With their first varsity action of the season upcoming this weekend, head coach Bill Shields says his ADM boys soccer team has really worked to hone in on its strengths the first couple weeks of practice.

But what are those strengths that the likes of Des Moines East and Waverly-Shell Rock will face this weekend?  Shields explains…

“Usually our strength has to do with our possession–we’re good at keeping the ball.  We’ve worked hard in practice to develop our touch and to be capable of making good, crisp practices to basically keep the ball–that’s pretty much our style, and that’s the plan we want to continue.  We want to have the ball more than our opponents by working it around them and using the width of the field.”

To play a ball-controlling style though, the Tigers need to have another strength, which Shields believes they have–good speed of play.  Shields does admit that his players’ ability to play the ball isn’t quite as quick as he’d like it to be, but it is getting there.

He’ll find out if that “quickness” with his boys’ passing and ball control will be improved by the time tomorrow rolls around.  ADM is scheduled to have two home games tomorrow evening and two Saturday.