Cal Men’s Soccer Blog: Wyatt’s Water Break

March 11, 2024

Hi Bear Fans,

 

I know it has been a while, and a lot has happened since the last (first) Water Break Blog (y’all are probably very dehydrated). I could try to go into depth about the second half of the season, but I figured much of that information can be found on the game recaps and the box scores. Although we did not qualify for the NCAA tournament, the Bears have improved tremendously. Going 7-6-5 overall on the season, we more than doubled our wins from the previous season. 

 

After our final games I reflected on how the team has improved, and wanted to break down the pieces to what feels like our growing success as a program. Personally, I tend to view soccer from four different vantage points: technical, tactical, physical, and psychological. Once you get to a certain level in soccer, mastery of the technical facet of the game is expected. Although there is always improvement to be made, and everyone should keep striving to refine and perfect their touch on the ball, most players have good feet from spending countless hours on the pitch. Similarly, the physical side comes down to hard work, discipline, and determination. As I mentioned in the last blog, the team showed up fit and ready to go last fall at training camp. Unlike touch and fitness, which one can do without having to think too much, the tactical side of soccer requires focus, concentration, and adaptability. Although not all of our games went our way, we were relatively dialed in tactically. The Bears spent countless hours watching film, looking at ways to improve ourselves and what to expect from our opponents prior to every game during the season. The psychological part of the game, on the other hand, is where we made our biggest strides, and is the aspect of the game that deserves significant attention. Thanks to an amazing mental performance coach, Lenny Wiersma, and a strong group of leaders, the Cal men’s soccer team’s culture and communal mentality had improved dramatically. Getting into the psychological groove and finding the right mindset as a team is a tough task and a team effort. With that being said, there are two unsung heroes on the team that were a driving force behind our psychological improvement. 

 

For this blog post, I would like to personally introduce you all to two valued veterans of the Cal men’s soccer team: # 32 Jake Himelstein and # 0 Oscar Logevall. Jake and Oscar both walked onto the team in the Fall of 2021 and…