As the Lodi boys’ soccer team prepares for what could be their most challenging season, with the team’s goals aligned with their coach’s supportive approach, Coach Callahan explains, “My goals are always parallel to the players, as it is my job to help them reach their goals, not for them to reach mine.”. The coach’s expectations are clear: “I expect players to show up on time, willing to work, and with a drive to get better each day.” As they face their rivals, particularly the formidable Sugar River team, the Lodi boys are ready to take each game one step at a time, with their eyes firmly set on success.
As the season continues, so do the conference games, which Kyle Hoffman, a senior captain of the team, has hopes of winning. He goes on to say, “I’m expecting to win the conference, and I’m expecting to be the first male Lodi player goalkeeper to win conference player of the year.”. He has a lot of time before the season ends to show his worth on the field. Even as varsity plays in the conference, JV is also doing its best in its season regardless of what team they plays for.
Moving on to the JV team, Garet Sagami is the head coach. He has strong morals in soccer thanks to his 20+ years worth of experience, not just as a coach but also as a player. He talks about how he feels the game works and affects your game day, “You are going to have wins and losses in soccer, but it’s how you respond after a win or loss. I want my athletes to know that in order to win and be great, you need to continue to train hard, put in the time and effort, learn from your mistakes, and be coachable, and then you will see all that hard work pays off in the end.” As JV is a developmental team, this is a great way to help your players understand what it will take to win and how to advance in the game.
Going back to the varsity team, they have a great season so far with seven wins, only three losses, and three ties. Currently putting them third in the conference tied with Wisconsin Heights/Barneville, ahead of them Belleville who is first with a 100% win rate, and Lake Lutheran in second with an 80%.
To explain how the game works simply, there are two teams with 11 players on the field, the formation Lodi runs is a 4-4-3 where there are four defenders and four midfielders along with three forwards. This formation is a common one, but is very efficient when ran correctly.
Just to clarify, in case you’re not familiar with how conferences work: a conference is determined by the total number of games won. If a team has the highest number of wins, they are considered the winner of the conference. In our high school’s gym, you will see the many blue signs displaying the names of the winning teams, which is a crucial part of creating a high school legacy.
Finally, the Advocate wishes them the best of luck with their games and the rest of the year!
