Even with the lack of a practice field due to construction on campus, the varsity girls’ soccer team has still been finding ways to prepare for the upcoming season. District games began mid to late December, so prior to then, the team worked in the weight room, ran around the school, and even played soccer tennis to make sure they are ready when the season begins. Not only have the teams been finding new ways to practice in the face of this challenge, but they have also recently added two new captains. Last year, the team had three captains, including then-senior Ashley Mankinen and juniors Maya Tackett and Sienna Gunning. With Tackett and Gunning now acting as the senior captains, the team held a vote to choose new captains to help them. From this selection process, senior Ava Dallesandro and junior Maya Garwood were chosen, giving the team four captains for this season.
Dallesandro previously ran for a captain position last season, so when she didn’t make it, she was unsure if she wanted to try again this year. However, with plenty of motivation from the girls’ soccer coach, Jason Rich, she gave it another shot.
“The biggest thing for me was having the courage to do it again,” Dallesandro said. “And I’m just so thankful.”
The captain selection process begins with candidates nominating themselves and then preparing a speech. After giving a speech to the entire team about why they want to be captain, their goals for the team, and what they love about the team, the team anonymously votes for one or more candidates. Then, Coach Rich picks the candidates who he believes will best benefit the team that season. This year, that meant adding two new people.
“In my speech, I talked a lot about last season and how this team has changed my life,” Dallesandro said. “I love them all so much and care about them, and if I can be in a position to help them individually as a team in any way, then I am going to jump at that opportunity.”
For junior captain Garwood, the decision to run for captain also had to do with helping the team and its players in any way possible.
“I think being a captain allows me to motivate people and bring people together,” Garwood said. “I’m very competitive and driven, so hopefully my captaincy encourages other people to be competitive and work hard and be driven.”
Now that both Dallesandro and Garwood have received these leadership roles, they can begin making changes to better prepare the team for the upcoming season. As a senior, Dallesandro wants to focus on helping the team’s underclassmen feel more included and comfortable.
“The senior class this year, we talk a lot about how when we were underclassmen on varsity, we were so intensely scared of the seniors, so we decided that was going to be the thing we work on,” Dallesandro said. “Especially last year, we had a very heavily underclassman team, so we wanted to make it as inclusive as possible.”
Junior teammate Ellie Wiseman believes that this large presence of underclassmen on the team gives them a leg up compared to other schools.
“Now the team will get better and better each year rather than losing a bunch of players and having to hope that we can find good players to rebuild the team,” Wiseman said.
Compared to last season, the team is only down by one starting player, meaning the rest of the varsity members are mostly the same this year. This means the team won’t have to work to build new connections this year and can instead focus on improving their skills.
“We have that chemistry,” Dallesandro said. “We don’t need to spend time building that because we are all so close.”
Wiseman also acknowledges the strong bond between the team this year.
“I just feel really comfortable being myself, and I think everyone feels that way,” Wiseman said. “There’s no judgment on the team, and everyone is just their own versions of themselves.”
As captain, Garwood wants to continue to build on that chemistry and enjoy spending time together as a team.
“I want us to be super bonded,” Garwood said. “Which we already are, but I’m excited for all our team bonding activities we do. We have team dinners every week, we have a Christmas sock exchange, and then we are going to College Station for a tournament.”
With all these upcoming bonding experiences and the close-knit relationships among the team, the varsity girls’ soccer team is excited to get on the field again and play together.
“I just can’t wait to play again with this group of people,” Dallesandro said. “It’s just so much fun, and everybody believes in each other so much, it’s the biggest support system in the world, everyone is so funny and warm.”
Garwood is also ready for the district games to begin, especially when it comes to competing against one of their biggest rivals.
“I am most excited for district play to start,” Garwood said. “I’m really excited to beat LASA, and I think we have a chance of winning district and going far in the playoffs, so I am just excited to see if we can complete those goals.”
Even though the team has a strong bond, there is still effort to be put in, according to Wiseman, especially if the team wants to beat LASA and Anderson.
“I think we definitely have to still put in a lot of work,” Wiseman said. “Everyone is important, and we can’t give up any ties to schools that we should be beating; that way, we can just narrow our focus to LASA and Anderson.”
