Their hopes for a state title run were dashed early, but the Lake Orion High School Varsity Boys Soccer Team is still a winner in the eyes of their head coach, Erick Pfeifer.
“My standards are completely different from anything they had seen before,” said Pfeifer, who took over this season as the varsity coach. “I’ve won 300 games in my career. I knew where they needed to go.”
The Dragons posted an undefeated record with 18 wins and five ties in OAA II when they went up against Utica Eisenhower in the regional semifinal on Oct. 29. Lake Orion suffered a narrow defeat, 3-2, with Dragons Billy Weaver (verbally committed to play at Indiana next year) and Brian Hill scoring.
“It was probably the best team I ever coached, they really thought they had a shot at (a state title),” said Pfeifer. “It was only one goal (in the semifinal).”
Pfeifer said his recipe for success includes physical and mental training, and high standards, which some players found tough to deal with.
“I cut some kids who were starters last year,” he said. “You had to run a six minute mile….those are Olympic development times. I would say about everyone one of my kids could run on a track team.
“Everybody’s a nice kid, but it gets even more cutthroat when you know these kids are playing for scholarship money,” Pfeifer said.
Pfeifer believed the team’s early wins came strictly because of their pre-season conditioning.
“I don’t think the boys knew what to expect (from me). Those first two weeks were tough for them,” he said. “It’s beyond what most people consider conditioning. It’s national level. If you don’t touch a soccer ball year round, you’re not going to make it.”
The Lake Orion program will move up to OAA I next season, a daunting task for Pfeifer.
“Kids are scared of OAA I (soccer),” he said. “Every kid they’ll face now is a travel player from freshman to varsity.”
Pfeifer said travel team experience was a factor in his team’s loss to Utica Eisenhower.
“The upper level travel teams play all over,” he said. “(Eisenhower) had seniors from Vardar (soccer travel team). The bar needs to get raised again. The kids need to play year round.”
Pfeifer said he has been approached by some parents about running a year-round conditioning program.
“I have 30 plus years in soccer,” he said. “I’m at the end of my career. This team has set the standard for other teams.”
Pfeifer would like to start a “kiddie kickers” program to get young children involved in soccer early and move on to a house league and free clinic next spring.
“We’ll take our kids over and do some community service,” he said. “One of our problems next year will be that LOBOS doesn’t have two age groups. That will hurt me next year.”
Pfeifer hopes to be able to mentor a junior varsity coach to eventually take over the varsity program. Pfeifer runs soccer camps for freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams in Traverse City.
“They’re petrified of me,” he said of his Lake Orion varsity team. “But this is reality…I’m very direct with my boys. If you don’t want to hear the truth, don’t ask.”
Pfeifer said he has seen a change in his players since the start of the season.
“They had to get thicker skin. You want someone to baby you all the way, and have fourth place in Division II?,” he asked.
“I don’t like losing, but we did lose to a better team.”