Girls Soccer Takes a Kick
Payton Shiver
January 29, 2010
Filed under Sports, Spring Sports, Uncategorized
Losing over half their starters and a coach, the North Augusta Girls Varsity Soccer team could be in for a rough season. The girls maintained a winning season last year and made it to playoffs under former coach, Hank Deer. Senior losses from the 2009 season include forward Laura Mottel, midfielders Paige Busby, Olivia Melton, and Emily Brace, defensive specialists Emily Dodd and Sam Abbott, and goalie Constance Gantt. Also among the losses is Midland Valley attendee Nina Morales, a starting forward on the varsity team. Until this year, Midland Valley did not have a soccer team, so students who wished to participate in the sport came to North Augusta to play. This new team formation at the rival high school has cost North Augusta an athlete on the girl’s, as well as the boy’s soccer team.
The girls acquired a new coach this year, Matt Sawicz. Coach Sawicz was the junior varsity coach in 2005. Those girls he coached then are mostly the current seniors on the team now. “I wanted to make sure they had someone capable of coaching them this year,” comments Coach Sawicz.
On the multiple senior losses, Sawicz states that, “Every program deals with graduating players. We have a good core of returning players. Someone will have to step up, but we can make it through.”
Senior Stacey Scaggs says having Sawicz this year is not a big change. “Most of us who play club during the off season had Sawicz as our coach.”
One thing that has changed due to a new coach is the amount of running and conditioning done prior to the season. Conditioning, or getting in shape prior to the season, is required for all North Augusta athletics. Conditioning will end with the month of January. The season and practices begin February first.
The expectations for the ladies varsity team are no where close to where it was last year. “We just lost so many people. It’s going to be really hard to replace them,” says Stacey Scaggs. “I don’t think we will make playoffs this year.”
Coach Sawicz, however, expects the team to make playoffs. He says, “We have a tough region, but anything can happen.”
In order to improve the team as a whole and acquire their goal of making playoffs, Sawicz says developing individual skills will be imperative. “Most of the girls on the team only play during the high school season. Other teams and programs in our region have girls that play the sport year round. We’ve got to catch up. It’s all about technique, and we have a strong team.”
how much is it to get in the girls soccer team and can im in 9th grade
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