This fall it seems that the double cohort is affecting everything but the weather. Twice as many high school graduates, twice as many university applicants, twice as many first year students, everything is being thrown off kilter. One arena of university life that is certainly having its balance shifted is varsity sports.
With only a certain number of positions available on varsity teams, coaches are being faced with the arduous task of paring their teams down to regular size, despite having up to double the number of athletes trying out.
Guido Geisler, head coach of the women’s soccer team, estimated that he had roughly twice as many girls trying out for the team this year than he has had in previous years. Geisler agreed with assistant coach Anthony Capotosto when he said that they had “done their best to ensure that everyone had ample opportunities to show their skills off during the tryouts.”
Despite the efforts of the coaches to involve as many players they can in the league, close to 15 eager and talented soccer enthusiasts will be cut from the women’s team this year.
While the coaches battle with making the cuts, the athletes are fighting to secure a spot on the teams. The veteran players are faced with ample new competition and the rookie players find themselves in a tough situation. They are discovering that to make the cut they not only have to compete against older players, but also against each other.
Lynn Wilkins, about to begin her fourth year as a striker on the women’s soccer team, likened the varsity soccer tryouts to a military training camp. “It was like there was an army of girls running around the field,” she commented after an early season practice.
With all of the extra players comes a lot of extra skill. John Vidovich, head coach of the men’s soccer team, noticed a big difference in the caliber of players during tryouts this pre-season. Vidovich was not pleased to announce, however, that he would have to cut some of his veteran players in favour of new talent. He said that having to do so was a “heart wrenching decision.”
Vidovich estimates that when everything is said and done, well over 100 boys will have tried out for a team that will only end up carrying in the neighbourhood of 22 players.
One thing that everyone seems to agree on is that U of T’s varsity teams are looking good for the coming season. Sarah Hall, head coach of the women’s rugby team, and Todd Pepper, head coach of the women’s lacrosse team, echoed each other in saying that their prospects for the season are optimistic and that the skill level of the players is very promising.
While Vidovich and Geisler agree that the athletic ability is high and both have realistic hopes of their teams doing well this season, Vidovich is interested to see what other schools, namely Western and Laurier, will present in terms of players this year. He noted that if his teams’ skill level was higher than normal, then other schools must be experiencing the same thing. Although a little apprehensive about what the season will bring, Vidovich is standing by, feeling “quietly confident,” and looking forward to some good soccer.
