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| Coach Yohannes Worede, in back at right, keeps a close eye on St. Thomas campus students who turned out for team tryouts on August 28. Click image to view full size. |
Interest in UVI’s soccer team has spiked following the squad’s positive showing in last year’s Liga Atletica Interuniversitaria (LAI) play. The Bucs posted a 2-2-3 record in their inaugural season. So far this year the squad is looking at 10 potential players from the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix and another 16 from the St. Thomas campus, according to Coach Yohannes Worede. “I expect this year we have a chance to get into the playoffs,” Worede said in a break from the St. Thomas tryouts on Tuesday, Aug. 28. He said he think’s last year’s squad “has stoked a fire” under other potential players.
Worede said the team’s diverse background and the resulting unorthodox style of play brought by individual players will be a strength he can employ against league foes in Puerto Rico. “It adds an element of surprise,” he said. He also likes their athleticism.
LAI schools in Puerto Rico – 14 schools fielded soccer teams last year – are facing budget problems, so a season schedule has not yet been finalized. In the meantime, Worede is focusing on increasing the players’ physical fitness and technique in ongoing practice sessions.
Coach Worede also encouraged other students interested in trying out for the squad to contact him via email at yworede@yahoo.com. More on the upcoming soccer season is featured in an Aug. 28 article in the Virgin Islands Daily News. > click to read
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| UVI soccer team tryouts brought out serious concentration on Aug. 28 on the St. Thomas campus. Click image to view full size. |
