Soccer opens fall camp

HUNTSVILLE — The Sam Houston State soccer team opened fall camp Tuesday morning in anticipation for the season-opening match next month.

The Bearkats have not been able to workout since the coronavirus pandemic canceled their spring schedule in March, so the student-athletes and coaches were glad to be back on the pitch at Pritchett Field Tuesday.

"It was good to get back out on the field this morning," head coach Tom Brown said. "We have not been together since spring break five months ago. I really enjoy training players, so it was a real pleasure for me today."

Brown said he and assistant coaches Jorden Smith and Michael O'Hare have worked together to come up with ideas on how to handle practices to ensure sure the team takes proper safety precautions in the wake of the pandemic.

The Southland Conference announced last month that member institutions would not participate in soccer or volleyball competition in August, so the teams have longer than usual to prepare for the upcoming season.

"We still have to go about our business of preparing the players for the season," Brown said. "It has forced the staff to think a little more about when we can social distance, when wearing masks is appropriate and adjusting to quarantine rules.

"It is unfortunate that we lost our games in August, but we look at it as an opportunity to have a longer preseason like these players deserve. In the past, we have only had 16 days to prepare for the season. That is not right. However, this year players all around the nation have not played in quite a while, and it is important to have the extra time to bring them along slowly and hopefully prevent injuries."

The Bearkats have added three nonconference matches to the September schedule to get ready for Southland Conference action, which is set to begin at home against Northwestern State on Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m.

As of now, Sam Houston State opens the season against UTSA on Sept. 3 at Pritchett Field at 6:30 p.m. The Kats then head to Houston to face the Cougars on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m., then wrap up nonconference play at home against Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m.

"At the moment, we have three games before we start conference play," Brown said. "That is probably the right amount. It takes 72-96 hours to recover from a soccer game, especially in our weather conditions. Squeezing in games to play is not worth the risk of losing players."

The rest of the conference schedule currently has the Bearkats heading to Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 25 and Nicholls on Sept. 27. SHSU returns home to host Incarnate Word on Oct. 2 and Abilene Christian on Oct. 4.

The Kats then hit the road for three matches at Central Arkansas on Oct. 9, Houston Baptist on Oct. 16 and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Oct. 18. Sam Houston hosts McNeese on Oct. 23 and Lamar on Oct. 25 before finishing the regular season at Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 30.

"I am really excited about where some of our players are and the work they have put in over the last few months is apparent," Brown said. "A few players are at a lower starting spot than normal, but that is to be expected in the current climate. We will work to bring them back to where they need to be. We need to be patient and not rush the process."

Soccer opens fall camp

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