Carman Valley Leader- September 15, 2003-It’s next year time for Carman

Coach looks back on season highs and lows

By Gene Still  — Their season may have ended in disappointment by missing the playoffs, but the Carman Kickers are already looking ahead to next year. Carman narrowly missed out on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Fourth Division of the Manitoba Major Soccer League. But they did manage to avoid being relegated to the Fifth Division for next season by finishing tenth overall. This marked coach William Hoogerdijk’s inaugural season at the helm of the Kickers. And while he brought extensive experience in the game to his position, he was a newcomer to the players and teams in the Fourth Division.“I really didn’t know what to expect. This was my first year in the league so at first, I was asking some of the guys what to expect from some of the other clubs,” Hoogerdijk said. “That really helped and after about the 11th game when I’d seen all the teams, then I was definitely more comfortable.”The club actually got off to a strong start with three straight wins, although the coach acknowledged that the victories weren’t necessarily against the top contenders. “We started off against some of the weaker teams and won three straight which was a nice way to begin,” he said. However Carman hit a tough stretch as the calibre of the competition improved. Early in the season, they lost three contests after surrendering an average of five goals and lost another when they gave up seven goals. But the coach noted, they tried to gain something positive from the defeats. ‘A lesson’“Those types of games teach you a lesson,” Hoogerdijk explained.That lesson involved the fact that Carman wasn’t an offensive juggernaut and as a result would need to concentrate more on playing a disciplined style of defense. “We realized that we didn’t have a ton of offense so we had to focus on playing strong defense,” he said. “And we learned how to play solid defense.” Being committed to defense slowly started to pay off, not always in the win column, but they were more competitive.The coach pointed to two games against one of the division’s top clubs, the Grant Mill Rangers. Carman lost their first matchup early in the season by a 7-2 margin but in their second game which was the last of the regular season the score was a more respectable 2-1. And Hoogerdijk pointed out that the Kickers could have easily won that game, if it weren’t for a couple of bad breaks that contributed to the two goals by the Rangers.“We continued to improve as the season went along and it showed in games like that,” Hoogerdijk said. First year players Dale DeWit, Shane Termeer and Dave Vanderzwaag were among the many Kickers who impressed their coach. More experienced teammates Lyle Vanveen and Kendall Ferris provided some much needed offense and leadership. Tyson Kamminga was another stabilizing force on the squad providing some leadership as well. Les Deleeuw and Darcy Davis were also among the many Carman players who had overall solid performances. Hoogerdijk said if there’s an area that definitely needs improvement for next year, it’s making the most of their offensive chances. The club finished with seven ties. “We had too many ties. It’s nice to get the point, but some of the guys were saying that if we had seven timely goals we’d have seven wins and could have finished as high as second place,” he noted. But it’s not as if the Kickers didn’t have their share of chances. “One thing we have to work on both team wise and individual wise, is to develop more of a ‘killer instinct’. We can’t relax once we get up by one goal. We need to keep going to score and make sure they (opponents) stay down,” Hoogerdijk explained. “We just have to put the opposition away when we get the opportunity.” Despite not making the post season, Hoogerdijk is looking ahead to the next year. “I enjoyed working with them and sometimes it was frustrating, but I’m sure they said the same thing about me,” he said. “We just need to improve in a few areas and we’ll be all right.”