By: Alara Sheriff and Marcia Herrero
Staff Writers
The Boys Varsity Soccer season had its ups and downs, but improvement and friendship could clearly be seen throughout. “So far we’re doing alright, but we had a rough start” said Junior Brandon Eschman.
In the beginning of the season it was very rough for the boys. The players barely knew each other, and were not really working as a team. “We had a shaky start, but now we’re getting used to playing as a team” shares Sophomore Brandon Sindjui. One player shared that in the beginning he was shy, and felt that everyone was bigger and stronger than him.
Their first game against Marriotts Ridge resulted in a loss, but the team felt as though they achieved a small victory due to the close final score: 3-2. They knew they had things to improve upon, but overall it was a pretty good start. The boys’ second game was a tough loss to Oakland Mills by a score of 1-0. However, as the boys got closer to each other, they began to pose quite a challenging matchup for their rivals in the coming games.
Another important part of the season for the players is preparation for games. “How do we prepare for a game? Well, we first mentally prepare during the school day. Next, we make sure we have food in our systems. Also, during the day we listen to a playlist that pumps us up. When the time comes at the end of the day we come and support the JV team before we play. Lastly, for our warmup we do certain exercises on the side of the field” Eschman told us.
The team even has a ritual huddle with the coach before the game to boost their motivation! During spirit week, the varsity boys soccer team performed this same ritual during the pep rally for the whole school to see. It was clear that they were as close as a family.
Since then they have had their losses and their wins, but the scores don’t matter to them, because the most important thing for them to remember is to always play as a team and have fun.
As the season went on, results seemed to get a little better for the boys. The result of their game against Liberty at Hammond on October 8th was a win by a score of 2-0, a great and well-earned victory for Hammond. Succeeding this win was another on October 9th, against Long Reach, by a score of 4-0. These wins attested to clear improvement as the season progressed.
The October 18 game yielded yet another win against Glenelg by a score of 3-1. All of these games have shown the great improvement due to the players getting to know each other, and getting used to playing together.
The players truly demonstrated the understanding of working as a team and bonding as they answered the question everyone seems to want to know: who is the best player on the team? Their response? Pretty much the same throughout each player: they play best as a team, and there isn’t one person that is better than the rest.
The Varsity Boys Soccer season has been a good one, through games both won and lost, hard work and a united team that has learned a lot about soccer, and have improved their game a lot.
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