It’s kickoff time: Pioneers fired up for 2004
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Head coach Keith Hamilton, who will be pulling double-duty after taking over as the Lady Pioneers’ coach in the fall, said his team is filled with confidence heading into its 2004 campaign.
“Things are looking really good,” Hamilton said after practice earlier this week. “We’ve got an excellent bunch of guys, and they’ve shown great attitudes, and a good work ethic.
“There’s a real good camaraderie out there, and physically it looks like we’re in good shape.”
The Pioneers finished with a 6-8-1 record in 2003, including two nail-biters in the District 7-AAA tournament. After downing Cookeville 1-0 in the first round, WCHS was eliminated by an identical final score to eventual district champion Riverdale in the league’s semifinals.
Their new coach, who has more than his fair share of experience with soccer around the midstate after spending several seasons as a referee, said the Pioneers will get a good idea of how much they’ve progressed through early games with several tough teams.
“We’re warming up against three rated teams,” Hamilton said. “We played Chattanooga Christian (Tuesday) night, and they came in ranked second in their division. Then we play Brentwood, which is a top 10 team, and we open the regular season with Baylor, which is exceptionally strong this year.
“We held our own (against Chattanooga Christian), we had a chance to win that game, so that’s a good sign.”
Among the strengths of this year’s squad, Hamilton said, are a solid defensive back line and talented skill players who will help implement a more attacking style of play.
“We’re going to play offense,” he said. “We’ve put in some new plays, and the guys have responded well to that. We’re trying to get the defense involved in the offense, too, so we can throw more players in the box on offense and score more goals this year.”
Hamilton noted while competition in District 7-AAA will be strong, his Pioneers should find themselves among the top teams in the league if they continue the hard work they’ve shown in the offseason.
“I think right now we’re the No. 2 team in the district,” he said. “Blackman, I feel, is No. 1, and I think that when we meet them, we’ll be such a different team from what they’ve seen we’ll be able to take that No. 1 spot away from them. Riverdale’s going to be tough this year, they’ve got some real good players coming back.
“I’d say us, Riverdale, Blackman and Cookeville all have the potential of knocking each other off.”
The Pioneers were scheduled to travel to Brentwood for a scrimmage today, and will hit the road to open their season Tuesday, March 16, at Baylor.
The team’s home opener, as well as its first district matchup of the season, is set for March 23 against White County.