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Locomotive adjusting to new coach after wild week, win against USL's best
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- Locomotive adjusting to new coach after wild week, win against USL's best
In their six years of existence the El Paso Locomotive have spent time at every spot in the standings, but they've never been anywhere or done anything quite like their journey last week.
After a home loss to Memphis on May 17 left them 1-2-8, the team parted ways with coach Brian Clarehaut , then within two days hired Wilmer Cabrera to replace him. Cabrera coached at Rio Grande Valley last year before that franchise folded.
Wilmer Cabrera coaches the Locomotive during a training session at the Westside Soccer Complex
More: USL standings
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The Locomotive went through two practices with Cabrera, experienced some travel nightmares getting to Charleston, then stunned the USL-leading Charleston Battery 2-1 for their second victory of the season.
El Paso still hasn't won at Southwest University Park — they'll try to do that Saturday night against Birmingham — and the Locos are still in last place in the USL, but suddenly they have some life as well as a new direction.
"It was a crazy week but at the end we were rewarded with three points against Charleston, the No. 1 team in the whole league," Cabrera said. "I give all the credit to the players. They fought, they showed character, they tried to boost the effort and the ideas as much as possible and they were rewarded on the field.
"It wasn't our best performance, but it was a change of mentality, attitude and I saw more unity with the group. It's going to help us going forward."
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Amando Moreno, who won the game with a stoppage time goal, said the team is excited for the changes and working hard to adjust to them all.
"Getting a new coach is a little bit different," Moreno said. "Obviously being the first couple of months with Brian, now having Wilmer as head coach, we're still trying to adjust to how he wants to play and his ideas, but all the guys have the right mentality.
"We're going to do whatever Wilmer needs us to do because we know he has a lot of experience. We're going to trust him, trust in the process and things will go our way."
When asked what some of those new ideas are, the 56-year-old Cabrera said ultimately the style El Paso plays will be determined by the players he inherited.
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"I cannot describe it right now, I don't have a style of play," said Cabrera, who was a head coach in the MLS for six years before spending the last three at Rio Grande Valley. "I have a style of work that falls on the players, then the way they play is the style we'll present on the field. It has to be expressed by the players. Let the players play the style of play they can perform.
"Little by little we're implementing what we have to work on. That only happens during practices. We've completed four practices (as of Tuesday), it's a slow process but I cannot complain. The desire, the attitude, what the players have done on the field the last two days are beyond my expectations."
As for what brought him here, Cabrera, a native of Columbia, is proud that he's the first Latino head coach of the Locomotive (he's fourth overall) and the first native Spanish speaker. He had familiarity from the Locomotive by coaching against them and now is excited to be with them.
"It's one of the best organizations in the USL, they have a great roster, this is a beautiful environment to work on soccer," he said. "I knew a little bit playing against El Paso, I knew a little about the organization, I always admire the way they worked. Being part of this team, for me, I didn't hesitate."
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As for what's ahead, Cabrera is under no illusions that one win, even against the league's best team, is going to dramatically change the season. The Locomotive will be in a scramble to get into playoff contention, which they aren't particularly close to at the moment.
But they've taken a first step.
"It is difficult, I'm not a magician, I'm a coach," Cabrera said. "It's a change, but the players are taking it well. Their attitude is, 'It's a new chapter, let's try to make it happen. 'I bring different ideas, maybe we can click with motivation and attitude.
"We'll change little by little, it takes time, but we need to see the changes little by little. Hopefully we can start sooner rather than later because we all need it."
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Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Locomotive adjust to new coach after wild week, win against USL's best
