Northwestern Boys Soccer Team Looks to Rebound From 2009: A Q&A With Coach Nigel Trim

The boys soccer team at Hyattville's Northwestern High School is facing an uphill battle. Coming off a disappointing season last year, the young team is looking to second-year coach Nigel Trim to help right the ship. The climb began with the season's first official practice on Aug. 14.

Patch sat down with Trim recently to talk about his strategy for the year.

Riverdale Park-University Park Patch: What is your background in soccer?

Nigel Trim: I grew up in New York and started playing ball when I got to college, but I never played professionally. I decided to get into teaching and coaching after college. I coached for four years at a middle school. Then, I made the transition to Northwestern High School last year, so this is my second year here.  

Patch: How was last season?

NT: Last year was pretty much average. The students weren't prepared for what real soccer is all about. They just cared about casual soccer and street soccer. They didn't know all the important factors like conditioning your body and playing winter and spring ball. That's what I have been trying to introduce to this school because they need that.

Patch: What have you been doing to prepare for the season?

NT: Mentally, I keep myself in shape. I do a lot of reading about soccer, so I can change our offense to fit the personality of the team. I don't just implement any style of soccer. I have to see what players I have, and then find a specific offensive style and formation to go with.

Patch: What have your players been doing to prepare for the season?

NT: We started conditioning in July. I always emphasize weight training and conditioning your body, because the defense in this county is very aggressive, and the strikers need to be physically fit to handle it, which last year we weren't able to do.

Patch: What are your goals for this season?

NT: Everyone's goal is to win a state championship. The key is to come in here not thinking that we don't have the guys because as long as we have 11 guys, we have a chance. We have high expectations here to at least improve on our 6-7 record from last year.

Patch: Who are you expecting to help carry this team?

NT: We have relatively new guys. I wouldn't pinpoint one particular person. Last year, everyone depended on one particular person and that didn't work. We want to win as a team this year.

Patch: How was the first day of practice?

NT: It was a culture shock. We had a few freshmen come in, but most of our guys have been here since July doing conditioning so they already know my personality and already know what my expectations are, so they went with the flow. The only difference was we got to play with a ball today.

Patch: What do you need to get done as a team to be ready for the first game?

NT: First of all, we need to work on being physical, conditioning and being smart. We have to know how to be a team instead of just kicking the ball around. We need to develop a strategy instead of just running around with the ball.

Patch: How do you expect to stack up against the rest of the league?

NT: I don't know how the rest of the league is right now. At this point, I don't really care. All I know is that I'm going to have a well-prepared team this year, and we're going to be very competitive. We will not be pushovers this year.