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FRIDAY January 30, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 26, 2003 New season means new plan for Fuego By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Darkness falls at 5 p.m., a dusting of snow covers lawns and cars in the morning and the world of sports is moving indoors, especially in the Rogue Valley. Southern oregon fuego player Dylan Luckey, 22, of Yreka, Calif., practices Sunday at the Ashland Middle School upper field. Luckey and company will play a pair of exhibition games in December, and 10 to 15 exhibitions in 2004. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings But while local prep and college athletes trade soggy fields for heated gymnasiums, a group of dedicated, driven soccer players gathers on the upper field at Ashland Middle School to practice in the cool afternoon sun. Although their schedule of 10 to 15 exhibition games won't begin until late February, the players who fill out the Fuego roster have already been practicing for almost two months. "This year we're probably going to have the best team the program has ever seen," said Rael Hiring, 23, who is entering his fourth season with Fuego. "We're really young this year and we'll keep more players. The team will only get stronger as the year goes on." Humble beginnings Fuego started as a men's team playing recreation soccer in the Ashland city league in 2001. The initial group of players included high school graduates who'd played prep soccer, locals who enjoyed the game and a few die-hards who had a greater vision for Fuego. "Soccer's ready to happen here," said Iman Siadat, 34, another original Fuego player. "It's ready to explode here." A few core players have carried the team through three years of growth - in interest, in talent and in accomplishments - as the team has become the premier soccer program in the region. "We wanted to build a team down here that puts Southern Oregon on the map," Hiring said. In July of 2001, the program was the top-ranked men's team in the Rogue Valley, earning Fuego the starring role in a semi-pro exhibition match against the Cascade Surge of Salem. It was the first-ever soccer game in Ashland that featured a semi-pro team and it showed. The Surge blew Fuego away, to the tune of 10-0, under the lights at Phillips Field. Two years later, Fuego took its third shot at the Surge, back at Phillips Field on a warm July night. In front of more than 1,000 fans, Fuego came back from a two-goal deficit, ending the game at a 2-all tie. "Realistically, I'd like to see continued improvement," Siadat said. "Over the years we've only gotten better." Making it happen While most soccer teams are closing out their seasons - the state high school tournament concluded in early November and the World Cup has come and gone - Fuego is just getting fired up. This fall, Fuego players and local soccer enthusiasts realized that to become a dominant team in Oregon soccer, to transition into a semi-pro team, to compete against programs that attract national and international talent, Fuego had to make some changes. Changes really meant overhaul. A board of directors was created, led by President Greg Howe. The board reorganized the program into a non-profit corporation and attracted the coaching expertise of 32-year-old Radovan Dluhy-Smith, a semi-professional European soccer player and certified European Football (soccer) Association coach. Dluhy-Smith then revamped Fuego's entire game strategy and brought the team from a seasonal endeavor to a year-round program. "I think it's become very serious," said Dluhy-Smith, who actually played on the Fuego team against the Surge this July. "I see this team as having a lot of potential." Howe hopes that high school players see Fuego as another option, and that by featuring local talent, Fuego will be that much more relevant to Rogue Valley soccer fans. "We're trying to make Fuego a community asset rather than something that that just benefits the players," said Howe, the former president of the Ashland Soccer Club and former director of the Oregon Youth Soccer Association. "What appeals to me about Fuego is that it offers local players a place to play." How it all works The biggest advantage Fuego has is location. While the majority of the teams Fuego will spar against come from metropolitan areas such as San Francisco, where they must compete with other area programs for talent, Fuego can draw players from all over Southern Oregon and northern California. "It's kind of exciting to have a select team from the whole region," Dluhy-Smith said. "The squad is going to be more dynamic and stronger than before." With a roster of 24 committed players, augmented with the skills of local prep and collegiate players, Dluhy-Smith feels his team can achieve a lot in the upcoming season and well into the future. "I'm here to introduce a year-round program," the first-year head coach said. "I've got good players. They're all very equal in terms of skills." Of course, Dluhy-Smith is challenging their skills daily with a modern game strategy most players have never experienced before. "We're trying to make a transition and having to figure out this new system," Siadat said. "It's exciting and very attacking and, in theory, it should straighten our defense." Zonal defense, a system that has seen wide use in Europe and South America, forces players to work harder to exert constant pressure on the opposing team, but pays off with enhanced teamwork and a higher level of play. "It's very systematic," Dluhy-Smith explained. "That's how soccer's played around the world. It's really what everyone's coming into, but it doesn't happen in a few months." Though the changes on and off the field could have frustrated players, most see the long-term benefits and are excited. "It's a lot more work for everyone and we have to be much more fit," Hiring said of the new play strategies. "But I think we'll do much better against much better teams. It's a step in the right direction and it's going to be a major influence later in the season." Goals to score Though the players on Fuego stick with soccer because they love the game, the team has moved far beyond its rec-league origins. For that very reason, being the top team between Eugene and Chico, Calif. - the nearest semi-pro outposts - isn't good enough anymore. "I think the goal is go be semi-pro," Dluhy-Smith said, though he admits that won't happen this year. "The core of the squad are guys who are non-college, non-high school, so I think we'll retain something like 90 percent of the players." Fuego will play a fuller schedule of exhibition games in the spring and summer and will enter the National Open Cup tournament. The Open Cup, which welcomes any team, dangles the opportunity to play a Major League Soccer team if the open team makes it through the final rounds. "It's a very fine line between us and them," Siadat said of semi-pro programs. "The Open isn't totally far-fetched." But starting in mid-December, Fuego's first priority will be winning games. The team plays two exhibition games in the Bay Area Dec. 13-14 to give the new play style a test-run before the season begins. Then Fuego will continue its drive to bring semi-pro soccer to Ashland. "My goals are that they play an exciting level of soccer successfully at the highest level we can manage," Howe said. "Right now we're all just really excited and feeding off each other." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams