New direction set for Cannon soccer

DAVID HUNTER
The Cannon Courier

Cannon County boys' soccer team is under new leadership in 2015 with head coach Zachary McAllister. The Lions hope to compete in a very tough district against some of the top teams in state, including powerhouses Central Magnet and Merrol Hyde. "We got a bunch of guys coming back," Lions sophomore goalkeeper Josh Walkup said. "We are hoping for a really good season."

"We got a bunch of guys coming back," Lions sophomore goalkeeper Josh Walkup said. "We are hoping for a really good season."
2014 was a tough one for the Lions, especially in the district. This season, one of the goals for both the players and coaches is compete inside the district and finish with a record of .500, especially under new leadership. "I want to be able to finish over .500, and we want to have a good defense," senior Jake Burdick said. "Hopefully, we can step it up."

"I want to be able to finish over .500, and we want to have a good defense," senior Jake Burdick said. "Hopefully, we can step it up."
Fellow senior and starting midfielder Sam Sissom added, "It is very important, because we got to win more district games this year. We really want to do a lot better than we have been doing. I want to get over .500 this year in wins. I really feel we can get better as a team, because we have been to a couple of camps."

As for the new head coach, he has brought a lot of knowledge of the sport to the players, especially those who do not have a lot of experience. Especially, he wants the Lions to improve on is their passing and finishing. As an assistant last season, McAllister believed CCHS missed too many opportunities to score in matches and it affected their final record. The players have liked what he has brought to the pitch so far during the preseason.

"It is going good, because he really likes to study the game," Burdick said. "He is teaching us some key skills of the game, and it is helping us out."
Right now, the plan for McAllister is to have the Lions in a 4-4-2 formation, but he also looking to find the right combination of players to play on the pitch. However, he also added the formation could change depending on the opponent.

The 2015 team has a mix of youth and experience, which McAllister hopes they could come together against some tough competition both in and out of the district. The Lions will be led by 10 seniors, including basketball stars, the McReynolds brothers, Marshall and Garrett along with Sissom, defender Case Isenhart, Burdick and Murfreesboro Siegel transfer Spencer Haley.

However, the Lions will have a new goalkeeper in Walkup, but he feels he is ready for the challenge of the position.

"It is going great, and I have been worked in," Walkup said. "I am prepared to hold up the position, and help out as much as possible."

The team knows it will need several factors to play out in order for it to compete in the district this season, especially against tough competition.
"We got to cooperate as team and get the fundamentals down," Sissom said, "We have been doing that lately, and we just got to work as a team. We got to be not afraid to risk it as much."