The game of soccer never really takes has an off season. There is always a fair share of soccer to be watched and enjoyed on various television channels throughout the year. Yet, from a local standpoint, things have been relatively slow for the past few months. That all changed this past week when St. Louis FC had their invitational tryouts and the St. Louligans had their first chant practice.
On Tuesday night a group of us got together at Soccer Park and recorded some of our new chants for next season. It was exciting to see months of hard work go from paper to microphones. Just getting to listen to and work on some of the chants generated a lot of excitement throughout the group. We decided that some of them were so good that we would test drive a few at the STLFC invitational scrimmage. So we headed out to our future home and serenaded the invites with some of the songs they may hear next year if they make the team. Sure, our group was small in comparison of what we will have next year, and yes, the chants were new and the kinks were being worked out, but it felt good to get the group going. Our fearless capos Jack and Liz lead the first ‘unofficial’ charge.
In terms of the play on the field. The first night was a little choppy. The guys were obviously getting used to one another. One person many of us recognized was FC Bordo standout Emanuel Forbes. That kid has so much speed and talent and it was good to see him getting an opportunity at the invite.
On Wednesday, a small group of us decided to head over to the Metro complex in Collinsville, Illinois and watch the second night of scrimmages. The crowd was really good for a late start, on a crisp fall night. Many were kids and families who had just finished up practice and decided to stick around. It was also a good opportunity to hear some of the talk among the families of the players trying out. I spoke with one of the mothers of a player who said she was excited that her even got asked to try out. It kind of solidified all of the countless hours spent driving to practices, early morning wake up calls, and countless games played. It reminded me just how much goes into making these players successful, and a lot of it comes from the home. The game was a faster paced one. You could tell that the guys were feeling more comfortable with one another and the style of play showed it.
.
What I took away from this week is that soccer really doesn’t take an off season. There is a lot of work to be done both on and off the field to get to where we need and want to be in 2015, but if this week is any inclination of whats to come we are all well on our way!
All pictures are courtesy of Louligan members Jason Patrylo and Andi Gebhart
