The golden rays of the sun shine down on the pitch as the blue jersey clad team make their way out onto the pitch. There is a soft chatter of voices as the girls begin warmups, the occasional sounds of laughter breaking conversation. A whistle blows, and the girls’ slowly divert their attention to its blower, who watches them from alongside the stands. He begins his team pep talk, as he shifts the girls into a focused mindset for today’s practice. For Head Girls’ Soccer Coach Jarrett Shipman, communication, sportsmanship, and player-to-player relationships are key for each practice as well as each game. He is determined to keep the girls’ varsity soccer team up to date with these skills in order to maintain victory this soccer season.

Practice is very routine and takes place every day after school. The girls start off with their daily warmup before Shipman has them shift gears and focus on goal touches and crossing for the rest of practice. Shipman is confident about the girls’ success this season with the team having already beat their opponents Katy on Jan. 10 in their first district game of the season.

“Our goal is to grow as a team and make a deep run in the playoffs,” Shipman said.

Being a team composed of different grade levels, it can be difficult to maintain structure as well as effective sportsmanship and teamwork. To manage this issue, the girls hold team dinners as well as bonding sessions to merge different grade levels into one. Shipman also has the girls get to know each other as best as possible through practices to maintain communication and build strong bonds between each of the players.

“We are a mix of all grade levels. We put in a lot of effort to make different grades mesh,” Shipman said.”They are also motivated intrinsically. Most have been playing since they were little and have worked to extreme lengths to get to where they are.

The team’s main goal this season is to make it to the playoffs and become district champions. In order to do so, the girls have to stay focused, maintain a strong mindset and work with each other, and put it into a team effort for each game. Many of them have achieved a lot to make it to their positions on the team, and are determined to be victorious this season. For senior and key player Kaylen Hendricks, prioritizing her relationship with the team is what she believes is crucial for the team to achieve their goals.

“As of right now, our plan to achieve our goals is to get closer as a team and really prioritize our chemistry and relationships with each other,” Hendricks said.

The team’s biggest competitor this season is Seven Lakes. They are also looking forward to a great game against Jordan, whose team is new to the 6A district. Regardless, the team is treating every competitor as competition. To achieve these goals, the girls are focusing on establishing their chemistry as a team in the game as well. Shipman is also encouraging the team to focus on school pride as a sense of motivation for the team to be successful.

“For the girls to coordinate efficiently, it is important for them to be encouraged and buy into our falcon culture,” Shipman said. “Tough Falcons win.”