Remember us?
The Durango High School boys soccer team has to be asking that question. Weather has taken a toll on the Demons’ schedule so far, so much so that the Demons haven’t played an actual game since Sept. 7 against Roaring Fork and haven’t appeared at home since the season opener Aug. 31 against Hinkley.
Poor conditions forced the postponement of the Southwestern League opener against Montezuma-Cortez scheduled for Sept. 10, then torrential rains on the Front Range washed away Durango’s trip to Colorado Springs to face Rampart and Coronado last weekend.
Add to that even more rain back home forcing DHS inside for practice, and it’s been a strange two weeks for head coach Dalon Parker and his charges. So forgive the Demons if they’re excited to get outdoors.
“The boys have been cooped up indoors training on the turf for five of the last eight days, so they’re champing at the bit,” Parker said.
They’ll finally return to action – weather permitting, of course – at 5 p.m. Friday against Grand Junction at Riverview Sports Complex. The Demons then will head to Dirks Field at Fort Lewis College for a pivotal match against defending SWL champion Montrose at 11 a.m.
With conference competition coming to town, DHS will have to shake off the rust in a hurry. The last two weeks, however, have allowed the Demons to have a de-facto second preseason camp, a bit of an unexpected benefit given the late resignation of former coach Kenny Wood and the short turnaround time to adjust to Parker’s style.
“Our motto with the staff is one step at a time. We’ve been able to go back and watch a lot of film and use this time to break down film with the boys at the varsity level,” Parker said. “We had a lot of time to get on the big field and fine tune mistakes that were made and even enhance good things that were done.”
Granted, the Demons likely would rather be playing in actual games and getting experience at game speed. But given the circumstances, they were able to tighten some things up and spend plenty of time together as a team, which Parker views as invaluable.
“It’s really good for the team soccer-wise and great for team-bonding. We spent a lot of time together off the field,” Parker said.
Now to see if that time was well spent.
rowens@durangoherald.com
