The Valley Regional boys’ soccer squad is coming together nicely as the start of the 2020 season approaches. The Warriors feature a nice mix of experienced veterans who are complemented by some solid younger players and, as a result, Head Coach Mick Fearon believes that this could be a strong year for the Warriors.

Last year presented major challenges due to injuries hampering the Warriors’ ability to field their best team, but they still qualified for the Class M State Tournament and finished with an overall mark of 7-7-3. This season presents a completely new set of challenges with COVID-19 complicating the situation. Still, practices have been ramping up, and Coach Fearon feels that his athletes are ready to take on their Shoreline Conference opponents.

“It’s been going pretty well, just carrying on from when the kids were practicing in the summertime. It was a tough summer for kids to communicate with the coaches,” said Fearon, whose team will play at Hale-Ray in its season opener at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1. “We’re going now, and the kids are at that stage where they are looking to play other kids, instead of intersquad games.”

As expected during the pandemic, participation numbers are a bit down for Valley this year. While the Warriors have enough players to field a varsity team without much trouble, it may be more of a challenge for Valley to maintain separate varsity and JV squads. The coaches in the Shoreline Conference are meeting to determine an array of strategies to have a safe season, including what a possible postseason would look like.

“This is the first year that we have low numbers. We have a Shoreline meeting this week. Before, I’ve had kids double dress in JV and varsity, but because of the coronavirus, schools are restricting that to not have too many kids travel. You don’t want kids to have contact with more kids,” Fearon said. “I have an idea of kids that are varsity and JV. I’m waiting on the meeting to make a final decision. If some schools say have only X amount of players for a varsity roster, that could influence my decision. We only have 28 kids, so it’s going to be difficult. Last year, we had 40-something kids. It’s a big change.”

Regardless of what the conference’s coaches ultimately decide, the Warriors have a solid leader on varsity with senior captain defender Michael Brooks. Coach Fearon typically names a vice captain each year, but Brooks is taking the reins on his own in the 2020 campaign.

“The seniors voted for Michael Brooks to be the captain. He’s more of a quiet kid, and he’s kind of leading getting into the role of being a captain. It was voted by all the other seniors, so they are putting their trust in him,” said Fearon. “He’s leading by an example and getting things going. He’ll have been a varsity player for four years this year, so he’s seen what the other captains have done prior to that. Hopefully, he can pass those traits on.”

The Warriors also have a nice weapon on the attack in junior forward Jake Burdick. Even though Burdick does not have the title of captain or vice captain, Coach Fearon still expects him to be a leader up front.

“Jake is excellent. You’re not always looking for the captain to be the most vocal on the field. Jake is one of those players who will take that vocal role,” said Fearon. “Jake started to be a vocal-type leader. He is respected by a lot of the other players just for his ability.”

Keenan Pindar and Ryan Silva are two seniors who will be serving as leaders more toward the middle of the field, although Silva may also see time at spots other than the midfielder position. In any case, both players have a solid understanding of the game, and Coach Fearon knows that will be beneficial in terms of helping the team work together.

“Keenan and Ryan both played in the midfield last year. Keenan will probably be back there, but Ryan may move up to forward,” Fearon said. “There are times when they are also pretty good at taking it upon themselves to lead. Even though Michael is the captain, I’m looking for other players to help out in leading and talking and helping out on the field.”

Valley has a couple of options at goalkeeper’s position in junior Ian Silva and senior Jackson Bisson. Silva gained valuable experience in net as a junior when then-senior Baron Schafer suffered an injury, but Coach Fearon feels that Bisson is a reliable stopper, too.

“There are going to be two goalies. It’s between Ian Silva and Jackson Bison. Last year, Ian was the starting goalie after our senior keeper went down with an injury,” said Fearon. “There may be times during the game where one will have to help out during JV. Last year, we had four keepers, and now we’re down to two.”

Senior Cam Ruel and sophomore Sam Hutchinson are returning to the pitch this year after spending last season on the sidelines. Ruel will most likely patrol the midfield, and Hutchinson is slated to play defense after dealing a hip injury. Even though Hutchinson doesn’t have much on-field experience with the Warriors, Coach Fearon believes that his athleticism will be a boon for Valley Regional.

“Sam had a hip issue last year, and he’s just starting to come around. He can help out with the other defenders. It’s good to have him back. He’s just an all-around athlete,” Fearon said. “Cam had a knee injury and didn’t play at all last year. He’s going to be someone good to have back in the midfield.”

Other players that Coach Fearon is relying on this season include seniors Alex Pinkowish and Ryan Shea; juniors Tucker Burr, Simon Partyka, and Andrew Salbinski; sophomores Ben Costanzo and Michael Kollmer; and freshman Jake McKenna.

The flow of the preseason was thrown into disarray by COVID-19, leading to conditioning concerns for athletes across the state. However, with games beginning this week, there isn’t any more time to train up and get into game shape. This means that player rotations will be more important than ever. Coach Fearon and his assistant coaches, Bryant Ziobron and Dan DeNegre, are going to have to keep a close eye on any players who may get gassed on the field.

“I think some players did a lot more conditioning by themselves over the summertime. They are a little bit further along fitness-wise. Game fitness is just going to come from just playing now. I think in the first game or two, there will be a lot of errors. We don’t even have scrimmage games in the preseason,” Fearon said. “It usually takes two or three games to get used to the speed of the game. It’s so much different practicing against your own teammates. It will be an adjustment for the players and coaches. Some players won’t be able to play what you want them to play. You can’t cram all the fitness into two, three weeks.”

While Fearon wants to see the Warriors have a successful season, the coach is most concerned about his student-athletes staying healthy.

“The first thing is the safety and health of the kids. You can’t have too many kids playing too many games. It’s a challenge showing up at a game with 20 kids, keeping them socially distant with masks on. You can play without a mask, but you can play with a mask on, too. If a kid wants to wear a mask, that’s fine,” said Fearon. “On the bench, everyone has to be social distanced. You have to wear a mask on the sidelines, as well. That’s something we stress. If someone tests positive, there’s no makeup games. That’s it.”