Long, hard road for soccer team hopefuls

For those who wish to join Algonquin’s varsity soccer teams, the first opportunity came in tryouts held at Z-building on August 12.

But of the 72 men who showed up to “Talent I.D Camp”, only about 15 were left on the field by the end.

And they’re still not on the Wolves team. They must go through the three-week training process, then contend with newcomers from the second tryout on Sept. 3.

Fewer women showed up— 30 in total— but their training camp was no less grueling, with work on a full exercise routine, passing drills and defensive tactics practice.

“You gotta be able to execute even when you’re tired,” said Basil Phillips, head coach of the women’s team.

Both teams will be making further cuts during the training period before Sept. 3. Then the rosters will be announced before the first games on Sept. 8.

Kieran Spring, assistant coach of the men’s team and an Algonquin graduate, said they usually take between 22 and 25 players but “we don’t aim for a golden number.” Up to 18 players can be registered for a single match.

“We always get a lot of interest in the team. Soccer is the world’s most-played sport for good reason. We get players of all calibres [at the tryouts],” he commented earlier. “We’re happy with the ability of the players that came out today.”

This includes players from last year, as all must re-try-out each year.

Yousef Ibrahim, a game development student and two-year veteran of Wolves soccer, said: “You might have a better chance because you know the system, but you have to earn your spot each year. The coaches mentioned no-one’s 100 per cent guaranteed.”

Ibrahim recalled that he initially got on the team through a September tryout rather than the August one. He was given a trial period, impressed the coaches and was then fully registered.

After the men warmed up, the field was split into two (via rolling goal structures) and nine-on-nine games started on each half. After everyone played, the coaches cut about 20 of them. Then the remaining players were sent back out. This happened twice more, with a coach shaking the hand of each eliminated person.

“I was just here for fun, but if I wanted to get in the team, I’d say [it would be] difficult,” said Rabin Khatri, who was eliminated in the first round.

Gabe Taylor, eliminated in the second round, commented that he may have been at a disadvantage because he’s only 18, while many contestants were older than that. He intends to stick with the sport and play intramural soccer in the fall.

Ibrahim said that the most important qualities of a soccer player are “good basics, an open mind to play and good physique.”

Cristian Aviles-Molina, the men’s captain from last year, agreed on the importance of “simple things like ‘Can you pass the ball?’,” but also spoke of the need for “IQ, to be able to think ahead. Not just pass to get rid of the ball.”

And as for the Wolves’ future chances, both Aviles-Molina and Spring are optimistic.

Aviles-Molina commented: “We’re still a young team but if everyone’s mindset is aligned, then I feel like we can achieve everything… every year I feel like our core group gets smaller [via students graduating], but every year there are people coming in because of our reputation for soccer.”

“Historically, at Algonquin, we’ve had national-championship-winning teams,” said Spring. “I think that has to be our goal every year.”