
Legion FC's squad depth has been on full display lately, with those coming off the bench providing the Black & Gold with game changing moments. Head Coach Tom Soehn took the time to chat with us about the game-time decisions. Read or listen to the full interview below!
Legion FC’s squad depth has been on full display lately, with those coming off the bench providing the Black & Gold with game changing moments. Head Coach Tom Soehn took the time to chat with us about the game-time decisions. Read or listen to the full interview below!
Starting with the win at Atlanta on May 30th, and culminating recently with Eli’s game winner against Charlotte on Sunday night, 13 times this season a substitution you’ve made has come on and either scored or assisted a goal, and seven of those times the goals were game winners. What is your thought process when making substitutions? Is it more something you prepare ahead of time or are they determined more by how the game is going and you decide on subs on the fly?
“I think it’s more a game evaluation. Obviously, we do a lot of work before hand, but the game doesn’t always turn out like you think it might. I think getting a good halftime perspective and understanding even more what the other team’s strengths and weaknesses are and having a deep roster and say look, if long balls are going to hurt a team you bring in someone that can maybe spray balls long, or if you need someone in the pockets, and feel like that’s the weakness, you bring in someone with that skillset. I think it’s a combination of all that, but having a deep team, and a talented team, all the way down the roster, that’s what I feel like we’ve built, I think we can do a pretty good job of assessing as a staff what the game needs and bring that specific player on to fill that need.”
Looking at the list, Jaden has come on a won a couple penalties and provided an assist, and him and Junior somewhat have relatively similar profiles, Junior has come on and scored two goals and two assists as a sub, JJ has three goals as a sub, Eli now has a goal and is a bit more deep lying and has changed up some games, what are your thoughts on that handful of players and what you’re looking at when making a sub for their skillsets. Somebody like Junior and Jaden are there to run more at guys, JJ is a little stronger, battling in there, and Eli does a really good job at moving the ball forward in possession.
“All of our guys have unique qualities. Sometimes a player can do more in 30 minutes than he could have in 90 if he’s coming into a scenario where opponents have put 60 minutes in and they’re getting tired, or the game is getting stretched. Each one of those guys you mentioned scoring or creating those goals each have unique skill sets, and I think if one of them isn’t on and we have a couple of them off, we can kind of pick which one we think is going to impact the game the most. I’ll even go further and say it’s very easy for those guys to not stay fit. Dan does a good job of keeping everybody sharp and fit so that when it’s your turn and your time, you come in and impact the game. It can be through a lot of different scenarios, but I think a lot of it is game evaluating and in the second half we do a pretty good job of making the proper adjustments.”
How do you guys as a coaching staff kind of decide or determine what players perform better in 30-minute substitution roles or might show more starting, but you know you’re going to need to pull them after an hour, and how do you go about determining those patterns of play?
“We rely on our guys to kind of pick who plays. It’s a way of accountability, that whoever is training best is going to play initially, and then if you’re not in, it’s up to us to make sure they’re fit and ready so that when it’s their time and we feel like their skillset can impact a game, they come in and do that. So, it helps having a deep bench, it helps having quality from the top of your roster all the way to the bottom to help impact that. When you have different options, it makes it easier to put subs in that we feel can change games.”
You’re 26 games into this third season in Birmingham, how has your approach to the roster and subs changed throughout the season and do you feel like you have a pretty good grasp on the groups strengths and weaknesses as we hit the end of the season and head to the playoffs?
“I think the subbing pattern last game really helped as we were the healthiest we’ve been. We used all five subs and everybody impacted the game. It’s a great way of keeping legs fresh and keeping momentum going your way, by bringing in people that are hungry. I think through the end of the year, the healthier we get the more you can rotate and get guys in and out to keep our legs fresh. You know, it’s a lot of work when you press and if you’re playing right you should be tired, so coming out and putting someone else on is sometimes the best medicine.”
Looking ahead, how much weight do you put on what your opponent likes to do and counter-acting that versus focusing on your strengths and making opponents adjust to you as opposed to the other way around?
“You go into every game making sure you know who you are. I think we then have some subtle things, and Khano and I break down a lot of film, where we look at teams and get a better idea of how to press them, which way to press them, how high to press them, all without dropping off. I think there’s a game within every game that we have to come up with a game plan for. The better job we do and the better job the guys do to carry it out, the more of a chance we have to win.”
The team’s next home game is another Sunday afternoon affair on October 10 at 4:00PM against another Central Division foe, Indy Eleven. Fans can get tickets HERE and can contact the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-600-4635 or tickets@https://www.bhmlegion.com with any questions or requests.
Starting with the win at Atlanta on May 30th, and culminating recently with Eli’s game winner against Charlotte on Sunday night, 13 times this season a substitution you’ve made has come on and either scored or assisted a goal, and seven of those times the goals were game winners. What is your thought process when making substitutions? Is it more something you prepare ahead of time or are they determined more by how the game is going and you decide on subs on the fly?
“I think it’s more a game evaluation. Obviously, we do a lot of work before hand, but the game doesn’t always turn out like you think it might. I think getting a good halftime perspective and understanding even more what the other team’s strengths and weaknesses are and having a deep roster and say look, if long balls are going to hurt a team you bring in someone that can maybe spray balls long, or if you need someone in the pockets, and feel like that’s the weakness, you bring in someone with that skillset. I think it’s a combination of all that, but having a deep team, and a talented team, all the way down the roster, that’s what I feel like we’ve built, I think we can do a pretty good job of assessing as a staff what the game needs and bring that specific player on to fill that need.”
Looking at the list, Jaden has come on a won a couple penalties and provided an assist, and him and Junior somewhat have relatively similar profiles, Junior has come on and scored two goals and two assists as a sub, JJ has three goals as a sub, Eli now has a goal and is a bit more deep lying and has changed up some games, what are your thoughts on that handful of players and what you’re looking at when making a sub for their skillsets. Somebody like Junior and Jaden are there to run more at guys, JJ is a little stronger, battling in there, and Eli does a really good job at moving the ball forward in possession.
“All of our guys have unique qualities. Sometimes a player can do more in 30 minutes than he could have in 90 if he’s coming into a scenario where opponents have put 60 minutes in and they’re getting tired, or the game is getting stretched. Each one of those guys you mentioned scoring or creating those goals each have unique skill sets, and I think if one of them isn’t on and we have a couple of them off, we can kind of pick which one we think is going to impact the game the most. I’ll even go further and say it’s very easy for those guys to not stay fit. Dan does a good job of keeping everybody sharp and fit so that when it’s your turn and your time, you come in and impact the game. It can be through a lot of different scenarios, but I think a lot of it is game evaluating and in the second half we do a pretty good job of making the proper adjustments.”
How do you guys as a coaching staff kind of decide or determine what players perform better in 30-minute substitution roles or might show more starting, but you know you’re going to need to pull them after an hour, and how do you go about determining those patterns of play?
“We rely on our guys to kind of pick who plays. It’s a way of accountability, that whoever is training best is going to play initially, and then if you’re not in, it’s up to us to make sure they’re fit and ready so that when it’s their time and we feel like their skillset can impact a game, they come in and do that. So, it helps having a deep bench, it helps having quality from the top of your roster all the way to the bottom to help impact that. When you have different options, it makes it easier to put subs in that we feel can change games.”
You’re 26 games into this third season in Birmingham, how has your approach to the roster and subs changed throughout the season and do you feel like you have a pretty good grasp on the groups strengths and weaknesses as we hit the end of the season and head to the playoffs?
“I think the subbing pattern last game really helped as we were the healthiest we’ve been. We used all five subs and everybody impacted the game. It’s a great way of keeping legs fresh and keeping momentum going your way, by bringing in people that are hungry. I think through the end of the year, the healthier we get the more you can rotate and get guys in and out to keep our legs fresh. You know, it’s a lot of work when you press and if you’re playing right you should be tired, so coming out and putting someone else on is sometimes the best medicine.”
Looking ahead, how much weight do you put on what your opponent likes to do and counter-acting that versus focusing on your strengths and making opponents adjust to you as opposed to the other way around?
“You go into every game making sure you know who you are. I think we then have some subtle things, and Khano and I break down a lot of film, where we look at teams and get a better idea of how to press them, which way to press them, how high to press them, all without dropping off. I think there’s a game within every game that we have to come up with a game plan for. The better job we do and the better job the guys do to carry it out, the more of a chance we have to win.”
The team’s next home game is another Sunday afternoon affair on October 10 at 4:00PM against another Central Division foe, Indy Eleven. Fans can get tickets HERE and can contact the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-600-4635 or tickets@https://www.bhmlegion.com with any questions or requests.