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Pam Pack soccer ready to get kicking
By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
As the ball zipped through the air, John Marshall jumped high into the air, greeted the ball with his head and sent it rocketing into the back of the net for a goal.
That was just one of the highlights during Washington’s first day of soccer practice, coming on a scorching Tuesday afternoon. Marshall is one of three seniors head coach Jimmy Kozuzh will be counting on this season.
“We really need some leaders,” Marshall said. “We only have three seniors this year. We all need to step up.”
Kozuch, beginning his third year as head coach of the Pam Pack soccer team, was encouraged after the first day of practice. Kozuch is holding two-a-day practices throughout the week.
“Camp has been looking good,” Kozuch said. “We have about 32 guys and it looks like we’ll have two pretty strong teams.”
The campers have been running on the track during the morning sessions, while they are split into teams and compete in games during the afternoon session.
“We’re doing mostly cardio stuff in the morning,” Kozuch said. “We’re doing some plyometrics, trying to increase speed, agility and strength. At night we’re doing a little bit of skill work and mostly playing so I can get a good chance to look at the guys.”
Like all the fall sports teams, the Pam Pack soccer players are having to deal with the intense heat.
“We’re just doing 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off,” Kozuch said. “Obviously, we’re trying to stay hydrated. That’s the most important thing. One of the moms stepped up and brought us 27 wet rags to help cool the guys down.”
Kozuch lost of a load of talent, and depth, off last year’s playoff-qualifying team. He’ll have to replace 13 players lost to graduation from that squad.
“It’s a huge concern,” Kozuch said. “We really don’t know exactly what we’re going to have, but a lot of the guys have been playing together on a team for the past few months. We’re hoping that’s going to be paying off for us.”
Though it’s early, Marshall has liked what he’s seen out of his teammates.
“I think we’re looking pretty good,” Marshall said. “A lot of our players have been playing with the Mexican League at Eastern Elementary, and they’ve been playing year-round.”
Along with Marshall, Kozuch is counting on John Lohman and Thomas Sutton to be key contributors.
“Everybody is young,” Kozuch said. “We need a lot of guys to step up. They have to mature early.”
Kozuch is hoping his Pam Pack can finish high in the Coastal Conference standings.
“I want to have high expectations, as always,” Kozuch said. “We’re going to have to replace basically our whole lineup, but we’re still looking to be up there. We want to make the playoffs and give it a good run as usual.
“My first two years have been good. We’ve made the playoffs both times. We still have that goal of winning a playoff game. Hopefully, we’ll get that this year.”
That was just one of the highlights during Washington’s first day of soccer practice, coming on a scorching Tuesday afternoon. Marshall is one of three seniors head coach Jimmy Kozuzh will be counting on this season.
“We really need some leaders,” Marshall said. “We only have three seniors this year. We all need to step up.”
Kozuch, beginning his third year as head coach of the Pam Pack soccer team, was encouraged after the first day of practice. Kozuch is holding two-a-day practices throughout the week.
“Camp has been looking good,” Kozuch said. “We have about 32 guys and it looks like we’ll have two pretty strong teams.”
The campers have been running on the track during the morning sessions, while they are split into teams and compete in games during the afternoon session.
“We’re doing mostly cardio stuff in the morning,” Kozuch said. “We’re doing some plyometrics, trying to increase speed, agility and strength. At night we’re doing a little bit of skill work and mostly playing so I can get a good chance to look at the guys.”
Like all the fall sports teams, the Pam Pack soccer players are having to deal with the intense heat.
“We’re just doing 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off,” Kozuch said. “Obviously, we’re trying to stay hydrated. That’s the most important thing. One of the moms stepped up and brought us 27 wet rags to help cool the guys down.”
Kozuch lost of a load of talent, and depth, off last year’s playoff-qualifying team. He’ll have to replace 13 players lost to graduation from that squad.
“It’s a huge concern,” Kozuch said. “We really don’t know exactly what we’re going to have, but a lot of the guys have been playing together on a team for the past few months. We’re hoping that’s going to be paying off for us.”
Though it’s early, Marshall has liked what he’s seen out of his teammates.
“I think we’re looking pretty good,” Marshall said. “A lot of our players have been playing with the Mexican League at Eastern Elementary, and they’ve been playing year-round.”
Along with Marshall, Kozuch is counting on John Lohman and Thomas Sutton to be key contributors.
“Everybody is young,” Kozuch said. “We need a lot of guys to step up. They have to mature early.”
Kozuch is hoping his Pam Pack can finish high in the Coastal Conference standings.
“I want to have high expectations, as always,” Kozuch said. “We’re going to have to replace basically our whole lineup, but we’re still looking to be up there. We want to make the playoffs and give it a good run as usual.
“My first two years have been good. We’ve made the playoffs both times. We still have that goal of winning a playoff game. Hopefully, we’ll get that this year.”
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| It will be a fight to the top of C-USA |
