Justin Springer: “We can’t wait to play our exciting brand of football in front of our fans again”
We’re less than 2 weeks away from the start of a new League1 Ontario season, and our men’s team is hard at work preparing for what is shaping up to be a great summer of soccer in Guelph.
Between League1’s new tiered structure, the new L1 Cup competition, and the plenty of signings and re-signings we’ve announced so far, 2024 is looking exciting - and our head coach, Justin Springer, feels the same way.
A few weeks ago, we interviewed our women’s head coach, Randy Ribeiro; now we sat down with Justin and quizzed him about the new season, the roster, and why our fans should be excited for what’s coming up.
- How is the off-season training going so far? Are you happy with where your team is, in terms of preparation?
- Yeah, I am. I think all of the guys that we currently have in right now are training very, very well. It's gonna be really exciting to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together when we get the full team in before the end of the month, so that will be another key moment inside our preparation that I’m really looking forward to. But I think all the first team and reserve team players that are currently with us right now have been training very well and certainly progressing through training camp really well. We’re all really looking forward to our season opener.
- What do you think would constitute a good, successful season for Guelph United in 2024?
- Obviously, we want to put our best foot forward and compete for the season title as best as we possibly can. So I think that's got to be objective number 1. Objective number 2 is going to be competing really well for the L1 Cup. And then if we were to talk about our third overall objective, it would be placing in the top four. I think those would be key metrics that we have throughout the season, and how we would measure success. Because, you know, you could have a couple of bounces go the opposition’s way and all of a sudden that could be a three-point swing throughout a match. But I would definitely say top 4 finish, compete really well within the cup, and compete for the overall champion of the Premier division.
- What do you think of this new format, with promotion/relegation and no playoffs? Do you think it will make the games more competitive?
- Absolutely. I know it's a League1 slogan, but every point truly does matter. You don't want to be the first team to ever get relegated inside of this promotion/relegation system, you certainly want to do everything that you possibly can to remain in the premier flight for next season. And I think that we have the players to do it. It's going to be all about tying the entire team together and accumulating the amount of points that we need to not only stay in the Premier Division, but to put together a true competitive season for 2024. I think it's really exciting. The competition that you're going to see has never been seen among League1, and then you throw in some some cup competitions inside all of that. You're going to see some very high quality games, and every single game is going to be difficult not only from a competitive standpoint, but also from a point standpoint as well. Maybe one point might be the difference this year.
- Let’s talk roster. So far, we announced 18 players. Should we expect more signings before the start of the season?
- No, we’re pretty much close to our final number. We’ll be around 18-20 players. This was a conversation with club management, we didn't want to create too big of a roster, so that we could provide some opportunity for reserve players to come through the Guelph United system and receive some first team exposure and first team playing opportunities.
- Is there anyone in particular from the Reserves that you think has a chance to become an important piece for the Premier's team?
- That's something that we're trialing right now through training opportunities with the first team and through game exposure as well with the first team. But yeah, I think some players like Aiden Borges, Dominic Suriano, Jordan Rioux, those are three players that come to mind right away. It's just I've really got to see how they develop within our reserve program throughout their first few matches and then provide a short list for first team opportunity. So not quite able to give you that finalized answer right now, but I think in a month's time that answer will probably look a little bit different for sure.
- We re-signed 6 or 7 of our core players from 2023. How important do you think continuity is, and are you happy with where we are in terms of returning players?
- Yeah, we've gotten a lot of our core group back, and of course we’re missing some others that we would have liked to have seen back within the United system, but they've received some opportunities elsewhere, and we're very happy for them. I think having a lot of our core group back, we’ll have continuity in terms of system of play and overall team chemistry. And then adding in some key components around them which we've been able to do this this offseason will only help to put a more established roster together. We signed some players to not only provide more depth, but some more experience and quality among our roster as well, which we're very excited for.
- With Carter Robart, Nick Dunn and Aussie Hunt leaving soon for the Fleetwood International Academy training camp, how much do you think this means for their development, and are you happy with the depth of our squad in case one of them is signed?
- I think it's a great experience and a great playing opportunity for them, and something that I certainly don't want to hold them back on. But you know, I think if we were to lose Carter, that would be a very big roster position that we would need to have some future conversations on for sure. I mean, Carter was integral to our success last season, so they would certainly be some massive shoes to fill.
- We have a new affiliate club in Cambridge, Oriental Sport Club, and we will play our first home game of the season in their stadium. How do you think that experience is going to be?
- I think it's going to be a different experience. I know they've got an excellent pitch that is very similar to the Centennial Bowl. I think starting our season not at the Bowl will feel a little bit different, just because it's not our “home stadium”, but I think it's the closest stadium around that will emulate our home stadium.
- And speaking of stadiums - our first match of the season will be played at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. This is probably the biggest stadium many of our players have played in. What do you think it will be like?
- It would be the biggest stadium that they have play on, for sure. So yeah, it's going to be different. A lot of personal histories inside there. That was the first stadium that I ever played in, for York9 (note: currently York United), from a Canadian Premier League standpoint. The first CPL game ever was hosted out of Tim Hortons Field and now all of a sudden it's going to be our season opener. It'll be exciting to play out of a CPL stadium. I think the players will love it.
- If there's one thing you'd like to say to Guelph United fans to get excited for the new season, what would it be?
- I think from our perspective we're definitely excited not only to return to Guelph for another season, but to play in front of our incredible fan base. A lot of the players spoke to the excitement that they had playing in front of our fans. You know, our fans supported Guelph United very, very well this past season. They were so good to us. They were supportive, they were loud, and our players can’t wait to play our exciting brand of football in front of them again this season.
2024 Season Tickets can now be purchased from our shop. They include all 19 league home matches played at the Centennial Bowl, for both our men’s and women’s teams, as well as the home match in Cambridge (including free transportation), plus the 2 confirmed L1 Cup home games.
That’s a total of 22 matches, with prices starting at only $65, for adults, and $30, for kids and seniors. Get yours now!