seymour soccer prepared for opener

The Seymour Eagles High School Soccer team is finished with pre-season and is ready for its first official game.
Although shortened by inclement weather, the Eagles did get in some pre-season games to help prepare for the real season.
The Eagles had ‘play day’ (a jamboree) last week at Clinton High School. It was the first competition of the year. A ‘Play Day’ consists of 40 minute games which is half of a real game. Seymour played four games winning three and tying one; beating Anderson County 2-1, Sweetwater 1-0, and Chucky-Doak  2-1 while tying William-Blount 1-1.
Coach Payne said, “Overall it was a good experience. It got our season going. We got a lot out of it. We were able to watch film, and realize what we need to improve on. That’s what Play Days are for.”
The Hardin Valley pre-season game was not without cost as the Eagles had two injuries. Both key defenders went down; seniors Nathan Drain and Michael Mitchell.  Two younger players replaced the two veterans and Seymour played through the adversity.
Coach Payne said, “Hardin Valley is a really good team; a West Knoxville team where the players grew up playing club ball all their lives. They are very talented. Seymour lost 6-0 but the Coach added, “Even with that score, which you think would be very disappointing, we actually didn’t play that bad. We got a lot out of it; being tested early in the year like that playing one of the best teams in the area. I was pleased with our effort.”
When Coach Payne was asked about the home opener against Clinton on March 16th he responded, “We’re excited about it. Hopefully the weather will hold up for us. Clinton is a team that is up and down from year to year. This year they are going to be pretty good. They have a lot of seniors. They’ve been playing together for a while. It should be a relatively evenly matched game.”