Excitement and unity spark within Carlmont’s soccer community as the new season approaches.
With high school soccer season nearing, numerous opposing club teams will unify into just three Carlmont teams. The elite of these players will perform on varsity, and the players just short of it will play on the junior varsity and freshman teams, leaving the rest to be cut. Divided up into these three teams, these players must learn how to build team chemistry and play with their new teammates. With limited spots on each team, tryouts lead many to express their nervous excitement for this upcoming season.
“I was really nervous for tryouts, everybody seemed very good and it was more competitive than I was used to,” Austyn Lee-Meintzer, a sophomore who played on JV boys soccer last year.
Along with this excitement, however, players face many challenges such as figuring out how to play with new teammates.
“Last year was a challenge at first because I was playing with new people and becoming friends with them took time,” Lee-Meintzer said.
According to the head varsity coach, Jose Caballero, success takes time. A coach can’t throw players into a new team and expect them to understand each other and the game instantly.
No matter who we bring in, we’re going to have [the players] work together as a unit. Because that moment when you wear the Carlmont High School jersey, you don’t represent any club. You represent the institution, and that means the school.
— Jose Cabellero, head coach of Carlmont varsity soccer
“We build it up from the beginning, all the way to the end. Every single practice is always a progression. That way [the players] can get used to the unexpected,” Caballero said.
In order to build a great team, coaches need to look for players with notable qualities. In soccer, there are a few certain characteristics that coaches especially look for in players, but there is one that outweighs the rest.
“I prefer [to see] potential in players. Skills limit you sometimes because if you don’t know how to use them, then you abuse them,” Caballero said.
A player’s potential is made up of many aspects, however, the most prominent and most difficult to master are a positive mindset, a good attitude, and leadership. These qualities are what help to unite a team and allow them to become successful.
This is directly shown in the JV team’s performance when the Scots closed out their undefeated season with a total record of ten wins and zero losses last year. They kept a positive mindset while they learned to work together as a team, and eventually found what worked best for them.
Ultimately, the high school soccer season is a time when players from different athletic backgrounds come together to represent the school. The transition between club soccer and high school soccer takes time, and requires growth in many ways.
“I’m excited to get to play with them [the team] again. High school soccer is different from club. With multiple games with limited rest days in between, it’s hard on your body. I’m looking forward to seeing what our team can achieve in this upcoming season,” said Sam Stabinsky, a senior who played on varsity last year.
