As the women’s soccer team gears up for a promising new season, head coach JT Hanley is focused on reshaping the program from the ground up. After noticing a change in the culture, performance, and team identity over the recent years, it has become clear that changes needed to be made. With a goal to return to pre-COVID standards, this season plans for a smaller roster, tougher conditioning, an increase in team bonding, and an overall more competitive environment.
Before the season even began, numerous challenges arose during tryouts. Field closures, a lack of lights, and conflicts with other sports led to difficulty holding tryout sessions. As well, conflicts with other ongoing sports—field hockey and football—left the fields packed, leaving soccer unable to hold tryouts for a week. But Assistant Principal Jim Fallis and the Athletic Department secured lights, and tryouts were able to take place.
This year, there has also been more of an unconventional approach to leadership. A survey was given at the beginning of the semester, containing questions like, “In a tough situation in a game, who do you look to? If you’re having a tough day, who always lifts your spirit?” The survey identified a group of about 7 players who have since been meeting to brainstorm ideas for what the team needs, and how they can get those needs met. Instead of the usual two-to-three captain system where the workload is placed solely upon those few people, they are debating whether the work should instead be divided more evenly among players through a rotating system. Coach Hanley believes that, “By posing those questions, instead of giving answers, it helps them learn how to lead.”
Additionally, one of the most notable changes Coach Hanley hopes to implement is a greater sense of competition within the team. While the number of players is being noticeably cut down from 30 to 24, he also plans to split the team into 3 or 4 cohorts that will compete against each other, earning points as the season progresses through competitions and games. Coach Hanley stated, “Nobody likes to be at the bottom of a list, and so the hope is that it prompts people to be like, ‘Oh, man, I didn’t perform super well in the sprint race, I got to work on that,’ or the next time I have to work on my start, or maybe I’ll grab their shirt before they go.” He hopes that the new system will
While a pledge to improve team bonding can often feel cliche, Coach Hanley has been working closely along with a group of returning varsity players to plan new and improved team bonding opportunities that aim to truly improve the culture of the team. A different approach to team dinners, new activities, and even team retreats will allow the girls to foster meaningful connections off the field. However, achieving this change can be more difficult than it seems, as Coach Hanley states, “The coaching of the soccer part is easy. It’s building community and making sure that everybody’s kind of on the same page in terms of what commitment looks like and being clear on their motivation for why they’re even doing this.” Senior Danielle Paredes voices a similar thought as she “wants everyone to feel included” and hopes to bond even further with the team.
As well, in recent years, it has become apparent that more rigorous conditioning is needed. After COVID, Coach Hanley and the other coaches noticed team standards slipping. In previous years, they were always certain that they could outwork and outrun the other teams. Coach Hanley stated, “Even if we were still tied at the end of regulation and we had to play another 30 minutes, our legs and our lungs were always fresher than the other team. They would get tired before we did. That didn’t happen last year.” This realization energized the coaches to implement a more rigorous fitness program, hopeful that the team would return to its former dominance. Danielle expressed a similar dedication as she states, “We want to outwork every team we play in every single game. That’s why we’ll be working on fitness during the season.”
As the Monarchs begin the season, a promising future looms ahead. Coach Hanley will continue to lead the team in a new direction towards improvement—and hopefully the CCS championship.