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9/15/2010-Soccer
Making strides
By Sue Teggart/West Bloomfield Beacon
WEST BLOOMFIELD - The mist of the early morning rain hung over the soccer field at Orchard Lake St. Mary's as the team began practice Sept. 3.For a school that's mainly recognized for football, hockey and basketball, coach Joe Ruffolo is hard at work - rain or shine - trying to add soccer to that list.
With just four seasons under its belt, St. Mary's is still a young, growing program.
"We have to take baby steps," Ruffolo said about developing the program. "The expectation is just to improve on each year. At some point, we'll be a program that everybody wants to play for."
This year is a point of progress for the Eaglets, who had a record high of 40 boys come out for the team; Ruffolo kept 36.
"All of them had some degree of soccer in their background," he said about his players. "The first year, it was almost like warm bodies."
"Each year, we're getting more talent," junior Kyle Richards said. "My freshman year, we didn't have a lot of guys with experience. Now we have guys with club talent and skills to build on."
Despite starting the season off with two losses - to Linden High 2-0 and Warren De La Salle 8-0 - Ruffolo said the Eaglets are making strides. "The first half we were down 2-0 and played very competitively," Ruffolo said of the DLS game. "I was happy with the fact that we stayed with them for the first half."
With nearly a dozen newcomers to varsity, the Eaglets'main concern is jelling as a unit.
"This year I have 11 new players on varsity, so the boys haven't played together for an extended period," Ruffolo said. "Last year's team, I had nine seniors that had been together for three years. That's what I have to overcome, just getting them to work together."
"We're not playing quite as a team yet, but we're making our way," Richards said. "We need to learn to trust each other more out on the field."
St. Mary's will rely on its veterans - Richards, and seniors Eric French and Kyle Karmo - to set the pace.
Ruffolo said the veterans'strength is in the midfield.
St. Mary's plays in the Catholic League AA Division and hopes to improve on last year's 1-5-2 finish.
Last year marked the program's first league win.
"The skill level has improved, the focus has improved and the boys want to do well," Ruffolo said. "I'm very proud of where this program is headed."
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