BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Kickers are ready to get to work as they head into their first games of the fall season.
“It looks good,” said Clarkston Boys Varsity Soccer Head Coach Ian Jones, on heading into the new season. “We have a very talented group. We have a lot of returning players from last year and some new guys coming up from the JV team so it’s looking pretty strong.”
He added it helps having a lot of players returning from last season.
“Some of these boys have been playing varsity soccer since they were freshman,” Jones said. “The benefit for them now is they are physically stronger. Now they are used to playing at that level and now they can physically play at that level. It bodes well because they are on the team in the first place is because they are good soccer players. Now they are physically there.”
He added one of the strengths going into the first couple of games is having a lot of returners.
“Hopefully they can kick a little bit and perform better than last year – we had some penalties which was a bit unfortunate there. We have the starting group returning as juniors and seniors this year so hopefully they can continue to grow. It’s looking promising.
The boys had a small peek at what they can do during three scrimmages which they defeated Lake Orion, 5-0; and Notre Dame Prep, 3-0. They lost to De La Salle Collegiate, 2-1.
“We dominated the game from start to finish,” Jones said, adding the Wolves’ scored their lone goal in the last 30 seconds of the game.
“It was more of a mix and match, making sure everyone on the roster got equal playing time for all three games. It was good to see where everyone was at as a group.”
The Wolves were scheduled to play Royal Oak on Tuesday in their season opener on a non-league game. The game was called due to weather.
“We trained four days last week so it will be nice to see where we are in regards to the game,” Jones said, adding they worked on a few things after their scrimmages. “See how it translates into a game.”
The Wolves head to De La Salle Collegiate on Tuesday, Aug. 31. JV plays at 4 p.m., varsity follows.
They host Troy Athens in the home opener on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at Clarkston High School Stadium.
“Athens is probably the absolute test to a certain degree to the see the level you need to be at in order to compete,” Jones said.
JV plays at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows.

  clarkston, Soccer, Wolves