2009 Preview: Waubonsie Valley

By Gary Larsen

Waubonsie Valley coach Angelo DiBernardo will mix, match, and shuffle until this year’s starting lineup gets to where it needs to be.

Nik Patel is a good starting point.

The versatile senior is arguably the Warriors’ top player, a three-year varsity starter that can be used wherever needed.

“Nik and Oliver Mayer – that’s all they do is play soccer, and that’s why they’re as good as they are,” DiBernardo said. “Nik can play anywhere you put him. He’s athletic, quick, fast, has a good sense of the game and good skills.”

Fellow senior Mayer has a few options as well, and Jesus Cruz and Yvan Foonde round out a good core of higher-skilled players on this year’s team.

“I look at Oliver as a defender in the middle and also as a midfielder, and Jesus is mainly an outside player whether that’s in back or at midfield,” DiBernardo said. Foonde will also trade jobs between midfield the and back line.

“They’re versatile players, they read the game well, and they adjust well,” DiBernardo said. “So they don’t mind being moved around as we need them.”

Through a 1-0 loss to rival Neuqua Valley and a 3-1 loss to Benet, the Warriors showed good intensity in the former game but struggled to meet Benet’s effort in the latter.

The lack of scoring through two games is an obvious concern, but the potential to score is there.

“I think we have a couple kids who, once they score one or two goals, they’ll figure out how to do it,” DiBernardo said. “Once they learn they can score at this level they can get into a comfort zone.”

The Warriors have 10 seniors on the roster, among them Jack Dickens, Johnny Akl, Brent Ito, Amar Pandya, Andrew Russell, Reuel Erastus, and Steven Turcios.

Dickens was the lone Warrior singled out by his coach for putting forth the required effort in the loss to Benet, and junior Jason O’Brien provided a spark against Neuqua.

Juniors Foonde, Arturo Garcia, Corey Lettieri, Ernesto Iraheta, Alex Brinlee, Sean Elvert, and Eduardo Vargas will all contribute. Freshman Sam Bell is the lone underclassmen on the team.

“I want to let everyone know what positions they’ll play, so they can get comfortable,” DiBernardo said. “But we’ll continue to move players where we need them, as the game situations change.”

“We’re going to try to get everybody involved here. We’d like to have sixteen or seventeen players who each know their role and feel comfortable with their role.”

“We can’t afford to go with twelve or thirteen players. We’ll need everybody. We just need to find out who is going to be playing what role.”

On a team of solid athletes built around a core of long-time soccer players, the Warriors will work to play in the possession style that Waubonsie Valley has always been noted for.

“We want them to be focused, concentrate hard, and to be thinkers out there. Not just to play the game but to also think the game,” DiBernardo said. “To make the proper decision when the ball is on their foot. Not to panic and kick the ball without a purpose.”

2009 Schedule

2009 Roster