More than 100 Ram soccer wannabes turn out for first practice of fall season
August 24, 2023 at 1:45 a.m.
It was a soccer first—the largest number of players ever to try out for the soccer Rams. And veteran coach John Cafaldo—the winningest active coach in Port Chester—was sizing up the record turnout of 116 would be players who came in varying sizes, shapes and uniform colors, more than enough to stock a varsity and JV even as he tried to figure out whether they had the collective heart to be winners.
“I’m not sure how much the seniors want to win, whether they have the desire and determination and everything else that it takes to become the leaders I need to make us a top tier team in ultra competitive Double A soccer,” he said at the start of the first official fall season practice Monday (8/21) at the high school.
Beyond the numbers
And what made him think that way at first glance in the face of the record numbers registered to try out? he was asked.
“Too many of the seniors waited until the last day to register,” he said. “And that tells me something about their desire heading into a season where I am counting on them to be the team leaders.”
But Cafaldo isn’t the kind of coach who wastes words or time.
So the tryouts quickly got a taste of why Cafaldo has a reputation for turning out well-conditioned teams who don’t falter in crunch time.
Running Ram herd
Cafaldo had the herd of Ram wannabes broken down into segments--upperclassmen, returnees, modified players, first timers, travel team veterans, inexperienced all the way up to most experienced.
You name it, they were all there. And Cafaldo had them all off and running.
First an easy, slow mile run around the track to warm up.
Then up and down the stadium steps, eight different series of elevator-like ups and downs.
Test of conditioning
And then sprinting from different places on the track, 100-yard dashes, 220s, the strides and speeds varying depending on the condition of the wannabes.
And all the while Cafaldo was watching, not clocking times, but noting the varying stages of conditioning, noticing who was running all out, who was lagging, who was kicking all the way to finish first or near to it because that was one way to gauge who really wanted to win. Even in practice.
And all that was happening before they ever stepped onto the pitch, before they ever started kicking the ball around, before they started the drills, and before everything led up to some players slipping on cut off colored practice jerseys while others didn’t as they passed and defended, trying to score, demonstrating leg strength and tactical knowhow on their way to scores.
The first official day of practice and tryouts for the Port Chester boys’ varsity soccer season on Monday, Aug. 21 brought out more than 100 candidates who were initially put through a grueling workout on the track and stadium stairs before they started drills.Joseph DeCarlo|Westmore News
The leading candidates
It was only the first day of practice. But it would run close to three hours. And it would be a soccer version of the survival of the fittest.
“Nothing is going to be a given, it’s going to be a wide open competition for the starting positions,” Cafaldo said.
But leading candidates to become varsity starters include Nick Tellez, Ramaul Morgan, Julian Lopez, Pedro Gonzalez, Andre Palacios and Jon Battista.
After that, the practices will tell the story leading up to the cuts by the end of the week.
Further tests will include three fast-approaching away scrimmages against Rye Neck Monday (8/28), White Plains Tuesday (8/29) and Rye Country Day Friday (9/1), all at 4:30 p.m.
That gives potential varsity players ample time to pass or fail the test for starters.
The crucial sked ahead
By then Cafaldo will have a better idea of who his starters will be for the Rams’ season-opening home game next Tuesday (9/5) at 4:45 p.m. against Spring Valley followed by an away game the following Thursday (9/7) at 4:45 p.m. versus Roy C. Ketcham. Next comes a home game, the season's first night contest, against Harrison the following Saturday (9/9) at 6 p.m.
Those games will give Cafaldo a clue as to whether his seniors have the heart, desire and determination needed to lead the Rams to a competitive spot in the local soccer scheme of things. He hopes they do. And so does Ram soccer nation and the survivors who make the team chosen after those grueling tryouts by that record number of more than 100 other soccer varsity wannabes.
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