One of our stand-by stories at Aces World HQ has always been the “new” team, the team making its high school varsity debut. It always a fun story, the team is new, the uniforms are fresh, it’s usually a young coach with high (probably unrealistic) expectations. Then the season starts and reality sets in. The leagues are tough, a loss becomes a losing streak, the buzz surrounding a “new” program fades, interest wanes. Depending on the sport, the team is usually lucky to win a handful of games.
Then there was Wood-Ridge.
I think it was a hyperactive Twitter account that caught my attention last year…Wood-Ridge boys soccer, new team, come check us out. I went and had a blast. The coach: Alberico De Pierro, slim, fit, chatty, friendly, completely accessible. He knew what he didn’t know, and wasn’t shy about asking. I even tried to give him some tips about the league and what to expect. I wrote a blog about his Pellegrino water, and his intention to wear suits during games.
Then, of course, the season started. I went on my way. The Blue Devils prospered. They were 4-0 to start the season (against an admittedly soft schedule). At one point they were 6-2-1, but, reality did eventually set in. They got smushed a couple of times, but they made it to the Bergen County Tournament, lost to Bergen Catholic. They reached the State Tournament, got beat by Hawthorne.
They finished 9-9-2.
So now, I decided to go back, we do a lot of stories on the new team, the Year One. What happens in Year 2? It’s a precarious spot. The Blue Devils know they might have sneaked up on some teams last year. That won’t happen in 2015, but they also believe they are better, better prepared, better trained. There is also a vibe that hey, Wood-Ridge could be morphing into a soccer town.
First thing you notice trying to get to Redneck Road where the Blue Devils practice is, um, you can’t get to Redneck Road. They are doing major major road work, and traffic was horrific. I ended up looping all the way back around up to 46 then back down south.
De Pierro greeted me with a big smile and handshake. We talked about hockey jerseys, the weather, the field. The Blue Devils will play some games on their turf field, and some on Pomponio, a true grass field which is in pretty good shape, but still has some divots and dirt clods. De Pierro likes it, he said it’s a real home field advantage since so many teams are so used to playing on synthetic turf. He told me about being selected to coach in the Bergen County All-Star game (but only if he wore a suit) and how he didn’t have any Pellegrino water this time.
De Pierro handed me a roster as the kids scrimmaged with small nets and on about a 50-yard field. He has 15 seniors, 9 returning starters, and he said how he thinks he misjudged the importance of having seniors last year. We then talked about how seniors can be a curse and a blessing, in that they can lead you to great heights, but they can also drag you down if they think the season is lost and they get want to get to college and move on.
De Pierro recounted some of the highs and lows of Year One. Funny, but one of the first things he talked about was the loss to Hawthorne in the States, when the Blue Devils were significantly outgunned, but what a great experience it was. I asked who their best win was, and he said beating Becton 2-0 after losing to them 3-0 the first time was big, tying Hasbrouck Heights was huge, and also beating Saddle Brook on the road.
As far as this year, De Pierro is worried about breaking in a new back line. He said last year his team was strong defensively, but struggled to score at times. And even though he returns a wealth of experience, he lost some players in the back. I asked if he could “formation” his way around the weakness, and he said yes, and even though he didn’t expressly say it, I think the Blue Devils are working a new alignment. He said that last year he was excited, because it was Year One, it was time to be excited, and that enthusiasm can carry you, but this year he was excited because he felt like he had a more talented team. It was a team with a higher ceiling, and the ability to play a higher brand of soccer, whether they do or not, well, that’s what preseason is for.
I spent about 10 minutes then chatting with Wood-Ridge senior keeper Joe Sartori, and he was honest to a fault. He said losing to Heights 3-0 still bugged him, that’s THE game for the Blue Devils, naturally (it used to be a co-op program). He said how he felt his team were the underdogs in every game, so for them to win 9 games was pretty awesome. And he talked about how in the games that the Blue Devils did get beat, he was still able to find a silver lining.
“You have to have the mentality that you aren’t going to save everything, and when you do let one go in, that’s what makes or breaks a goalie, you can’t let it kill you. You have to bounce back and say, Ok, now it’s time to help my team score.”
Joe’s older brother Nick is going to coach the Blue Devils JV and has been active in the town rec program in the past. While Joe and I were talking, there were little kids practicing on the field behind me. A lot of them. Everyone knows the best way to build and maintain a strong public school program is at the grass roots level. I asked Joe if he thought Wood-Ridge was turning into a soccer town and Joe smiled and said “absolutely.”
We talked some more about his expectations, and getting hurt last year (Joe had one of the strangest injuries of the fall, which you’ll be able to read about in my web story later). He can’t wait to play Heights again, get back to counties and states, but he also knows Year Two won’t be anything like Year One. They aren’t going to sneak up on anyone any more. I asked him about college and Joe said he might try to play in a Division 3 program, but his dream school is U.Conn, and if he gets in there and gets some financial aid, that’s where he wants to go.
Sartori then joined his mates on the field for an entertaining scrimmage. De Pierro was playing, referring, and encouraging all at the same time. It was 1-1 going into injury time. There were flashes when the Blue Devils would be patient with the ball, settled it, moved it around. Then there were times they would just bull ahead through traffic. Obviously, De Pierro prefers the classic style. Faisal Haddad scored on a point-blank shot beating Sartori with about 30 seconds left. The scrimmage was over. De Pierro gathered the kids around him, some had to leave early for work or other stuff. No big deal. It was just another day, another practice, but it’s not Year One any more. Year Two has arrived, crack open the Pellegrino.
