Kicking off by training indoors -- Carman Valley Leader

By Gene Still
Friday March 03, 2006

Carman Valley Leader — There may be snow on the ground but that hasn’t stopped William Hoogerdijk from getting ready for the upcoming outdoor soccer season.
The head coach of the Carman Kickers is coming back for his fourth season as bench boss of the Manitoba Soccer League Fourth Division squad.
After coming close at times, but still missing the playoffs during his first three years at the helm of the club, they managed to earn a spot in the post season last year. And while they were quickly eliminated in the opening round, Hoogerdijk is looking to build upon that success.
The coach said he’s going to follow the lead of other division teams who continue their training and preparations for the summer soccer season during the winter months.
“We’re starting some indoor training at the Dufferin Christian School,” Hoogerdijk said. “I’ve found that when we read on our (Manitoba Soccer League web site) message board that they play in the city indoor league all year long.”
Hoogerdijk said that will be much different from past seasons when their preparations coincided with the weather and the coming of spring.
“We find that come spring training, it seems like we’re often starting from scratch while other teams have been doing indoor training or playing as part of the indoor soccer league(s),” he explained.
He noted this is just a natural process for the squad.
“You learn as you go and you constantly try to improve as a team,” Hoogerdijk said.
The coach added, he’s also hoping to attract more players to tryout for the men’s adult team.
“You want to make guys battle for positions and if you can do that, it can help ‘re-energize’ a team,” Hoogerdijk said. “(And) that can happen pretty simply when you get more guys trying out for the team.”
For information on the indoor practices and trying out for the Kickers call William Hoogerdijk at 745-6973.