RIVER FALLS — River Falls boys’ soccer has taken the field again, and their first handful of practices have shown the team what it will take to have a strong season.

“We have a unique mix here,” Head Coach Adam Koger said. “We’ve got some really top-end talent, and then we have a nice [group] after that and then we have probably four or five seniors that are coming out for the first time in years.”

Koger said the group of seniors that have not played in recent years may prove vital to the team, as they have the necessary skills to be key pieces to the team; it is just a matter of refining them.

Last season, River Falls finished fifth out of eight in a difficult Big Rivers Conference. The conference features a Hudson team that was absolutely dominant, going 17-1-3 last season, Eau Claire Memorial, whose lone conference loss came against Hudson, and New Richmond, who put together a solid 18-4-3 season.

“Big Rivers has lots and lots of talent,” Koger said. “We’re super fortunate to be able to compete against those teams daily in our conference, which prepares us when we drop down to Division 2 for playoffs.”

While the competition is fierce and some of the schools are significantly larger than River Falls, they are challenges that ultimately better the team. Koger said the team is pursuing a finish in the top four of the standings this year.

The players are putting the time in on strength and conditioning, with there being a major buy into weightlifting during the offseason. Koger said there were some complaints about physicality during the first handful of practices, but playing through the physicality is what will make the team better. Despite still looking for an on field identity, the hard working nature is something they can rely on.

“That [identity] might take some time to figure out,” Koger said. “They’ve worked incredibly hard. The compete level has been great. If that continues, I think that’s something that we will be able to hang our hat on.”

The key to the season will be how much depth the team can rely on. Koger said soccer can be tiring if there are not enough players in the rotation, so they will have to step up when their names are called.

“A lot of it is going to be our players 12 through 16, how quickly they can close the gap with the starting 11,” Koger said. “If we’re able to rotate an extra four or five players through, keeping legs fresh, that will go a long way toward helping us place in conference.”

To kick off the season strong, it will take exactly what they brought during the first two days of practice, a lot of energy, a lot of effort and the will to win.

“We have to make sure we’re showing up here every day and bringing the level of competition that we’ve seen in our first two days,” Koger said. “Growing our incoming players to the varsity program to the level that we hope to be at.

“We’re really going to strive to come together and defend as a team, and then look to use our top-end talent, who tends to be a little bit more attacking-minded, to score our goals,” Koger said.