Halfway there

» Royals’ coach Chris Laxton takes a moment to reflect upon his team’s early success

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

F head coach Chris Laxton
and the players of the
women’s soccer team, the past
month has been all but a blur.
Coming into September, nobody
could have predicted that the
Royals’ team, which finished
third in the PACWEST last
year, would end the month
with a firm grasp on first place.
Nonetheless, that is where they
sit, holding a record of 7-2-2 and
a three-point lead ahead of the
closest team to them.

Laxton has been pleased
to date: “I think the season has
gone well ... We had a good
start, which is always reassuring
when you can set the pace.” And
set the pace they have.

The girls have dropped 2
of their last 11 and have only
been shut out twice (one
being a scoreless draw) this
season. They have yet to tie a
game. Throughout the season
so far, the Royals have found
the back of the net 22 times
while allowing only eight goals
against. They currently have an
impressive six clean sheets.

While Laxton credits the
team’s success to every player
on the team he also recognizes
that strong leadership from
his veteran players has been a
huge factor this year. “Tiffany

: O’Krane and Kelsey Acaster are
: the two captains and they’re

: phenomenal. They lead a

: leadership group which is very
: strong... 1 think they set the

: tone for the newer players. I’ve
: got a good core of players and

: | owe that all to that have been
: here before my time.”

There were a few standout

: players that he noted as large

: parts of driving the team

: forward. “Marni [McMillan] has
: been fantastic. [She has] 7 goals
: in 11 games and has created

: many of the other ones that

: we’ve scored. Danae [Harding]

: finds the back of the net often

: (5 goals in 11 games). They are

: the obvious ones. Nicolle Fraser
: is always a strong performer

: for us (2 goals in 11 games) and

: is real integral to what we do.

: [think ones that would get

: overlooked would be ones like

: Kelsey Acaster, who is sucha

: good leader at the back... She’s

: been a part of most of our clean
: sheets. And I think Rebecca

: [Mainardi]... has had a very good
: year... This year she’s been much
: more consistent.”

Laxton also believes his

: staff has been an integral part

: of where the team is today.

: He noted that his assistant

: coach, Rae Pelat, has been

: more confident with the team

: and that goalkeeper coach

: Richard Meister has helped the

: keepers vastly improve their

: consistency. But the newest

: addition to the staff has been

: arguably the biggest game-

: changer. During the offseason, :
: Laxton added Leanne Fielding, a :
: mental performance consultant, :
: to his support staff to help with :
: the mental side of the game. He
: believes that having Leanne’s

: help, “has added a whole new

: element that is too often

: overlooked and neglected.”

Moving forward, Laxton is

looking to fine-tune the team in :
: preparation for the playoffs. It

: is evident that he has the team
: moving in the right direction,

: but Laxton believes that there

: is a lot to work on before the

: team is ready for a playoff run.
: The key according to Laxton is,
: “making sure we have the right:
: combinations for every scenario :
: so we have the best idea of how
: we are going to play and what

: we need to do to be successful.”

After their start to the

year, many have already begun
: predicting that this Royals’

: squad will make it all the way

: to Nationals. While Laxton

: believes that his team has a real
: shot at getting to Nationals, he
: emphasized the importance

: of staying focused on what is

: directly in front of them. “We

: have to worry about getting

: out of BC first, which is always
: tough.”

Though they have found

: great success in the first half of
: the season, Laxton believes that
: his team still has more potential :
: that has yet to be unlocked.

: “There are always things to

: improve upon... We're trying to
: peak at the end of October [for
: the playoffs].” He believes that

  
 

Hayley Melvin scoring last season. Photo by Eric Wilkins

: the early losses that his team
: experienced have been great
: lessons to help them learn.

Be sure to follow the

: team closely as they move

: towards securing a place in the
: provincial playoffs and possibly
: much more.

 

National Coaches Week roundup

» Highlights of the week at Douglas

Lauren Kan
Contrioutor

Tessa Rumpel
Contrioutor

19-27 Douglas College
celebrated National Coaches
Week. Over 100 “thank you”
dedications were pinned toa
“THANKS COACH’ sign across
the New Westminster and
Coquitlam campuses, many of
them thanking coaches for always
putting their athletes first and
being dedicated to improving
their athletes on and off the field.

Among the highlights
was the Bachelor of Physical
Education (BPEC) Coach

concourse, which was full of
nutrition myths, taping tips and
techniques, skeleton Q-and-As
about injury prevention, and
fitness testing ideas. The booth
gave great insight into what
BPEC students are learning
every day to help them become
successful coaches and teachers.
Douglas College athletes

: won the Right to Play “Go

: Shoeless” Facebook picture post
: contest during the week. Right

: to Play is an organization which
: works with volunteers and

uring the week of September partners fo use sport and play to
D : enhance child development in

: areas of disadvantage. Athletes
: learned to look at what they

: have with more appreciation,

: knowing some children around
: the world have no access to

: equipment or even access to

: running water.

Zarina A. Glannone a

: M.A student at UBC gave an

: impassioned talk to over 60

: Coaches Week participants

: which left them with one main
: thought: “A coach’s mental

. , = preparation of athletes plays a :
Awareness Booth in the College’s large role in how well he ot hlete
: performs.” :

Douglas College’s strength

: and conditioning coach, Jake

: Elder, shared his tips with

: multiple groups of students and
: athletes at his open training

: sessions with both men’s

: baseball and men’s soccer

: players. Elder’s most valuable

: tip to coaches was “get to know

.
:

your athletes on a personal level,
: and then base each individual’s

: training plan on their own

: strengths and weaknesses.”

: These sessions were extremely

 

: informative, and allowed the
: audience to get a look at just
> how hard Royals athletes work.

To keep up to date with the

Royals as they move past the

Photo by Jerald Walliser

: week, be sure to check their
: website at www.douglife.ca/
dcroyalsathletics