For the most part, bright and clear skies greeted those in attendance, allowing hot temperatures to play one more part in providing some challenges for the teams to figure out. Toward the end of the day, some rain showers did make their way over the school, but one of the organizers of the event, Clinton head coach Brad Spell, said that didn’t cause any issues on a day that he described as “smooth.”
“The jamboree went well,” Spell said. “There was a lot of pregame set up to get it going, but the day went smooth. Overall, there was great weather — maybe a little warm — but overall it was good to have all 12 teams, especially all of our county teams.”
“Overall, it was just a good, smooth day with no injuries and no other issues. The sessions flowed seamlessly, ending and starting on time, and I also need to say a big ‘thank you‘ to all of the parents for chipping in and helping run things. They were a big help and much appreciated.”
Hobbton head coach Jonathan Jacobs also contributed in the pregame planning of the jamboree. Jacobs spoke highly of the efforts that went in to the event and was pleased with how the day unfolded.
“It went great,” Jacobs exclaimed. “Coach Spell and I wanted to get everyone in the county to participate and we were able to do that.”
Everyone in the county includes his Hobbton Wildcats, who have one of the more experienced teams among the county returning for the 2019 edition of soccer, only losing two seniors from last year’s squad. Jacobs says he expects to be a competitive team this season.
“Some team members who are defensive got to be out there and our coaches were able to assess them as to whether they are ready for the upcoming season,” he began. “I expect us to be a good team, but as with any team we are not a finished product, but I’m expecting us to challenge for our conference once again,” he concluded.
One common theme among all of the coaches from Saturday’s event is that they enjoy the opportunity to assess where their teams are at this point in the game.
For Midway, head coach James O’Brien said that he was able to make some final decisions about his starting lineup a week ahead of the Raiders regular-season opener against Union.
For Union, head coach David Ameen also stated that he appreciates the opportunity for his team to take on three different teams in the scrimmages to get a feel for how his Spartans stack up.
Brad Spell, head of the Clinton Dark Horses, acknowledged that he knows that his teams has some holes left from graduation that will need to be filled. Saturday’s jamboree provided Clinton three opportunities for the coaching staff to get an idea of who’s going to fill those empty shoes.
The official start of the season begins this Monday, Aug. 19.
