Clarke Central High School head varsity boys soccer coach Chris Aiken stands with the CCHS varsity boys soccer team at practice on Jan. 27. According to Aiken, the team is always trying to improve even if it is only fractional. “We try to focus on getting better every day, which I know sounds like such a coaching cliche, but we really try to emphasize that as long as we’re getting 1% better every day then we’ve done all the right things all season long,” Aiken said. Photo by Gretchen Hinger
The Clarke Central High School varsity boys soccer team has started preparation for the 2019-20 season with mental focus in mind.
The Clarke Central High School varsity boys soccer team started their season on Jan. 17 and is preparing for their first game at home against North Oconee High School on Feb. 4.
CCHS head varsity boys soccer coach Chris Aiken believes that the most important goal for the team this season is the mental aspect of the sport.
“We start every practice with a recap of the previous day’s practice and then what we want to get done for that particular practice,” Aiken said. “The big thing that we talk about every day at practice this year, that’s been different than almost every previous year that I’ve been here, is the mental aspect of staying focused the entire practice, staying focused the entire game.”
CCHS varsity soccer player Alex Byrd, a senior, also believes mental focus is key to the team’s performance.
“I’d say having focus at the end of games (is one of our goals). I think a lot of the times we’d play a really good game, we play it all, and then at the end, we’d lose focus–sometimes (our focus would) switch off,” Byrd said.
The Clarke Central High School varsity boys soccer schedule is shown above. The CCHS varsity boys soccer team will have their first game on Feb. 4 against North Oconee High School. Infographic by Gretchen Hinger
According to Aiken, while still focusing on their mentality, the team has started working physically on positions and formations for their upcoming game against North Oconee High School on Feb. 4.
“I worked with one group of players (and) my assistant coach Cole Wilson worked with the other group of players so we could break (the team) into more individualized positions,” Aiken said. “Instead of the whole group of 22 boys doing one activity, we broke into two groups of 10, so they could work on more individual tactical things.”
According to Byrd, the team is working hard to prepare for the first game.
“(We are doing) just normal practice stuff. Over the season, it’s kind of the same. We just practice every week, five days, up to the game,” Byrd said. “We’ve started to work on some formational stuff, where we’re playing and how we’re setting up, but overall just working hard, trying to get ready for the long term to win the first game.”
