The season for Pleasant Valley girls’ soccer team starts in the spring; however, they started to prepare in hopes for a great upcoming season.
This is the first time in the last two years that a coach has stayed for more than one season. This is great for the team because instead of scrambling to find a coach and starting off the season figuring out team dynamics, they will already know each other by the time the official season starts and will be able to focus on gameplay earlier.
Sam Hutton, a senior at Pleasant Valley, has been playing on the team for all four years of her athletic career. She is excited for the upcoming season and the progress the team has already made. “Having coach [Knupp] back this season is great. Now we can focus on training instead of the ‘get to know you’ stuff at the beginning of the season. I think introducing the freshmen to the team early will really help our team dynamic and make us well rounded,” she stated.
This year the team is focused on being conditioned and in shape well before the season starts so that they can focus on fine tuning instead of fitness when the season actually starts. Ed Knupp, the head of the girls soccer team, talked about working with the PV weightlifting department to organize speed and agility training for the team. This will give the girls a head start with their fitness.
Along with increasing the fitness level, another goal is to make sure that the freshmen feel welcomed to the team and are well incorporated. The team lost six seniors last year, and only have four seniors this year to replace them. So, the team will be relying on the incoming freshmen to fill in some gaps in the roster.
In order to make the freshmen feel welcomed, the girls joined a recreational league at the TBK Sports Complex. The team plays two games a week at the complex against other high school teams across the area. This allows the freshmen to get all of their nerves out before the season starts and for everyone to get a touch on the ball.
Last year, the team made it to the first round of the state tournament. However, this year Knupp is striving to accomplish more, he stated, “This year I think it’s important that we say our goal is to actually win it. I think we have the potential to do it.”
