This time, it counts.

Sunset at Tormenta Stadium never disappoints

It's almost here friends. 

Tomorrow the long offseason ends and we get an actual match that counts. The new look Tormenta team takes on the new look Fuego squad led by former U.S. Men's National Team star Jermaine Jones making his coaching debut for Central Valley.

"We know preseason is all process, process, process. Opening night is about results and we're not hiding from that fact," Tormenta Manager Ian Cameron said. "We'd like to, and our full aim, is towards getting a win and getting off to a really good start. Twenty-two game season this year, it's different than other years and you have to start strongly, so that's first and foremost what's on the mind of everybody."

In addition to the result on the field, Cameron has other aspects of his team that he'll be looking for.

"Beyond that, of course, in sports, things can go for you or they can go against you. It's the identity of which we come out of the game. Do we exhibit the habits as a group that we've agreed upon? Do we exhibit the bravery of possession? The aggression against the ball? Are those things in place?

"Are other teams watching this game and going 'oh wow, that is a team that we're not buzzing about going to play against?' That's what we'd like to come out with opening night. It's our first chance to show the rest of the league what our group's all about," Cameron said. 

Butterflies and nerves are to be expected, especially with such a young squad. 

"You've got rookies who will have their first professional experience, individually, or their first opportunity to represent Tormenta. So there will be extra butterflies in the stomach that do show up and it's about how players manage that and navigate that."

One challenge that Tormenta will face Saturday that no one else will have is that Tormenta will have to see how Jones' Fuego team plays and make adjustments on the fly.

Cameron said that while Fuego presents a unique situation, it's always a balancing act week to week when it comes to preparing for whatever opponent they face.

"It's always a double-edged sword in terms of when you're going into a game of 'how much time do you spend on your opponent?' and 'How much do you spend on yourself?'"

For Tormenta, Cameron said they tend to spend more time on themselves and then make adjustments during the game. But even if there was video of what Jones' likes to do as a coach, it's opening night and that "takes on a life of its own."

Ultimately, however, Cameron downplayed the role of coaching once the game begins.

"I have ideas, he has ideas. But it's the players. This game is always, always about the players and always will be," he said. "So it's about what the groups of 11 do on the field and how they want to act and that's what's going to define what happens on Saturday night."

On the field, former Tormenta midfielder Chris Heckenberg is with Fuego now and I'd expect we see him for Central Valley. I mention him not only because he's coming back to Statesboro, but because I think about how every time I would ask to interview him after a game, I'd watch the PR person for Tormenta approach him and point at me and you could visibly see his demeanor change. Not in a bad way, but in a way that I could tell he wasn't excited about it.

Tormenta's media relations team assured me that it wasn't anything against me, he just didn't like talking to the media after the game. He was always professional and courteous and would talk to me. Unfortunately for Heckenberg, I always enjoyed how he played and wanted to talk to him about it. 

What constitutes success?

One of the areas of personal growth I've undergone from my time back in college to now is that I'm much more open to different standards of success. The championship or bust mentality is one that I used to believe in wholeheartedly. I've since come around to the understanding that it's possible to have a successful season even if it doesn't end in a title. 

One of the baseball podcast I listen to is going through their team preview series. The typically get a reporter covering the team to go through the strengths, weaknesses of the teams and then they end each preview, they ask what would be a successful season for each team. Obviously not everyone can win a title. For some, it's just improving from last season to this season. For playoff teams, it may be advancing one round further than they did last season. 

I asked Cameron, with the understanding that the ultimate goal is to win every game each week and end the year with the Player's Shield, the USL1 Cup and the tournament championship, what success looks like for Tormenta. I liked his answer.

"We want to walk off the field on a Saturday night or a Friday night feeling really good about ourselves," Cameron said. "You know as a group.  You know as a staff. You know as players. Did the fans that came get their money's worth?  Did we play with great energy? Do we play with commitment? Do we play with camaraderie? Did we represent our front office? Did we represent our owners? Did we represent our academy? That's the responsibilities that set on all of our shoulders? And you know when you walk off the field whether the performance you gave and the mood of the team is such that you meet these requirements. 

"Of course you aspire to win every cup and every competition that you're in. That's very, very simple. But it's more of a week to week, every Saturday, every time yo have that audit, every time we have that test where the nation, the league, the fan base gets to see our work in progress in a must-win game, did we pass that test? If we pass more tests then we fail then we'll be in a good place and that's the way we're operating. Just have as many good feelings, good vibes, coming off the field where we know we're putting in a shift and we played some good football. That'll be our test."