Lavrynenko au camp des Rhinos
Publié : 03 avril 2005 20:00
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Coach brings no-nonsense approach to Rhinos
Jeff DiVeronica
Staff writer
(March 29, 2005) — There was an echo to his command at Total Sports Experience, his words bouncing off the walls like the balls players were shooting at goalkeepers Scott Vallow and Dusty Hudock.
"C'mon guys, I wanna see pace!'' new Rhinos coach Laurie Calloway yelled during a drill to sharpen crosses in front of the goal. "I wanna see those balls come in there with pace!''
Camp Calloway started swiftly.
The Rhinos opened training camp on Monday, their 10th overall but first under new direction since their 1996 inaugural season. Calloway, a native of England who replaced Pat Ercoli in December, has wasted no time putting his stamp on his team. The Rhinos performed drills at full speed, which gave Calloway and assistant Willie Fitzpatrick plenty to look at as they begin to form opinions on who stays and who goes before the May 4 season opener.
Twenty-eight players trained Monday. About five players aren't in camp because they're still playing indoor professional soccer or couldn't be here in time for Day 1, which consisted of mostly fitness training in the morning session and shooting and passing drills, along with weightlifting, in the afternoon at TSE in Gates.
Rochester expects to carry about 23 players, including a few youngsters who will be considered "developmental'' players.
"I'm not rooting for anybody to make the team over anybody else. I want the 28 guys to show me who should be on the team,'' said Calloway, 59, a no-nonsense taskmaster who coached in Major League Soccer in 1996 and '97.
Over the past two seasons, he turned Syracuse from an A-League expansion team into the Eastern Conference runner-up last summer. The defunct Salty Dogs, who folded last fall, went 26-20-10 under Calloway.
A late-season swoon nearly kept the Rhinos out of the playoffs for the first time. Rochester qualified but lost in the first round for the first time since 1997 and the team sought a replacement for Ercoli, who guided the Rhinos to three A-League crowns and the 1999 U.S. Open Cup title.
"Practices are hard. We're going to practice until he feels we've accomplished everything he wants to accomplish, whether it's 45 minutes or three hours,'' defender Jason Perry, one of five former Syracuse players in camp, said of Calloway.
"It's going to be intense and it's going to be very competitive because everybody is fighting for a contract. That's what he wants to see; who has got the fire?"
There were 15 players in camp who were on last year's Rochester roster, including veterans such as forward Doug Miller, midfielders Lenin Steenkamp and Kirk Wilson and defender Bill Sedgewick. There were ex-Rhinos who have come back to try out, such as midfielders Stoian Mladenov and Yuri Lavrynenko and forward Jamel Mitchell. And there were former Syracuse players such as Perry, forward Mauro Carabajal, 19-year-old midfielder Jonathan Steele and defender Frankie SanFillippo.
Midfielder Shaun Tsakiris, who overcame testicular cancer in the off-season, also is practicing.
There also were newcomers such as Rhinos draft pick Scott Palguta and forward Rey Martinez, who has MLS experience and Calloway seems to be high on. But he said he pledges allegiance to no one. All players should feel like their job is up for grabs.
"Yeah, oh yeah. Everything is, for sure,'' third-year Rhino Ian Fuller responded when asked if players felt that way.
"We're evaluating on the four pillars of the sport: psychological, physical, technical and tactical. Every day we'll see something that is encouraging or alarming,'' Calloway said. "At fitness this morning there were some guys who really struggled. In Shaun Tsakiris' case, he's got an excuse. The other guys, they obviously haven't taken care of themselves."
Calloway is keen on carrying a mix of youth and veterans. That was his Syracuse formula. One immediate concern is central defense.
He knows Rochester will be without All-Star defender Craig Demmin (knee injury) for the season opener and two-time A-League Defender of the Year Scott Schweitzer also might be absent. Schweitzer, veteran midfielder/defender Rene Rivas and defender Ryan Hall — Syracuse players in 2004 — won't arrive until after the pro indoor season ends on April 24. If Baltimore, Schweitzer's team, or Cleveland, where Rivas and Hall play, make the playoffs, it could be later.
"I think we've got enough good players. It's a matter now of molding them,'' Calloway said. "With so many new faces and a new coach, we've got to establish that camaraderie and the next few weeks will tell that."
What is he looking for? "Guys who I see pushing themselves individually," he said. "Guys I see pushing others around them."
If he finds the right mix, maybe the Rhinos again will be pushing around their opponents the way they used to.
"This gives everybody a fresh start," returning defender John Wilson said.
Coach brings no-nonsense approach to Rhinos
Jeff DiVeronica
Staff writer
(March 29, 2005) — There was an echo to his command at Total Sports Experience, his words bouncing off the walls like the balls players were shooting at goalkeepers Scott Vallow and Dusty Hudock.
"C'mon guys, I wanna see pace!'' new Rhinos coach Laurie Calloway yelled during a drill to sharpen crosses in front of the goal. "I wanna see those balls come in there with pace!''
Camp Calloway started swiftly.
The Rhinos opened training camp on Monday, their 10th overall but first under new direction since their 1996 inaugural season. Calloway, a native of England who replaced Pat Ercoli in December, has wasted no time putting his stamp on his team. The Rhinos performed drills at full speed, which gave Calloway and assistant Willie Fitzpatrick plenty to look at as they begin to form opinions on who stays and who goes before the May 4 season opener.
Twenty-eight players trained Monday. About five players aren't in camp because they're still playing indoor professional soccer or couldn't be here in time for Day 1, which consisted of mostly fitness training in the morning session and shooting and passing drills, along with weightlifting, in the afternoon at TSE in Gates.
Rochester expects to carry about 23 players, including a few youngsters who will be considered "developmental'' players.
"I'm not rooting for anybody to make the team over anybody else. I want the 28 guys to show me who should be on the team,'' said Calloway, 59, a no-nonsense taskmaster who coached in Major League Soccer in 1996 and '97.
Over the past two seasons, he turned Syracuse from an A-League expansion team into the Eastern Conference runner-up last summer. The defunct Salty Dogs, who folded last fall, went 26-20-10 under Calloway.
A late-season swoon nearly kept the Rhinos out of the playoffs for the first time. Rochester qualified but lost in the first round for the first time since 1997 and the team sought a replacement for Ercoli, who guided the Rhinos to three A-League crowns and the 1999 U.S. Open Cup title.
"Practices are hard. We're going to practice until he feels we've accomplished everything he wants to accomplish, whether it's 45 minutes or three hours,'' defender Jason Perry, one of five former Syracuse players in camp, said of Calloway.
"It's going to be intense and it's going to be very competitive because everybody is fighting for a contract. That's what he wants to see; who has got the fire?"
There were 15 players in camp who were on last year's Rochester roster, including veterans such as forward Doug Miller, midfielders Lenin Steenkamp and Kirk Wilson and defender Bill Sedgewick. There were ex-Rhinos who have come back to try out, such as midfielders Stoian Mladenov and Yuri Lavrynenko and forward Jamel Mitchell. And there were former Syracuse players such as Perry, forward Mauro Carabajal, 19-year-old midfielder Jonathan Steele and defender Frankie SanFillippo.
Midfielder Shaun Tsakiris, who overcame testicular cancer in the off-season, also is practicing.
There also were newcomers such as Rhinos draft pick Scott Palguta and forward Rey Martinez, who has MLS experience and Calloway seems to be high on. But he said he pledges allegiance to no one. All players should feel like their job is up for grabs.
"Yeah, oh yeah. Everything is, for sure,'' third-year Rhino Ian Fuller responded when asked if players felt that way.
"We're evaluating on the four pillars of the sport: psychological, physical, technical and tactical. Every day we'll see something that is encouraging or alarming,'' Calloway said. "At fitness this morning there were some guys who really struggled. In Shaun Tsakiris' case, he's got an excuse. The other guys, they obviously haven't taken care of themselves."
Calloway is keen on carrying a mix of youth and veterans. That was his Syracuse formula. One immediate concern is central defense.
He knows Rochester will be without All-Star defender Craig Demmin (knee injury) for the season opener and two-time A-League Defender of the Year Scott Schweitzer also might be absent. Schweitzer, veteran midfielder/defender Rene Rivas and defender Ryan Hall — Syracuse players in 2004 — won't arrive until after the pro indoor season ends on April 24. If Baltimore, Schweitzer's team, or Cleveland, where Rivas and Hall play, make the playoffs, it could be later.
"I think we've got enough good players. It's a matter now of molding them,'' Calloway said. "With so many new faces and a new coach, we've got to establish that camaraderie and the next few weeks will tell that."
What is he looking for? "Guys who I see pushing themselves individually," he said. "Guys I see pushing others around them."
If he finds the right mix, maybe the Rhinos again will be pushing around their opponents the way they used to.
"This gives everybody a fresh start," returning defender John Wilson said.