Roots Will Lead Inferno to Top of W-League Playoff Tree
By Norman Kwong
Toronto Inferno
(August 1, 2002)
“Are we going to play tag again?”
A Toronto Inferno player asked that question during practice on Tuesday as the team
prepared to face the Boston Renegades in their W-League playoff match at 8:00 PM
on Friday, August 2nd in Boston’s Bowditch Stadium. The question did not come out
of nowhere as Inferno Head Coach Tony Marmo has had the team participate in a drill
similar to a game of tag a few practices back.
There would be no tag at this practice. The practice, after all, was about preparing for
Boston. For that, a team has to be serious, making poker faces an essential.
The Inferno had onlookers going for a while. Coach Marmo retained a consistent
demeanour throughout practice and was more Bill Cowher-like than usual with his
incessant chants of “Let’s go! Let’s go!” As for the players, they were mired in a scenario
where someone (in this case the sport of soccer), who is good at making others smile, was
attempting to crack grins in hopes that they would become full-fledged smiles.
Stacey Janetos, who usually has a grin plastered on her face, had a snarl-grin expression
during the first drill. It was unclear what caused that look, which may in fact be her serious
expression. Other possible causes included the sun’s glare or the gloom she felt after
being told they were not playing tag.
The other players were not as out of character from their usual selves, meaning no poker
faces. Her Inferno teammates more than aptly filled in the temporary non-grinning void left
by Janetos. Twenty minutes later when the first drill was over, Perma-grin Janetos was back.
These girls were enjoying themselves while they prepared for the playoffs. Some
might see that as a team being relaxed going into a game, while others may counter that
the players are too relaxed. One thing is for certain, the game of soccer is no different now
for them than it was when they were kids.
A veteran like Tina Blaskovic can still laugh along with her teammates after getting hit by two
shots while she was not looking. Moreover, in a run-through of a one-on-one drill, Blaskovic
beat her opponent to the ball and shot it past goalkeeper Adrianna Finelli. Finelli had to
defend against Tina again seconds later when the striker playfully hopped onto the taller
goalkeeper’s back. Jane Lea tried to top that celebration by the end of practice with her
version of a monkey dance after one of her tallies.
Having fun will help the 13th seeded Inferno get by the top-seeded Renegades on Friday,
but it would not hurt the Inferno players if they brought a bit of their past with them into
the playoffs.
For Inferno players, it may mean mimicking one of their teammates’ past. They need to
show the resiliency that will keep Boston or any other team from holding them down and
cutting their eyebrows. The players will require the stamina to get through those not so
“little jogs” (said with an English accent). Optimism is another key, which can be
accomplished by singing “Don’t worry, be happy,” throughout the game.
Still, most importantly, Inferno players need to remember their own previous games
against upper echelon opponents like Boston and how their confidence was on par if not
higher than that of their opponent. Once that is taken care of, the Inferno players will need
to find a player named Christie and knock her on her butt, more than twice this time round.
If the Inferno's opponent does not have a Christie playing for them, then the Inferno players
will have to fill in that blank with another name.
On Friday, Boston, you’re it.
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