March 11th, 2009 . 10:16 am . By: Buzz Carrick

I wasn’t able to make practice earlier this week, but a friend hooked me, and I now hook you up, with a long Q&A FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman did with the media on Tuesday.  I figured since the team had been gone so long I might as well share the entire thing with everyone. 

I’ll go ahead and do the coach speak translator cause it’s a fun bit.  But don’t take it to seriously.

Catching up with Schellas Hyndman

Can you give us some thoughts on the Brazil trip?

I anticipated an opportunity to go in there and do some team bonding, work on team chemistry and also to get some good training in with two-a-days and some tactical training on the boards or what we call the PowerPoint. So we covered a lot of things in a professional environment, but we played three games. We played Parana, who is a very good team and lost to them 4-3. Then we played Atletico Paranaense’s second team and lost to them 4-3. And then we played the Under-20s and lost to them 4-2.

When you look at the results, three losses are not very productive. You look at the number of goals that we gave up, 12, not very productive. But on the other side, you kind of had to see the game and see that we were doing some very good things. We gave up some soft goals. We gave up some free kick goals and some corner kick goals, which continually need to be addressed. But I think that the team is prepared to address those.

Getting David Ferreira down there and getting him to know the team a little bit was also productive. And we had a chance to look at some different players while we were there. So all in all, we got what we wanted to out of it.

We’d like to get a better result but we also had trialists there that we wanted to use and wanted to see. Would the results been different? Probably, but at the end of the day, we have had a really good preseason.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  We sucked.

Is Rocha getting fit?

Absolutely. He’s worked extra hard. Some players and people in general have a gift of recovery and fitness quicker than others. I think he’s one of those guys. If he puts in the time, he seems to get quick results. What is his fitness level now compared to when it’s at its best? It’s probably not there but he’s able to get through a training and maintain a pretty high level.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  I’ve given Rocha a longer leash, but it’s only a couple inches longer.

How has Dax McCarty been on the right.

I think Dax has been fine. I think he’s been one of our most productive players this preseason. From every training session to every contest, I think we’ve gotten nothing but the best out of him. I think he’s doing well.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  It’s Dax’s job till someone takes it, and that’s not even remotely close to happening. Yet.

Could McCarty fill in at holding mid for the suspended Pablo Ricchetti?

Possibly, Dax and I talked about it. Bruno [Guarda] is another possibility and I think we’ve got a few options. We can’t do anything about the Pablo [Ricchetti] suspension, so we’ll go forward with whatever seems to be the best fit at the time.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  Dax could, but he won’t.

Is it a concern that you gave up four goals a game in Brazil?

Huge concern, but again, it’s not like you can just pinpoint one thing. It is a huge concern. I think a big part of it is mentality. I think in two of the games, we had the lead. So here we go again. We’ve got the lead and people catch us. In the Under-20 game, they scored off a basic mistake in the back.

We’ve got to develop a mentality of once we score, how do we get back into the game? Do we become more aggressive trying to get another goal? Sitting back sure hasn’t helped us.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  You’re kidding, right?

How do you feel about the up coming season?

My feeling is I think the team chemistry is better than what it was last year. I think players really are working hard for each other and the team is excited.

The three positions we were really concerned about were center back and I think getting a Steve Purdy has helped. At left midfield, I think [Dave] van den Bergh has helped and at attacking midfield, David Ferreira has helped. So I think in that way, we are making our picture a little bit better. We’re getting the pieces in there to do what we want to do. I think the team has good focus.

When we look at things we want to work on, they have really accepted it and embraced it. We’re trying to instill work ethic and that the more you put into it, the less you’re going to give up. Then when you look at our strike force, Kenny Cooper and Jeff Cunningham are two pretty good strikers. Dave van den Bergh is probably one of the better left-sided players in the league, at least in the top two or three. At right-side midfield, Dax (McCarty) right now is doing a good job. When you bring (David) Ferreira in, that’s a pretty good strike force.

I think in that way, we have really improved the team. We don’t seem to have a problem scoring goals. We just have a problem of giving up goals. So our focus is on trying to prevent teams from scoring. We realize that good teams are going to score but we don’t want to give them goals.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  We’re better everywhere but in the back.  In the back we’re a mess.

Has your defending on set pieces gotten better?

It’s still a challenge for us. I think we’re bigger and stronger. The guys who are getting beat aren’t our bigger and stronger guys. It’s more of the weaker guys or the guys who aren’t mentally into it. So what we’ve got to start doing is holding players more accountable.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  When I saw we’re better, I only mean that compared to ourselves last year.  Compared to everyone else we still suck at it.

If you don’t make the playoffs will you see this season as a failure?

I think we’re a better team than we were last year. The thing that we can’t gauge is what the opposition is and what they have done to improve. I know that we’re already a better team. It’s a long season and you’re going to have your ups, downs and injuries. Right now we have got four with the Under-20s who are not here training. So we have unique issues compared to others. But I think the boys have come out and been aggressive. We’re getting there.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  Yes.

When will David Ferreira arrive?

Well, we’re hoping he will be here by Friday. Hopefully the visas and all those things are taken care of. But we’re hoping he’s here Friday with the Paranaense team. If not, then hopefully he will be here before our first game.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  I have no clue.

Are you going to sign Alvaro Sanchez?

            We have one spot available on our roster and there are three different players that we’re evaluating right now.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  Yes.

Can you talk about the decision to not sign Jamie Watson?

Unfortunately, we had to make a decision and the other day, we waived Jamie. We’ve decided not to sign him. And that’s a tough one because he’s a great young man, has worked extremely hard from day one of the preseason and he’s well-liked by the coaching staff and the players. It’s just that we’re looking for a little something more than Jamie is able to offer. But that doesn’t mean the door is completely closed. It might be a situation where we try to bring him back later.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  Remember when you took your cousin to prom cause the 15 girls you asked all said no?

Where are you with a possible Josh Lambo loan deal?

I don’t know. It’s been a conversation and I think it would be good for us to get [Josh] Lambo out there playing on a regular basis. But I don’t know where we are with it.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  No idea, not my problem.

Are you seeing the level of accountability that you want from the team?

We’ve talked about it many times. The game of soccer is a game of mistakes. At every level, people make mistakes and there’s nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as you acknowledge that you make a mistake. If you go through a whole season of letting your guy beat you to the ball and you don’t realize that you have made a basic mistake by not being first to the ball, you’re not getting better. I think the group has started realizing that mistakes are part of the game. Trying not to make the same mistake again is part of it but also acknowledging that you make one and improving so it doesn’t happen again.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  No.

How was George John’s first day?

He had enthusiasm and excitement to get on the field but it’s still not 100% there. Six weeks of non activity shows. His timing both on and off the ball, will improve. There are a lot of things we liked about him. We’re waiting to see more and more of him.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  Good, but the first day is worthless.

Can you talk about the shifts your going to have to make in the back line?

With Marcelo [Saragosa] getting injured and moving Adrian [Serioux], that has left that right back position open. Probably the best player that can go out there and play that position is Drew [Moor]. It’s not his best or favorite position, but I think he helps the team the most by going there. I think Steve [Purdy] and [Danny] Torres will play in the center because they’re both pretty good ball winners on the ground and in the air. They’ve seemed to play well when we’ve had them together and then Blake [Wagner] on the left side. I think that’s probably what we will be going with on Saturday.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  Wagner, Torres, Purdy, and Moor.  *Sigh*

Have you seen enough of Anthony Wallace this spring for him to challenge Blake Wagner?

I think that’s an interesting statement. We haven’t seen enough of our guys. I think it’s been a total of eight days that we have trained with them. Before preseason, it was something I had in my mind, that this was a position that Wally could compete for. I think he has a lot of great characteristics. He’s athletic. He sees the game pretty quickly. He’s got a great technique, is left-footed and I think his defense is solid. He needs playing time with us and the area that concerns me is his weak side defending, ball watching or letting guys slip in. That’s something we have worked on and he’s getting better at.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  Even though Wally has all the tools to be amazing… Not remotely.

Why doesn’t Wallace’s solid play in the U-20s carry over?

When we plays with the 20s, he’s probably more of a man among boys and more athletic, so that gives you a comfort zone all in itself. The second thing is that he’s proven to everyone that he belongs, so he plays with more confidence. He’s captain of the team, so there’s a leadership role there. I think he plays with desire, ambition and the confidence that he stands out.

Once he comes here, whether it’s a lack of confidence, whether it’s no longer being a man among boys or whether it’s his comfort zone… that’s the player we want on our field, the one that’s playing for the Under-20s. What we have to do is give him more opportunities and he has to find success with those opportunities so he can get that comfort zone and get himself a starting position.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  Mental toughness.

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