As Ken Dildine enters his third season of boys soccer as head coach, the Liberty Christian Academy Eagles are looking to add more success to their program while maintaining their values of sportsmanship and positivity, something the program has thrived in.
The new season comes with new faces as well as a few new players.
Mike Helbig, a new addition to the coaching staff, comes to the program with a lot of experience and knowledge after having played collegiately. In addition, Dildine’s son, Matt, has joined the coaching staff.
Dildine noted that Helbig has already brought in good points and lessons that have helped the team improve.
With 20 to 22 players on the roster, Dildine will be looking to play a 4-4-2 formation, but might change it up later in the season depending on different circumstances.
“With new kids and other kids getting stronger, we might sit back as a coaching staff and just see what’s going to be the best for our kids,” Dildine said.
Dildine currently has a young team, mostly making up freshmen and sophomores and is hoping to build more senior leadership.
Last season, Dildine noted the team struggled with moving the ball and not getting the ball to open spaces.
“I think we’re going to be utilizing our guys more this year by passing the ball and moving to that space, instead of just trying to dribble between two to three guys every time,” Dildine said.
Currently in practices, the team is focusing on ball control, conditioning and keeping their head up while dribbling.
Dildine praised the team for their attitudes from not only this year, but previous years as well. Whether they lose a game or win a game, the positivity Dildine tries to instill remains throughout the team.
“We’ve always had that same mental attitude that needs to be there and that’s a big focus that I’ve always concentrated on,” Dildine said.
After taking second in state last season, Dildine is looking to come back better and beat the teams they had lost to previously. Another goal of Dildine’s is to work on communication.
“Soccer is a very fast paced sport and if you’re not talking to your teammates all the time, you don’t know what’s going on, so I’d say the number one priority goal is going to be communication,” Dildine said.
