Freddy finds dual role with Tropics is just fine

When the Florida Tropics SC signed Freddy Moojen as one of their first players, it was for much more than just his goal scoring.

True, score he does. In fact, in 144 Major Arena Soccer League games, Moojen has 138 goals. His indoor career spans almost a decade, going back to when he earned MISL Rookie of the Year honors with the MISL New Jersey Ironmen, when he collected 24 goals.

Just two seasons ago, he scored 41 goals for the Dallas Sidekicks. Last year, plagued by injuries, he had just 10 goals for  St Louis.  But that injury meant the Brazilian born striker had plenty of time on his hands, so he filled that by becoming a defacto coach for the Ambush.

It's a role he embraced, which led to his being named a player/assistant coach for the first-year Florida team.

“I definitely enjoy being a player, first of all, but I enjoy to be able to help with the little aspects of the game, tactics, the movement, all the little details, they are very important to the indoor game,” he said after running a full-team practice at the Lakeland Center this week in anticipation of a divisional showdown with the Baltimore Blast this weekend. “I've had some amazing coaches, and I've tried to get the positive from each that I've had, and pass them on to the players here. It's been good. “

All things considered, Freddy says a 2-2 start is definitely respectable.

“As a veteran, to me, it's a very good start. It's a team with a lot of players that never played the (indoor) game,” he noted. “Even though we're not doing everything right, we're showing a lot of effort, and that's a very important part for a successful team. Now, as the fans can see, slowly we are getting better. We know how to come out of the back with the ball, we know how to score goals. The indoor game is a very tricky game. Sometimes from the outside it looks easy, but every aspect of the game is important. Clay and myself, we pretty much do that every day, details, details, details. That's what we've been doing since day one of preseason.”

On the field, Moojen is heating up, with four points in the team's road split of two games last weekend. He had just six shots in the team's first two games, but launched 13 in the most recent pair.

“It takes time with a new team, new players,” Moojen added. “I'm the type of player that I play well when the team is playing well. We need to have the ball, and have the players understanding what to do  with the ball. So as the season goes, our team is going to improve and everything is going to be easier for me and the other players, goals will happen more often.”

Tickets for Saturday's nights game are available at www.fltropics.com, or by calling 863-333-5353. The game, and all Tropics games home an away, are broadcast live on YouTube's MASL.tv, which can be accessed through the team's website.