Early success gives boys soccer team playoff hope
Athletics encourage players to improve academically and strive for excellence
Akins Varsity Boys Soccer team discuss plans before their first preseason game against Lanier in January.
March 7, 2017
After a month of practice and preseason games, the Akins Boys Varsity soccer team is off to a strong start, winning their first two district games against San Marcos and Anderson high schools.
They won most of their pre-season games with a record of 4 wins,1 loss and 3 draws.
Last year, the team played well, but their biggest problem was that students were not passing their classes. But this year, Coach Bob Williams has pushed the players with a rule that if a student is failing they their classes don’t get to play until they get their grades up. This has encouraged the students to do better in their academic classes.
Another challenge is that the team will have to face is that most of the players on the team are younger than those of other teams they play against. This could lead to a disadvantage in size and experience, but so far this has not been a problem.
Having a lot of younger players could be a bad thing, but it also has some advantages because it could help the team grow and understand how to play better with each other. This could also help inspire other younger classmates to try and reach varsity level performance.
Williams said he believes that the players have a good chance of making the playoffs and help them improve individually and as a team.
“I want them to become better and more comfortable playing against older students,” he said.
Freshman player Daniel Alviso said he enjoys playing against older students.
“It feels like it’s an opportunity to show students what hard work looks like, and also to show that anything can be accomplished with hard work and dedication,” he said.
Chemistry is an important factor in having a good team. If the players who play together get along it is more likely that they understand each other and this helps create better opportunities for a better outcome.
Varsity team captain Dube Ruvalcaba said he believes chemistry is important for a team to be successful.
“We are good friends, we like to joke around and we all get along well inside and outside the field, we know when to get serious, and we all enjoy playing the sport,” he said.
The team is currently 2-1 in district play. The team will take on the San Marcos Rattlers for the second time on Feb. 20. The Eagles will have four more district games, including some tough opponents like Bowie and Del Valle.
