Lucas Punkari
Thanks to the lack of snow on the ground for this time of the year, both Muskie soccer teams were able to make their way onto the pitch much earlier than they normally would.
“It’s the earliest that I can recall ever having outdoor practices, and that goes back to when I was playing here,” noted boys’ soccer head coach Shane Beckett.
“It’s a great opportunity for both teams as it allows [coaches] to pick a team early and work on a lot of things, which is great,” he added.
While the boys’ sideline will remain the same this year with Beckett and assistant head coach Olaf Ruppenstein in charge, fresh faces will be in charge of the girls’ squad as former Muskies Nicole Rogozinski and Taylor Meyers take over for Sarah Faragher, who is away on maternity leave.
But with Rogozinski and Meyers out-of-town until next week, teacher rep Tamara McLean currently is in charge of the girls’ team until the new bench bosses return home.
“I’m running the show a little bit, Shane is doing foot skills with the team, and Char Bliss is doing conditioning with the girls until the regular coaches are back,” McLean explained.
With more than 30 players trying to crack the black-and-gold roster, McLean feels it will be very tough to make the final cuts once the co-head coaches arrive.
“I’m glad I’m not the one who has to do it,” she laughed.
“The girls’ skills are looking really good right now, which I think a lot of that comes from the youth soccer league here, and they are exciting and working hard out here,” she added.
Meanwhile, nearly 50 prospective players came out to the boys’ opening try-outs last Monday, although that number was trimmed slightly to 41 players heading into this week’s practices.
“It’s still tough, though, with so many kids out here,” admitted Beckett.
“We, as coaches, are anxious to get the team selected fast so we can start coaching right away as opposed to doing in-season maintenance,” added Beckett, who hopes to have a final roster decided on later this week or early next.
“Right now, we are just working on basic ball work and doing some scrimmages at the end of each practice, and we are going to have about three or four weeks of actual development before we start playing,” he explained.
“And that is something we don’t normally get.”
The Muskie boys’ team will have its first set of competitive games April 27-29, when they take part in the annual St. John’s-Ravenscourt tournament in Winnipeg, with the girls travelling there the following weekend.
The NorWOSSA league schedule will start here on Wednesday, May 9, with a tournament for both teams taking place in Kenora that weekend (May 11-13).
After trips to Dryden and Kenora on May 16 and 23, respectively, Fort High then will host the NorWOSSA finals on May 30, with the winners advancing to the all-Ontarios from June 7-9.
The boys’ ‘AA’ championships will be held in North Bay while the OFSAA girls’ tournament will take place in St. Thomas.
