, they understand my philosophy of what I want from them." That starts with making sure everyone meets the academic requirements to be on – and stay on - the team. Beyond that, he wants players who will think the game rather than play strictly on raw skill and emotion. "Concentration and intelligence will push us to the next level," he determined. "So far, they've responded." After the Wednesday scrimmage against traditional soccer power Framingham, Bernard said he hoped to have two more scrimmages – against Belmont and Watertown – before the season opener at Bedford on Sept. 13. "We fielded three teams (against Stoneham) and had three wins," he said. "The rest of the time we've been doing a lot of constructive running in preseason. That's what's going to allow us to compete in (the Dual County League) this year." (Scott Souza can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@cnc.com.) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Scouts Inc.'s philosophy assessments - ESPN.com Posted: 02 Sep 2010 08:32 AM PDT Gary Horton of Scouts Inc. offers his AFC previews today. Here are snippets and links to the files, which require an Insider membership. They are heavy on philosophy, and quite good. Offensive nugget: "This may be the best play action package in the NFL when the run game is going. In 2009, it was not. They bootleg off the play action very effectively and QB Matt Schaub is an excellent ball handler. He has decent mobility in the pocket. He is very precise in his throws and he is at his best when he has a clean pocket, but his best attribute may be his ability to check down to his other targets if his first read is not there; Schaub is not afraid to throw it away, which was a problem earlier in his career." Defensive nugget: "As the players improve, so will the diversity of the schemes. Their lack of ability to play those tight man coverages really shows up in the red zone when the field shrinks and they can't play off techniques. They were 30th in the league a year ago in red zone defense." Offensive nugget: "[Peyton] Manning uses motion, bunch formations, multi-receiver sets, multi-TE sets -- and despite the appearance of a really complex offense, this attack has fewer plays than you think. Basically, the Colts just run the plays they do have really well." Defensive nugget: "The Colts are actually getting a little better at stopping the run. The difference between this team going a few games deep into the playoffs and winning it all likely will be its run defense." Offensive nugget: "The only suggestion that head coach Jack Del Rio has given [Dirk Koetter] is fewer runs between the tackles -- which makes the offense too predictable -- and more outside plays, especially bootleg plays by QB David Garrard, which is something he does well. The Jaguars are working with him to get the ball out quickly and keep the pocket moving." Defensive nugget: "If there is good news for this defense, it is the fact that it is pretty good at corner with decent depth and cover skills -- which is imperative because of all the other deficiencies on this side of the ball. We have already noted the problems with the pass rush, but the Jags are also unstable at linebacker and safety and their tackles are new guys. That is a lot of uncertainly up the middle of the defense and it puts extra pressure on the corners." Offensive nugget: "Their [offensive] linemen are not a bunch of glamorous names, but they are smart, they play with pride and discipline, and they are excellent run-blockers, as evidenced by the production of [Chris] Johnson. However, they are also excellent in pass protection, giving up only 15 sacks in 2009 (second to Indianapolis). When you break this unit down on film, it really seems to understand blocking schemes and angles and it does an excellent job of getting position and reaching the second level. Johnson is a good fit with this line. He's very patient and waits for the right blocks to develop." Defensive nugget: "This is a very assignment-oriented defensive unit with the desired qualities of aggressiveness and constant movement -- but also intelligence and discipline. If the front four doesn't apply better pressure in 2010, we may see more blitzes and exotic schemes to compensate for its weaknesses." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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