The soccer season has come to a close for Jesuit’s JV team as they have finished strong in a season full of strife and success.
It was what some might call a ‘rocky start’ for the Jesuit JV soccer team, but it was nothing that great coaching and leadership could not fix. William Agraz ‘15 believes this improvement happened “thanks to Coach Williams.” Fellow player William Feist ’15 says Head Coach David Williams’ implementation of the false 9 formation greatly aided the teams scoring dilemma.
That change really got the ball rolling for the young squad and from that point on it was a bit of a scoring frenzy, as the team averaged
multiple points per game. Both players and coaches enjoyed the progress throughout the season, and believed that the struggles early on gave them the chance to mesh as a team, especial with the juniors, who “were awesome leaders” according to Feist.
Coach Williams was “very pleased” with the team’s vast improvements over the season. The games they played best, he says, were when the team played quickly and every player got a touch on the ball. According to him, the amount of touches were important due to the fact that the team was often outmatched when it came to size, speed, and skill. However, winning every game was not the goal of the JV squad. “Our job is to help the program. So, it is very much about preparation, and part of that is winning games [but we also] want to have the guys be able to contribute to varsity [next year],” commented Coach Williams.
Elaborating on his previous statement, the coach continued to state that winning helps with the morale of the team and leads to success. “It’s hard in the game of soccer because sometimes the best team doesn’t win. I think more often than in other sports and sometimes as a coach you want your team to have a little success so that they know they’re doing the right thing,” he said.
Coach Williams included that winning isn’t the lone thing that gets the guys through the season, saying that “the [most important] thing is if they’re enjoying it, that [is what] gets [people] through a hard day at work, a hard semester at school. If you enjoy your day, you enjoy your friends, and the learning process is fun and you like going to practice, that’s what gets you through it.”
According to one of the team’s leading scorers, Ross “The Italian Stallion” Minigutti ’14, one of the greatest things he experienced throughout the season was “a game where players could win candy.” Asked to further explain, Coach Williams said he just began the game this year. Remember the small, curved rectangle of turf next to the stands? The one the middle schoolers play on during football games?
Well, Coach said that “with two goals and teams of four, one team would face off against another, with the winner being the first to score a goal. The team with the most victories earned a prize.” He also said that the players could win anything from Gatorades to candies. “But they don’t get the cash. My rule is you have to enjoy the spoils of your winnings right then,” he replied with a smile. The game was mostly used for helping the team cool down after tough exercises and games.
Though it was a rough beginning to the season, the Jesuit JV soccer team ultimately banded together and finished in glory. Players like
Agraz and Feist both have confidence that if some of the talented sophomores and juniors can fill the vacant spots left by graduating seniors, the already talented varsity squad can only get better. But there is no doubt that Coach Williams and the rest of JV will be keeping a close eye on the horizon for next season and when it comes they will be ready.
