Williamstown senior Mitch St. Onge works on "chest trapping", just one of the many drills that the Blue Devil boys ran in last week's heat at Hayden Field. The 'Devils regular season opens up this week and they will host Cannan in their home opener this Saturday at 1 p.m. Photo by Bill Croney, The Northfield News The 2010 Williamstown Boys get their season underway this week and coach Scott Hulbert has some high hopes for his Blue Devil Squad. The Blue and White boys have come a long way in the past two years under his tutelage. Two seasons ago the Williamstown Boys were winless but last year they bounced back to rack up a 10-4 record and a home playoff game. While they lost some key seniors from last year’s team the coach says spirits are high and veterans from last year are ready to step up and take a leadership role. “ I think we will do at least as well as last year. One of our strengths is depth. We have 22 players and experience in the middle of the field. Right now we’re in good shape.

We are working on conditioning as much as on skills and the younger players have a little trouble grasping the concept. But the players who were here last year know just how important conditioning is and they are setting the tone. I really think the success of last year’s team had a lot to do with conditioning. When you get down to the last games of the season and the playoffs conditioning really pays off,” the coach said.

Last year’s outstanding goaltender, Justin Beaudet, has been moved to the field this season and coach Hulbert doesn’t leave a big hole in front of the net. “We have a freshman keeper and a sophomore keeper this season. We have Kyle Laughlin who is a sophomore and Gaston Roy who is a freshman but he has 6 or 8 years of goalkeeper experience in youth soccer. The only thing he is short on is varsity experience.”

Putting last year’s 10-4 record on the line will get off to a tough start in the first week of the campaign when the Blue Devil’s host Cannan. When asked how the CVL(Central Vermont League-North) competition stacked up this year Coach Hulbert immediately mentioned the Eagles. “I’m worried about Cannan,” he said . ”They didn’t graduate anybody last year and they played us tough. They really gave us a run for our money. They should only be stronger this year.”

The Blue Devil Boys won’t have to wait very long to find out just what Cannan is all about. The Blue and White Boys will host the Eagles this Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. match at Hayden Field.