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For AP, There's No Place To Go But Up

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Avon Park's Casey McKibben will provided some much-needed senior leadership to the the Red Devil soccer team this year.

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: November 6, 2007

AVON PARK –– When you go winless the previous season, there is no place to go but up.
The Avon Park Red Devils boys soccer team are hard at work to try and put the past behind them, as they welcome their fourth head coach in four years –– Jocelyn Simplice.
Simplice, who hails from the island of Haiti, was the AP girls soccer assistant coach last season and takes over a Red Devil squad that scored just five goals all of last season.
"I know these kids have gone through many coaches," the first-year head coach said. "I've assured them that I plan on staying quite a while."
Simplice was surprised when he got the call from Avon Park about the coaching vacancy after former coach Jason Dent resigned a week before school started. The enthusiasm over this golden opportunity was hard to contain.

"I'm so excited about getting this chance," Simplice said. "To me, this is a chance of a lifetime. "

Now comes the hard task: huddling the old and new players together to find the right cohesive unit that is going to bring Avon Park boys soccer back to prominence.

One of the key returnee's from last season's squad is senior forward Casey McKibben, who awaits to join the team after the football season ends on Friday. McKibben's play and team leadership last year earned him a spot on the Highlands Today Boys Soccer All-Heartland team.

Also returning is senior Sergio Duran, who was a top-notch defender and kept the Red Devils in plenty of games with his stifling defense to limit opponent's shot attempts.

Duran will get a chance to use those skills when he takes over duties in goal for the Red Devils.

Simplice watched numerous games last season and was very critical of their play and grasp of the fundamentals.

"The players last year had no sense of field vision," the AP head coach said. "They had no technical sense of the game and forgot one of the most important aspects in soccer –– the art of creating space.

"You need to use good footwork and great passing to create space –– that's key to a successful offense."

Running drills that focus on teaching each Devil to play their position and working with the offense to use its defense and create scoring opportunities has been high on Simplice's list of accomplishments before Thursday's season opener against Class-3A Frostproof at Joe Franza Stadium.

A passion for the game is key for any player that steps onto the field for Simplice, who grew up with an instant love of the game, playing on the streets of Haiti.

"In Haiti, you learn to love soccer," Simplice said. "We were very poor and didn't have any money to play most sports, but soccer was always played by the children in my neighborhood.

"I've always said that if a child will take soccer into their heart, they'll never fall out of love with it. It will be with him forever, whether he plays it or not. Those are the type of players that I want to cultivate here in Avon Park."

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