Quarantine Causes Soccer Team to Adapt
While the coronavirus has affected not only students in class but also students involved in high school sports, soccer has had limited impacts. The soccer team has had to deal with players getting quarantined due to exposure, really pushing other players to set up and take control.
The recommendations included socially distancing on the sidelines, masks required for players not out playing on the sidelines, and to sanitize the soccer balls before, at halftime, and after the game.
Towards the middle of the season several players had to miss some games of the season due to getting quarantined putting it into the other teammate’s hands to step up and lead the team to wins.
Senior Alex Marin has taken a lead role as one of the team captains this season in helping to prepare the players for their season. “I give them some advice; tell them to have a good time, make sure they give a hundred percent,” Marin said.
Head coach Ben Morales has seen some of the younger players take on roles to prove themselves during the game. “Joshua Richter, specifically, has done a great job at cementing himself as a starting defender due to COVID related absences,” Morales said.
Last season the soccer team lost some key starters that were crucial to their wins. They have a younger based team this year and have had to work on coming together as a team.
The captains this season are Tyler Hagen, Alex Marin, and Sean Roell. “Captains are role models to the younger generations.” Morales said. “Whether they believe they are or not, the youth look to them for guidance.”
Senior Tyler Hagen has noticed that their team bonding activities have brought the team closer and helped their performance on the field. “We have pasta parties the day before we play our games and are always having a blast with them,” Hagen said.
Many goals were made at the beginning of the season including to compete at the highest level possible. Competing at the highest level possible builds fundamentals.
As their season comes to an end, the soccer team hopes to finish their season on a high note. “We hope to be over .500 at the end of the year,” Hagen said.
