An Injury Plagued Season

In what promised to be a season full of success and accomplishment became a season full of injury and disappointment.

Coach Adam Berry and his team of assistants had brought in a highly rated group of recruits who combined outstanding technique, speed, maturity and a will to win. However, before the season had begun, injury robed the coach of ten of his twenty four man squad.

?I have never known a season like I,? said Coach Berry. ?We had a fantastic pre-season, winning two of our three games and we were really gelling as a team. Then suddenly injury to almost half of the squad, including eight starters, turns the season on its head. It was extremely disappointing.?

The depleted team performed well early in the season, but did not find a win until they played South Western College. From then it wasn?t until they met Chandler-Gilbert that they added to their win column.

?The win against Chandler-Gilbert was an outstanding performance.? Said Coach Berry. ?They are never a nice team to play, but we kept our heads, moved the ball around well and won it 2-0.?

This gave the Artichokes some much needed confidence and soon after they went to Mesa and won 3-0.

?The weather was beginning to cool down which meant that we didn?t need to play as many subs. That was important because we didn?t have any.? Remembers Coach Berry. ?By this time in the season our squad that began with 24 now stood at 13. But the boys never gave up and fought for every game. I did feel however, that it was going to be easier for us when we played in the evenings rather than during the searing heat of the afternoons.?

Two games later the Artichokes continued their winning form beating Glendale 1-0.

?I believe that the character of the team was the main reason why we never let the loss of players or lack of wins get the better of us. It is never easy losing, but we stuck together and had a wonderful team spirit. The boys never surrendered and I am extremely proud of them.?

The season ended with a 4-15 record, a far cry from what was predicted. But Coach Berry is philosophical about it.

?I felt very sorry for those players who got hurt and weren?t able to play this season. But many were able to take a medical red shirt or keep this year eligibility by not playing at all. They are excited about returning for next season, and together with the new recruits, showing exactly why this year promised so much.?