Rocket Update Week 6: Prepping For Playoffs

By Drew Johnson ('15)

This past Friday the Reading Rockets ended their regular season by taking down division rival Woburn. They now find themselves with a share of yet another Middlesex Liberty Division championship and a spot in the playoffs with a 5-1 record.   

When talking about how the team is approaching the playoffs compared to the regular season, Coach John Fiore said, “In many ways it’s no different; we have a certain order of operations we follow each week.” On the other hand, the Rockets aren’t worried about taking their first round opponent, Cambridge, lightly. “I think when you lose a game early, you get into that playoff-mode right away,” said the coach, referring to Reading’s second game this season when they lost 17-14 to Arlington.  “We’re taking everybody seriously. I don’t think taking a team as talented as Cambridge seriously will be a problem.”

Although the regular season was a short one with the state’s new playoff system in place, it means the playoffs are longer. Coach Fiore seemed to like that idea, as he said, “With the old methods, we may have already been knocked out of a playoff spot because we had one loss in our division.” He went on to say, “Now with the tournament being a little longer, it keeps more teams alive and it’s better for the sport as a whole.”

But it’s not just the entertainment value that comes into play with the extended playoffs this year: “In the old format there were too many games in too short of a time,” Coach Fiore said. “That negated a lot of the advantages of preparing for your opponent mentally, and made it more difficult for injuries to heal up.”

Just as they were all season, the Rockets feel focused for their home game against Cambridge on Friday: “We try to be very focused from week to week just on that  one game,” the coach said. “Being the best we can be on Friday night - that’s really what it comes down to.”

See the Rockets' playoff game against Cambridge this Friday at 7:00 on Hollingsworth Field.