We sat with Coach Seema after the teams pre-season camp and got to ask him some questions about his first month at the club and his feelings after some one on one time with the players.
LGA Admin: Good day Coach, welcome and thank you for your time today. How has your arrival at the club been? Do you feel you have had the opportunity to forge a solid working foundation with the squad at camp?
Coach Seema: I think the players have been waiting to get pre-season underway. The way that I was welcomed to the club has been unbelievable. I have been pleasantly surprised, finding a team that acts and works like a tight knit family, no individualism and the knowledge that they need each other.
I must commend the Chairlady on letting us organise a camp at short notice. It has been a good opportunity for us to work with players individually and in groups both on and off the field. Being on camp I am able to do this with whichever player I need to whenever I need to, which has been very important. We have been able to get focus going and steering the ship in the right direction with this opportunity.
LGA Admin: Has this been a good opportunity for the new signed players and the remainder of the squad to bond? Have there been any team building exercise at camp?
Coach Seema: The camp has given me the opportunity to see how the new players and the old bond in different exercises. We have had team building and there was a great sense of competition between the different groups we formed. What was inspiring for me to see was that the players quickly formed a level of trust and reliance within the members of their respective groups for the exercises. I was encouraged to see how they knew that if one person was down, that they had to be there to assist and help him to achieve their goal. At the end of it, everyone knows we are here to work as a unit, to achieve the same objectives.
LGA Admin: What has been your specific objective at camp?
Coach Seema: What I needed to do first was to understand each player. How to best communicate with him, if he responds better individually or if he is responsive enough in a group conversation. My next step was to obviously assess the structural play on the field, identify where the teams strengths are and where we can improve. I believe we have a great foundation and am looking forward to seeing the boys in the pre-season Premiers Cup competition and of course we will be tweaking things during training before we get the Premiership season underway.
LGA Admin: How has the team performed? Have there been any friendly games?
Coach Seema: We played two friendly games and obviously these are not result related games but rather seeing how what we have worked on so far is put into practice. Seeing how players react to scenarios we have worked on, whether our player placement move or counter play plans are being committed to memory and put into practice in a game situation. Growing a philosophy that scoring goals wins games, scoring and being complacent is not an option, we have to push for the full 90 minutes on the field. I have been happy with the overall result so far and both the Technical Team and the players are happy with the structures we have put in place to build on.
LGA Admin: Do you think this is good preparation for any pre-seasons tournaments if they are held?
Coach Seema: As I said earlier, it would be great to see the team in a more intense game situation before we start the MTN8 or the League. It would give us the opportunity to gauge our pre-season preparations, and be able to identify our strong points as well as any niggles that we need to address before we get the season underway.
LGA Admin: Thank you for your time today Coach. We appreciate you spending the time to talk to us and the fans.
