Castleton men's soccer looking for big season
Toolbox
By TOM HALEY STAFF WRITER - Published: July 12, 2009
FAIR HAVEN — Carving out a 346-108-37 record and earning National Coach of the Year honors on the high school level does not guarantee success on the college soccer pitch.
But since John Werner's successful career at Arlington Memorial High School, he has had the same type of success with the Castleton State College men's soccer team. His Spartans have earned some type of postseason berth four of his five years and they have been in the NCAA tournament field the past two seasons.
But look out. The best might be ahead.
"We have the potential to have our best year here ever," Werner said as he worked at one of his summer soccer camps last week at Fair Haven Union High School.
The normal coachspeak is to downplay the coming season. But Werner was calling for his best campaign yet. And why not? The North Atlantic Conference coaches are certain to put the pressure on Werner and the Spartans when they vote in the conference's preseason poll next month. After, all the team returns 16 players from a squad that won both the NAC's regular-season title and postseason tournament.
A mind-boggling 33 freshmen have also expressed an interest in playing. He invited 12 of them to the preseason camp that begins Aug. 19 and the others will have to take their chances at a walk-on tryout.
Werner has not stayed still despite the success and that has been the secret. He is always moving forward.
The fitness test used to be no more than a guideline for the Spartans soccer program. Now, it is a requirement. If a player can't run three six-minute miles with a six-minute rest between each, he can't be on the team.
"It is now mandatory," Werner said.
"We don't have a lot of time in preseason so if you don't want to do the work, see you later. It's a tough test, but anyone that is 18-to-22 years old that puts in the work can do it."
Much of the summer for a college soccer coach involves keeping in touch with the players. Reminders about doing the training and getting ready for what could be a very special season fly out of Werner's computer frequently.
But that means keeping up with technology. The students don't check their e-mails as much anymore because texting has become the main source of communication for most, Werner said.
This year Werner recruited size. His teams have been fast and skilled but they have been outmuscled by teams like Middlebury, a team they don't see until Oct. 14 this year.
That size among the recruits includes strikers that go 6-feet-3, a 6-feet and a 6-feet-1, all from New York State.
Needless to say, the Spartans will have a different look when they take the field for the opener on Sept. 1 in brand new Spartans Stadium.
Werner has been impressed by the turnout at the Fair Haven camp and he has been especially struck by the commitment of the Proctor High School Booster Club, which gave a scholarship for the camp to numerous players from the school's boys and girls soccer programs.
"I am very impressed by Proctor's enthusiasm for the camp," he said.
In addition to the camp last week in Fair Haven, Werner has two camps in Greenwich, N.Y., and another in Arlington.
It all makes for a pretty busy summer, especially if you throw in a trip to India for his son's wedding. It's anything but those "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer."
Through it all, you can be certain his thoughts are never far away from Aug. 19, the day he finally gets to assemble all those players for that first practice for the season that Werner believes has the potential to be the best ever in Spartanville.
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