ROCKINGHAM — The amount of players participating in the first day of tryouts for the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team was a sign of the sport’s growth according to head coach Chris Larsen.
Entering his second season at the helm of the program, Larsen saw roughly 80 players come out for the first official day of the fall sports season. He added that number was split in half between potential varsity and junior varsity players.
“In the last few years we’ve seen more and more kids come out and try out,” Larsen commented on the growing numbers. “We averaged about 50 kids during summer workouts, so it was really good to see that number go up on the first day of tryouts.
“Having 80 kids shows the interest in the sport is growing (in Richmond County),” he added. “It’s a good problem to have when there are that many showing up. I would love to keep them all, but realistically we’re looking for the ones who put their best foot forward.”
Thursday’s tryout saw Larsen split the players into two groups, with rising juniors and seniors working with him, while rising freshmen and sophomores were under the watch of junior varsity head coach Tad Hamilton and assistant coach Daniel Webb.
Both groups worked on a variety of fundamental and conditioning drills, including one-on-one drills, passing and shooting workouts, and some small-sided games to close things out. One thing Larsen attributed to the smooth flow of Thursday’s tryout was the successful summer schedule that saw a majority of players attend regularly.
“A lot of the players trying out today were regulars during our summer workouts,” Larsen said. “We did everything over the summer that we’re doing in tryouts so there’s no surprise. Summer (practices) helped get the guys some experience to what I expect and had them ready for today.
“Getting back in shape was also a goal of summer workouts, and it seems like everyone is used to the heat and humidity,” he added. “We are ahead of a lot of things right now, which is good for the program.”
The Raiders will hold two more days of tryouts, Friday and Saturday, before the official varsity and junior varsity rosters are released. Richmond will compete in its first preseason scrimmage on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Hoke County High School (6 p.m.) ahead of its season opener on Aug. 20 at home against East Mecklenburg High School.
