HIGH TEMPO SCRIMMAGE STRESSES COMMUNICATION

The tempo was high as Day 4 of Training Camp rolled on. The boys took part in another scrimmage for the entirety of Thursday’s training session. Communication and offensive ball movement highlighted the practice. 

The team chemistry started to show with as the ball pinged around field during the five-on-five scrimmage. “Overall it was a great practice. Everyone’s working really hard right now,” noted Bo Jelovac after today’s session. 

Bo also noted that “communication is very important especially for the newer, younger guys who just came in.” He went on to explain, “It’s a different game, different runs, different moves, trying to get used to the boards so the older guys who have been around the team just to help the other guys adjust to the game.”

Fellow veteran player Joey Tavernese is also optimistic about the pace. “We’re trying to incorporate some new pieces so it’s going to take a little bit of time but we’ve got the same vibe as last year. We’re hoping to put them in together and run a new system, but a similar one." 

Tavernese also stressed the importance of learning to communicate with new teammates. “There are a lot of runs. Everyone’s looking to get in near the goal so if you’re not following your runner, someone’s going to get open and score a goal.” 

“It’s super important to communicate on defense. On offense, we talk to let someone know where a defender is, all that stuff to make sure we’re on the same page.”

See Jelovac, Tavernese and the rest of Utica City FC in action and against their own teammates for the first time at Sunday’s Blue and Black Game. Kick-off at the Adirondack Bank Center is at 2 p.m. Free tickets are still available for download at empirestatetix.com.