Southport soccer teams lacking bodies - The Daily Graphic

Southport soccer teams lacking bodies


By Julie Horbal
The Daily Graphic
Tuesday May 02, 2006

The prelude to the soccer season has hit full tilt in Southport, though some of the local soccer community seems oblivious.
Southport Aeros and Southport United, which play in Manitoba Major Soccer League’s Second and Fourth Divisions, respectively, opened their joint spring training and tryout camp nearly two weeks ago.
But according to organizer and Aeros veteran Cam Scott, attendance has been inconsistent and there hasn’t yet been enough players to properly stock the pair of teams.
“The turnout is not where we expected it to be yet,” said Scott, who estimated 20 to 24 players have shown up for each of the three tryouts to date.
Southport Soccer is looking for at least 30 players to fill the two squads’ rosters and Scott emphasized any interested athletes need not worry about having missed the first few dates and instead should just show up ready to work out.
The majority of the practices consist of training and drills, with only 20 per cent of the time spent on scrimmaging.
Through observing the drills and scrimmages that have happened, Scott said -- save for the low numbers of bodies -- both teams have the potential to be competitive this year.
“What we’ve got seems pretty solid on both sides. There are definitely some stronger players who are going to take leading positions on United and try and bump that team up,” said Scott, referring to last season’s 10th-place finish in Fourth Division (1-13-4).
United avoided relegation to Fifth Division for this year only due to the folding of Boni Vital Inferno and the expulsion of Sudan-Nile during last season, which meant there was no need to drop any Fourth Division team lower down the MMSL totem pole. The Aeros, meanwhile, won seven of its last nine games and finished in fifth place in Second Division with a 10-8-4 mark.
The camp will likely start to be divided into Aeros and United groups later this week, but Scott noted a relegation to United now does not mean there is no potential to one day play in the higher division.
“We have the luxury of being able to call players up. We’re allowed 10 call-ups per year,” said Scott.
“As for players making the jump, there are no guarantees. But if someone from United were to have a tremendous camp, they could push someone from the Aeros out. Everyone is fighting for a job.”
Both teams are open to players aged 15 years and up, though Scott added Southport is also looking at taking a couple of under-15 players on as strictly training players to develop them for the future.
The teams next meet at the soccer fields besides the former High Bluff School tonight at 6:30 p.m., with camp also scheduled for Thursday and Sunday and the start of the season set for after the May long weekend.
Any players looking for more information should contact Scott at 871-1441. Those with coaching inklings should also contact Scott, as the Aeros are currently looking for a coaching staff.
A full-time commitment to the position is not required, as last year’s head coach, Mitch Walker, will handle the reins on a part-time basis. But time restraints leave him unable to commit to running the show alone.
The team functioned with player-coaches last season, but is looking for coaches to work strictly from the sidelines this year.
According to Scott, the team is not necessarily seeking someone with extensive coaching experience, just someone who can help out and adhere to a few guidelines.
“We’re looking for someone with a pretty good understanding of soccer and someone who is not afraid of coaching men. We aren’t boys,” he said. “We need to put the egos in check and we need a coach who can enforce the ‘coach’s way or the highway’ mentality.”