East Kentwood Soccer: EK in the News
2009 Men - On the Pitch - This East Kentwood team is a different teamYou couldn't get East Kentwood coach John Conlon to highlight individual performances if you put a gun to his head. But, we tried. Not putting a gun to his head, but to talk about some of the individuals on his two-time reigning Division 1 state championship team. Here is the latest from the man who has kept his team on the top for the past two seasons, and in the mix for many more. Emphasis on team.
You guys hold the classic double-edged sword: you know
what it takes to win the state title and have the experience, but you also have a target on your backs. Which edge of that sword is greater?We feel that the experience of getting to a couple of state finals really helps us know how to pace ourselves throughout the season and prepare for the state tournament. However, this will be a new team with different issues, personnel and structure. The target is on our back and we play a brutal schedule, so we will have to come prepared to play our best every night. The beauty of soccer is that one wrong bounce can end your season so you must prepare for and play every tournament game like it is your last.
Being the reigning champion, does that make you the default favorite this season?
This team will be completely different than the last two teams so it isn't really fair to compare them to that and make them the favorite. They will have to earn everything that comes their way. Every season presents new problems. This team, while it returns a number of significant players from last year, will have to show that it is willing to do all the little things needed to win and win consistently. I will say that experience is a great strength for this team.
As for favorites, I think the west side of the state really has a number of teams that could make a serious run in the tournament. I have heard a lot of discussion about Grand Haven, Forest Hills Central, Holt and Portage Central as early favorites for the state championship. Each one of these teams returns a majority of their starting line-up and they were all great teams last year.
Who are some of your big losses?
Our whole senior class from last year is a big loss. We had a number of seniors that were great players/people and have advanced on to the college ranks. They were unselfish and willing to take whatever role was given to them and that was the secret of our success last season.
Losing a quality keeper in Mike Sweers, some tend to think that will be a loss that carries the most impact. Is it?
Mike was one of the most dominant players that I have ever seen in the high school game. He was a mainstay for us between the pipes for two years. I do think though that while he was a great player, the things that Mike did behind the scenes will be missed just as much. He was completely selfless in his attitude. He was a wonderful competitor and a great leader/role model for our younger players. Luckily, we have a keeper that played behind Mike for two years that we are fully confident can provide what we need to be successful.
Talk about some of the stars you have returning. Any bright new faces gracing the pitch for you guys?
We pride ourselves on not talking about individual players so I'll refrain from naming anyone here. I will say however, that I'm really excited by the growth and development of some our players that played on our JV, and also some of our subs that were on the Varsity team last year. I think we have a number of new players that will play significant roles on the 2009 East Kentwood team.
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2007 Women - Press Salutes
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