Eager for turf under foot, shots on goal, and dribbling down field, girl soccer players find their spirit high and lifted with the arrival of their Spring season.
With warmer weather around the corner, the girls soccer team is excited to jump right back into the new season. Tryouts start this week for many spring sports. The high school soccer tryouts will be held on the football field at Northview high school. Tryouts are Monday, March ninth from ten to eleven am and five to seven pm. Also Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all from five to seven pm. Since the new season is coming up, a couple things are going to change with the structure of the soccer teams. There are brand new coaches for both JV (junior varsity) and varsity. The varsity’s head coach is Richard O’Keefe and the JV head coach is John Taylor.
O’Keefe has been a soccer coach for over 40 years for various high schools and club teams. With all of his years of experience he has a vision for improvement this soccer season and the program as a whole.
“The thing to look to improve on is confidence with your ability to compete. You say, well, how are you gonna do that? In a sense, it’s to try to work with them on improving their technical skills, and how to play together as a team. Also, mainly how to trust one another on the field,” O’Keefe said.
A coach of 20 years, Taylor also believes similar values, confidence should be prioritized on JV.
“We want to improve our mentality and team togetherness are the number one and two goals for me. With these teams, and really just getting you guys to come together and function as a unit versus individual,” Taylor said.
O’Keefe understands that soccer can be difficult at times, but he wants his program to push through the challenges and put in the hard work.
“I think training is a way for individuals to be able to achieve their potential based on how hard they’re willing to work and the effort they’re willing to put into soccer,” O’Keefe said.
Taylor has a few favorite things he likes to see in the players he coaches.
“Seeing the development of players as they pursue and learn new things on the field and off the field and watching players develop into young adults,” Taylor said.
Northview girls soccer player, Senior Jemmimah Ichami has been playing soccer at Northview since she was a freshman. Her love for the team radiates off of her.
“Soccer was like the first sport going into freshman year that I felt I really connected with. That’s where I actually made most of my friends that I’m still friends with now. So I think it’s just like a fun little family type of thing and we all play together,” Ichami said.
Girls, whether you’re on the turf or in the stands it’s never too late to get involved in our girls soccer. The team isn’t just building strong teams, they are building community and friendships.
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