Taking the Bayfield High School boys soccer head coaching job was a homecoming of sorts for David Foster.
He attended Fort Lewis College on a soccer scholarship before injuring his ankle during his freshman season in 1995.
Foster has taught fifth and sixth grade in Durango for the last eight years after leaving FLC for his hometown of Las Vegas, Nev.
“Soccer is what brought me to Durango in the first place,” he said. “It’s nice to go full circle.”
This is Foster’s first year at the helm of the Wolverines’ boys varsity soccer side after previously serving as an assistant for the girls team. He wants to change the culture of the program – which has won a total of five games in the last four years – by focusing on soccer’s fundamental skills and team chemistry.
The Wolverines only return one senior, so they lack varsity experience.
They’ll try to make up for that with a voracious appetite for information and a positive attitude.
“I’m a teacher; I’m always stressing the importance of being able to learn,” Foster said. “I can teach anyone the game of soccer; luckily these boys want to learn.”
In addition to trying to get his team to attend FLC men’s soccer games, Foster wants his team to learn more about the game by serving as referees for local parks and recreation teams as well as coaching youth teams.
He also had them set personal goals for the season: One player wanted to understand his position better as a defender; another wanted to watch more soccer in order to understand the game better; one said he wanted to get in better shape.
Those baby steps combined with low outside expectations provide Foster with the perfect incubator to develop his young team.
The Wolverines lost their first game 7-0 against Class 4A Montezuma-Cortez but displayed growth and progress even amid the defeat.
“We have a lot of character. They showed they can learn from their mistakes,” Foster said. “Just because we lost by a lot of goals, and we didn’t score, they want to learn and want to get better.”
The team also has to weather the early suspension of senior captain Alex Vitagliano.
“He’s a three-year varsity starter who understands the game,” Foster said. “His role is to distribute the ball and get other players involved in the game.”
Until Vitagliano returns, Foster will depend on junior forward Austin Isiordia, who is entering his third year as a varsity starter.
The Wolverines will play a 4-4-2 formation, aggressive defense and will try to spread the field offensively. They want to play the ball wide to their midfielders and effectively use crosses into the penalty area.
Starting goalkeeper Ben Young showed concussion symptoms during the loss to Cortez, but freshman Austin Bushell filled his role admirably.
Foster will choose his next starter after evaluating Young at practice this week.
Bayfield will host Alamosa at 11 a.m. Saturday at Wolverine Country Stadium in its home and Intermountain League opener.
“They are going to do everything they can to take us out of our game,” Foster said. “The players are looking forward to playing a conference game against their rival.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
