Titan boys soccer team in the hot seat in 2019 season

Rebuilding for another shot

by Than Acuff

It’s no secret the Crested Butte Titans soccer team had their best season in school history last year, as they finished with the 2A state title. But that was then and this is now and the Titans are playing with targets on their chests and without the solid core of seniors who graduated last year.

Fortunately, with numbers strong once again, Crested Butte has another 10 seniors stepping into leadership roles this year, along with 33 other players for a total of 43 players, making for the biggest team Crested Butte soccer has ever had.

“There are definitely players returning from last year who are more than competent enough to step into the shoes of the departed seniors,” says coach Bob Piccaro. “Plus we have a lot of freshmen, some seasoned in soccer, some not, who are joining the squad this year.”

The Titans’ soccer team opened pre-season with their annual rite of passage, Midnight Madness, and then rolled straight into their two-a-day practice schedule through the first week. Workouts have been a mix of the essentials to find team success because as former Titans soccer assistant coach Mike Martin once pointed out, “Offense scores goals but defense wins games.”

“We’re focused on conditioning, skills, defensive play and giving the players the opportunity to show the coaches what they’ve got,” says Piccaro.

Now in their second week of workouts, agility and conditioning continue to be the base of all morning sessions, while in the afternoon workouts Piccaro and assistant coach Ethan Scott have the team focused on possession and attacking.

Aside from the targets on their chests, the Titans also have several big challenges ahead of them in league play. For the past two years the league continues to gain strength with three teams total making the state tournament last year and Crested Butte and Telluride both making it to the big show. Throw in the Ridgway Demons, the Alamosa Mean Moose and the Pagosa Springs Pirates, all of which the Titans play twice, and that makes for eight tough matches out of a 15-game schedule.

“Obviously our biggest challenge is to repeat but we have numerous tough games along the way that we need to focus on before we even get a chance at returning to the state tournament,” says Piccaro. “Plus, we have to figure out what to do with 43 players of all abilities.”

In the meantime, the team continues with their pre-season workouts this week and open league play on the road against Pagosa Springs on Tuesday, August 27.

“The team is looking good and there’s a great vibe among a vast majority of them,” says Piccaro.