Lethbridge College Kodiaks futsal player, Ethan McClelland (left), dribbles past teammate, Daniel Montoya (right), during practice on Monday, Feb. 6. at the Val Matteotti Gymnasium. The team will begin their season mid-February.
The Lethbridge College Kodiaks futsal teams are getting ready to get back in the game.
Sean Carey, men’s and women’s futsal head coach, said he’s expecting both teams to have a highly successful season. Adding that the expectations for them this season are high.
“I think they both have a very legit shot of bringing home the banner this year,” said Carey.
Both the men’s and women’s futsal teams brought home the bronze medal from last year’s ACAC Futsal Championships at The King’s University. Carey said their main goal this year is to make it to the championship game and win the gold medal.
“These guys and girls, their skill levels that they’ve got this year are at a high level. So I’m just excited to see how they can showcase their skills and hopefully get rewarded for it,” he said.
Malorie Hanson, a third-year futsal midfielder, said she is coming off a big injury so she is looking forward to playing and working with her team again this season. Hanson adds the team is getting along well.
“Our goal ultimately is to go to championships and be very competitive. We’d love to walk away with the gold medal,” said Hanson.
The Kodiaks have played a series of exhibition games against the Medicine Hat College Rattlers and the Olds College Broncos. The midfielder believes their Kodiaks team is strong, but one improvement she would like to make is to implement more structure in their formation.
One of the biggest challenges the Kodiaks have had in the past has been the SAIT Trojans in the south division and the Keyano Huskies in the north division.
“We’ve come across [SAIT] a couple times in the last few years and we haven’t beaten them. They’re a very strong team and they’re very technical,” said Hanson.
Carey echoes Hanson’s words, stating SAIT plays all year in a winter league in Calgary while the Kodiaks don’t often get the luxury of being able to play futsal all year round.
Dan Okpala, Kodiaks men’s team captain, said he’s looking forward to returning to futsal’s fast-paced gameplay.
“Soccer for some of us is to get away and just [use it as] a stress reliever, all of us enjoy the sport a lot. So, just playing the game alone is top up there for us,” said Okpala.
The captain said this year they have more hands-on coaches compared to last year, meaning they’ll have more practices. Okpala believes the team will put in more work going into the season this year.
The teams will begin their season against Medicine Hat College on Feb. 21at the Val Matteotti Gym.