Cory Eloff wants to make sure his Lake Ridge boys soccer team isn’t using its crutch. The Eagles feature up to 10 freshmen and sophomores playing on varsity.
Eloff doesn’t want that youth to be the excuse for why his team can’t get into the playoffs or make a playoff run.“At the beginning of the year, we said that’s a freshman and sophomore mistake,” he said. “As we’ve gone on, we’ve talked about not using that as a crutch anymore.“We’re relying on these younger kids. We’re trying to get past that excuse.”So far, so good for Lake Ridge. About halfway through their district schedule, the Eagles are sitting in third place. That’s because Eloff admits he’s a bit luckier than most first-year programs -- he has a nice senior corps to lean on.It isn’t a senior class as big as others in the district or area, but for a new program, Eloff will gladly take the four seniors he has that transferred from Timberview.“They all do a good job of contributing and showing life and leadership,” he said. “They stay with the game plan and keep everybody on their toes. There’s only so many of them and they get outnumbered at times, but they make it work.”Coming over from the head coaching job at Arlington Martin, Eloff understands big-time soccer in the area. It’s why he feels that the biggest challenge for his team is how his younger players deal with varsity soccer.He isn’t worried about fundamentals or his players’ skill. He’s more concerned with how his freshmen and sophomores will match up with other teams’ juniors and seniors.“It’s a 15-year-old going against an 18-year-old. There’s a big difference there,” he said. “That’s where it really hurts us. They’re doing a good job for the most part. The hardest part is mental aspect of it.“It’s playing two nights a week. You just got beat up on Tuesday and you have to come back on Friday night.”Some of that fatigue and inexperience has led to silly mistakes that have cost Lake Ridge some points in district play.In Lake Ridge’s last four games, the Eagles have given up five penalty kicks. Eloff said. Luckily, Lake Ridge has overcome those mistakes in three of those games, but the Eagles won’t always get off that easy.Other than fixing those mental mistakes, Eloff just wants his team to get healthy down the stretch. He’s proud of the way he’s team has handled some of the injuries so far.“The thing I can say about the team is we’ve had injuries, kids out with surgeries and other things,” he said. “No matter what, somebody always seems to step up and fill in the position.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
