In early February, Coach Barkley started recruitment for the girls’ soccer team. Flyers go up all over the school, inviting girls with no prior experience to join the upcoming season. As we have a set team by May, our girls begin preparing for a relentless summer getting ready to win our games. That was not the case for us soccer girls for the fall season of 2022. A great comeback story begins with a formidable setback; our girls’ soccer team was no exception.
Our girls had built a sense of frustration, low self-confidence, and doubt. We all had experienced losses, injuries, and low spirits and all we saw ahead of us was uncertainty for our next battle. However, something that never left us was unity and it was stronger than ever.
As a member of the girls’ soccer team, it hurt to see our senior girls from that season leave dissatisfied with nothing but the wonderful bonds we were starting to make due to half of the team being new beginners in a new higher division. As coach Barkley states “…we had a lot of new players I think we had 12 new players last year and so incorporating these new players in addition to being in the higher division was probably why we didn’t have the success that we hoped for”.
This was when we realized this unity not only fueled our comeback but also forged lasting bonds among the girls. Without team bonding, there is no unity, without unity is it even a team? It was the smallest thing we had to build off of to move a step closer to success. Therefore, we started as soon as the first flower started blooming. From there to the end of summer, we used that time for growth, both individually and collectively, which set the foundation for a united front.
As senior Jernece mentions ” Having good team bonding has a lot to do with our confidence and our trust in each other. I can leave her and let her get that ball because I have faith in her and we can read off of each other by a single glance”. In addition, Senior Alissah also states “Team bonding is really important because if you are just playing with someone that you don’t know, you are not going to have that much trust in them whereas if you build and you take that time to build that relationship you’ll understand who that person is aside from a player”.
Alongside the team bonding importance, we also had a huge priority on fitness which we all agreed was one of the main reasons we weren’t successful in the fall season of 2022. Alissah says “Our coach emphasized fitness this season. I hated it because those tests are not for the weak, they were really helpful because throughout the game when I’m playing I see that because my fitness is up I am not getting as tired and I can keep up with the other players.” Waking up almost every day, at 7 in the morning to get to Calvert Park at 9, was not something we looked forward to especially on days with an immense amount of heat. Despite the scorching temperatures, we lace up our cleats and march onto the field to reach that goal of ours which was set to us from the very beginning of summer. They are passing 3 if not all 4 fitness tests within a certain amount of time having almost every player uplift one another through the struggle.
Through the crucible of challenging summer and on-season practices, we girls not only fortified our physical prowess but also cultivated a profound sense of unity and mental resilience. This collective spirit transformed the team into not only skilled athletes but also a closely-knit family. As a testament to our growth, our team proudly secured the 5th position in the stats with once being third place in our last game before playoffs but regardless solidified our place among the elite. With that being said those girls considering joining the girl’s soccer team, envision a journey beyond the stats and victories- a journey of forging friendships that endure and personal growth that transcends the game.
