Editor’s note: The Idaho Vandals are an MCLA D1 team, competing in the Pacific Northwest Conference. Krieg Shaw, a senior midfielder, will be contributing photos on a weekly basis all season long. You can check out all of his posts here.
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Another week closer to our first game against Whitman, things are really starting to come together and guys are really starting to mesh. We’ve also been blessed with some unseasonably warm weather. This helps in so many different way – outdoor practices on a real field, people feel motivated, and nobody has to deal with cold, wet gear.
While warmer than usual, the weather still has been really weird. Our practice was invaded the other night by a thick blanket of fog. Sorry, I’m a sucker for panoramic photos.
Oh wait, I spoke too soon. Moscow is known for a winter that comes in several parts… post-party surprise last night was a walk home through the snow.
I’ve been more and more impressed each and every practice, footwork mornings or afternoon shooting sessions. Guys that normally wouldn’t have stepped up in years past are busting their butts outside of practice to give them a better edge. The freshman class is astounding and if anything else will be the reason this program continues for another three years. If they aren’t maybe they’ll take heed to these words and start joining in the fun. There will be some new faces to watch out for on the Vandals this year.
With that in mind, I’m going to do a little player preview of our guys this season. First is someone who just blew my mind last year, he came in from little ole Boise HS as an All-American LSM and impressed the heck out of every one of us with some very impressive stick work. Ben Frey (like a fry, not the fray) is now in his sophomore year and always is in the process of scheming up some new trouble.
I selfishly find myself matching up against him to work on getting better against a pole; while very beneficial I always end up with some nice bruises on the ole brazos. He has been and will continue to be a great attribute to our defense, transition game and from the looks of it lately, also the occasional fast-break rip.
Our sweats are finally finished and have joined the assortment of lax gear and boxes in our kitchen turned equipment room.
We didn’t do anything too special for the sweats, we tried to keep them as “Idaho varsity team” as possible.
Jerseys are oh so close to arrival, I’m dancing in excitement. Jerseys will be simple and classy too, we pondered many hours this fall about staying tasteful on the uni’s and keeping close to the looks of our old Adidas’ or making a bold life choice like Jared Allen.
I was going to change this to sound like it wasn’t written over a few days, but I don’t feel that would capture the excitement. Driving home from shooting today I received a text from my coach with no words, just a picture. I changed my route immediately and traveled the long 5 minutes to gawk and drool.
With that, I bid you adieu until next week, good luck to all on their seasons.
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