New Leadership: Shorewood soccer primed for rebound season

Most times when a sports team gets  a new head coach, there is a transition period where the team and the coach feel one another out. New systems, new players, new results.

That should not be the case with the Shorewood boys soccer team.

Nathan Davis takes over the helm for the Thunderbirds in 2011 after four years as the junior varsity head coach. Davis is familiar with the head coaching role, having  also been in the lead spot for the girls varsity program at Shorewood for four years.

"I've basically coached a lot of these guys for what will be four years now," Davis said. "I know how they play, I know how well they play together, I know a lot of their weaknesses as well."

Davis inherits a boys team that had an underwhelming season in 2010, finishing the year with seven wins.

"It was not a very good season for them," Davis said.

Shorewood should benefit from a more experienced squad in 2011. The Thunderbirds in 2010 suffered from a lack of senior depth, fielding just three seniors, compared to the 11 this years team will have.

"We were a young team last year," Davis said. "This year, it's a very talented team with a lot of seniority."

Davis is optimistic when it comes to how his team will finish in 2011. Admittedly, it could be head coach hubris, but the first-year boys head coach seems confident in the teams ability to meet his goals.

"I'd be disappointed if it was less than 12 [wins]," Davis said. "Realistically, I've got high expectations for them because I'm pushing them hard, I expect good results from them, I think they do as well."

If Shorewood is to meet Davis' lofty goals for the 2011 season, it will have to perform well in a tough WesCo 3A conference, that features defending 3A state champ Glacier Peak and top-10 nationally-ranked Shorecrest. Davis sees the difficult competition as something that will prepare his team well for the playoff run.

"Every team has a chance to win," Davis said of the conference. "I don't think there's really kind of a bottom-feeder in our league, which makes the kids work really, really hard. It also prepares us well for the post-season." 

The Thunderbirds will be anchored by two midfielders, seniors Tanner Jones and Sahil Khan. Davis also expects junior forward Hayk Avanesyan to have a big year.

"He's got great ball control, he's got a great finish," Davis said of Avanesyan. "I think he's going to have a handful of goals, probably more in the 12-15 range this year."

As with any team, the Thunderbirds success will ultimately come down to how well the team meshes and how well the players adapt to their coaches system. Davis said that his position not only as the JV coach the last four years, but his role as the physics teacher at Shorewood, should help with that aspect.

"I can definitely tell who they are," Davis said of also teaching his players. "Everyone's sort of got their own game face and attitude when they're on the field, but I see these guys off the field and it's nice to be able to kind of know...who I think can end up working well toegther based upon who they are outside of the field." 

The Thunderbirds are hoping that kind of insight will lead to an improved win total in 2011.