Gordon Forrest arrived in Vancouver to take over as the head coach of Vancouver Whitecaps' Residency program at the start of November last year.
He headed down to Seattle the day after he arrived to watch the team go down to a 4-2 loss to the Sounders at Starfire. It was their third defeat in their first five games and there appeared to be a lot of work to do to turn last year's USSDA Championship game runners-up into contenders once again this year.
Forrest quickly got to work, promoted some of the top talent from the U16s and officially took charge of his first game away to De Anza Force on November 17th. The Caps won 4-2 and it was a sign of things to come.
Under Forrest's management the U18s have played 23 games, winning 18, drawing 2 and losing only 3. They have lost only one game in 2013 and head into the playoffs as the highest scorers at that USSDA age range and as one of the most in-form teams in 'playoffs week', being unbeaten in 12.
We caught up with Gordon before he headed off to Dallas to ask him about the playoffs, the opposition the Whitecaps will face there and what the expectations are for the week.
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It's a tough looking draw, but equally as tough will be the hot and humid Texan conditions, with temperatures expected to be in the mid to high 30's but feeling in the mid to high 40's.
At the training session we watched last Monday, it was in the low 20s in Burnaby and the players were all wearing layers of extra gear to try and simulate what they are going to be facing in Dallas the best that they can. It was tiring just watching them.
So how well does this acclimatise them for the conditions that they're going to be playing in and just how does Gordon and his team prepare the players for such heat?
<i>"I think the good thing that we've got is that some of the guys have been there last year, so it's not going to be unexpected to them. We prepare them with the thought in their head that it's going to be hot. We go into little bits of detail and doing whatever we can to try and mentally prepare the guys and then we're the support mechanism around them.
"We've thought, it's been hot a few days in Vancouver let's train with more training gear on just to get that feeling of how your mental side goes when you're feeling tired, fatigued and too hot, so again, whether this helps or not, it's something a little extra that we've done with the guys. As I say, some will know what this is all about playing in this heat."</i>
And will the conditions dictate how Vancouver will have to play these games?
<i>"We're going to review how we play potentially. We can't be all attack all the time or all pressing all the time, so we've got to be tactically right in the game and how we see the game going and that will be the same for the opposition as well.
"We've got to make sure that physically and on the medical side of things that we're ready with our water breaks, our ice towels. Every little bit of detail we'll do our best to make sure that the guys have got every piece of equipment and every little piece of knowledge and preparation that we can.
"We've obviously done these sessions. It's been quite warm in Vancouver, but it's not going to be to that extent. We've got a day's training when we first arrive. We can't push them in the training but at least they'll get a feel for being out in the field and what the temperature is going to be like.
"It's just a technical and tactical preparation. We've got to just try to think of all these little different techniques for how we can get these guys ready, so there's been a great deal of effort put in to that."</i>
The playoffs mostly throw up unknown opposition and this is the case for the Whitecaps this year as they face two other MLS academies in Chicago and Houston and the team with the best defensive record in the playoffs, PA Classics (you can read out full comprehensive playoff preview <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?4665-Whitecaps-U18s-2013-USSDA-playoffs-preview" target="_blank">HERE</a>.
So what do the Caps know of these teams going into the games and do they have much chance to fully scout and prepare for them?
<i>"In terms of preparation, this is the next phase of development for these guys in their program and their development. We use the games we've had and the games we've played in as good preparation to keep progressing and keep taking it in to the playoffs.
"We obviously know our opposition now. Like any form of football it's good to get as much information as you can on who you're going to play against. We've done preparation with the guys in our regular season with match footage of the opposition. We break it down before we go into training, before we go into games. We use our match analysis tool to do that and to deliver it to the players.
"This is potentially a little bit different as we've not got as much footage but we do our best to try and find what we can and we'll break down the opposition if we can and then we'll just look at certain stats and certain results. Every little bit of detail sort of helps but I think the main point of the thing is that we really focus on ourselves and our belief and our ethos and our style of play.
"When the guys are on form, they're really good. They've had some really good team and some really good individual performances over the season. I think most of all we keep our strength and we focus on our belief but we do look into the opposition and see what we can find out."</i>
With the U18s making 'Finals Week' last year and eventually losing out in the Championship game, what are the expectations this year.
Are they focussed on going one better, is it take every game as it comes or is it still more just about player development at this stage?
<i>"I think you chuck everything in there. We've obviously got to focus on developing young players. For me, this next phase, if you want to call it phase two before phase three if we get through, is good for them in terms of their development.
"It's a different environment. There's added pressures. There's going to be a little more emphasis on the winning of the match. We always focus on the performance and the effort that we put in to games. We'll go to these playoffs putting in that maximum performance, that maximum effort and I know the guys are in a good space."</i>
What is the mood like amongst the players. Nervous, excited, both?
<i>"They're really hungry for this. They're really looking forward to getting to the playoffs, especially the few that were in the 16s last year. They were unfortunate, they never lost a game and they never got through to the last phase, which was gutting for these guys. They want to go there and they want to do well.
"From our preparation, we've prepared them the best that we can and we'll still stick to our beliefs and ethos and our style of play. We want to go and represent the Club the best that we can, so fingers crossed that the guys can perform on the day.
"It's a mental challenge as well, especially this group, and again the group that we've got is a little bit different from last year's group. We've got four or five 1996 borns in this squad for the 18s which is great. So they're potentially going to get another few years at attending playoffs hopefully.
"So it's all very good for the Club. This phase is all very good for their development as young players."</i>
All very encouraging and hopefully we can continue to see the Residency program grow and go from strength to strength in the next few years.
Many thanks to Gordon for taking the time to chat with us before he headed off to Dallas and opening up training to let us talk with a number of the guys.
We wish everyone all the very best and look forward to following the results as the week goes on.
The first group game kicks off at 5pm PST on Monday, with the young Caps taking on Chicago Fire Academy.
Stay tuned to our <a href="https://twitter.com/aftncanada" target="_blank"><u>Twitter</u></a> account for all the latest news and updates.
Good luck guys.
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