The circumstances may change, but the message does not.

The Colorado Springs Switchbacks will host two matches this week in what is the beginning of a challenging several weeks for the club. Including this seven-day stretch, Colorado Springs will play eight matches in five weeks, including a brutal turnaround that will see the Switchbacks play at Rhode Island in a regular-season match Aug. 8 and then travel across the country to face Spokane Velocity FC in Washington for the Prinx Tires USL Cup quarterfinals Aug. 12. 

But it’s not about the schedule and where matches are played. It’s about the same thing Switchbacks coach Alan McCann has been saying for weeks: consistency. 

“If you get the consistency, then all of those pieces … those actual details you’ll be ticking those boxes off,” McCann said. “It continues our momentum. It would give us incentive then with two games here … to make (Weidner Field) a fortress. I think the first and foremost key to all that is we gotta get that consistency and we’ve been chasing that all year.” 

Colorado Springs has had a great year in tournament play this season, posting a franchise-best run through the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and making it past the group stage of the Prinx Tires USL Cup with an unblemished record, but the ups and downs of the regular season and the Switchbacks’ 5-5-4 record validate McCann’s words. 

With the club coming off a long layoff since their most recent match July 11, this week’s two-match schedule, beginning with a 7 p.m. tilt against Miami F.C. on Wednesday, provides a great launching pad for Colorado Springs. The Switchbacks are looking to make a push up the USL Championship Western Conference standings. 

To that end, McCann said his team has looked up to the task in practice. 

“The training sessions have been very consistent, very intense, everyone’s challenging for a spot,” McCann said. 

Consistency isn’t just a goal for the group but for individuals as well. In his first year as a pro, Switchbacks forward Sadam Masereka became a routine starter for the team in the late spring. Midway through June, that stopped. Masereka hasn’t started since June 13 and his overall minutes have been reduced. 

He scored in the Switchbacks’ 3-0 win over Orange County SC to close out the USL Cup group stage July 11 and earned the opportunity to earn more minutes. 

McCann said part of the reason is Masereka needs to adjust to the professional level. 

“Not many rookies come out into the league out of college and have a major standout season from January to November,” McCann said. “They’re so used to a body clock of preseason is back end of June into July and then you’ll start your games our back end of August and you’ll go to November if you’re lucky. There’s a physical side to our game, you see how intense we are both on and off the ball. Mentally, physically retraining your body is the big, big, big piece.  

“For Sadam, it’s never a question about ability, it’s similar to what the team is. It’s about consistency.” 

Masereka competes against Yosuke Hanya, Jonas Fjeldberg and Adrien Perez for playing time. It’s not an easy task, but one he enjoys. 

“The battles are really healthy and really good,” he said. “For me, whatever I take out of the training session is how they manage their load, how they take recovery seriously and how serious they take training sessions. So it’s something I’m also working on.”

Colorado Springs signs goalie 

On Tuesday, the Switchbacks signed goalkeeper Sam Jones to a 25-day contract. 

Jones comes by way of South Georgia Tormenta FC of USL League One. 

The move comes after veteran keeper Christian Herrera suffered an injury in training earlier this month. 

“With Chris (Herrera) picking up an injury, it was important for us to bring Sam (Jones) in as a part of the group,” McCann said in a release. “With his previous experience at Tormenta, specifically in the USL Cup, it ensures that we have a good level that can contribute when called upon during a packed schedule in August.”