For the Albert Lea High School girls’ soccer team, the home and Big Nine opener was less than uplifting.

&uot;Albert Lea has a good soccer team with real potential,&uot; said coach Rick Barnhill. &uot;I believe the Tiger team that shut out Loyola is the rule, not the exception, but it didn’t show in the opener. To reach the ultimate goal, there must be consistency. At Mankato, Albert Lea played with authority, confidence and intensity. Owatonna is a good team, but not a &uot;Six goals better&uot; team. Like all opponents, they are to be respected and can’t be given opportunities because they will exploit them. For the first 27 minutes, the girls disrupted their attacks and broke the Huskies’ rhythm.

This week we will assess and adapt. In a few days, the rematch will tell us how successful those adjustments will be.&uot;

Both Barnhill and ALHS boys’ soccer coach Elia Romano agree they are coaching too much from the sidelines this year.

&uot;I have yelled much more this season than last year,&uot; said Romano. &uot;As a coach, you want the players to be collectively self-policing, offering each other encouragement and direction. That hasn’t happened to my satisfaction, so I’ve filled in the blanks. As the season progresses, I hope to become quieter.&uot;

Barnhill concurred, &uot;You come into a brief season, with only a couple hours a day for instruction. There is never enough time to work with individual players to teach them new systems of play and the nuances of the game that will fully unlock their potential. Vocalizing during a game is shorthand. It is &uot;instruction on the fly.&uot; I know it can be upsetting to players, but we have such a short time together, that I have to say more early on.&uot;

Both coaches also agree that the success of the varsity programs depends on the summer club teams.

&uot;Other cities do not have the club system that Albert Lea has,&uot; said Barnhill. &uot;The Albert Lea players walk into practice in better shape and better skilled. Although the new system of play has been a struggle, the Tigers would be competitive with other teams that have been using it for years.&uot;

&uot;We can’t allow our club teams to play at the C3 level and not expect our players to struggle at the varsity level against other schools that have players who have been playing at C2, C1, or even Premier,&uot; noted Romano. &uot;Every varsity sport depends upon the strength of its feeder system to be competitive. In top programs, there is close collaboration and a shared vision between the club and school coaches. Speaking as a soccer coach and a soccer dad, I want the boys’ and girls ‘club and school programs to develop into the best in the Big Nine.&uot;