The Lady Wolves soccer team has started their season off with a bit of a rocky start, but they are ready to carry on with determination. With many new players, they are working on creating a well-prepared team that can succeed in their future games.

“Our soccer season has begun with a lot of difficult games leading with losses,” senior Kaylyn Murray said. “But we also have developed well as a team, meaning the victories will come soon.”

In an effort to live up to past years’ State winners, the team shapes their practices based on a new focus that their coach gives them each week, including first touch, shooting and defending. They undertake different drills and activities in order to improve these skills.

“We practice for hours with a lot of skills and ball drills at the beginning with stretching in between,” Murray said. “After warm up, we tend to focus on our team objective for the practice. It is usually an area we can improve on, so it could be a variety of passing, transition and shooting drills.”

Being a part of such a time consuming sport, especially at a competitive level, can make it difficult to balance school work, team practices and games.

“Soccer takes up a lot of our free time outside of school, so you really have to be dedicated to it,” senior Ashley Aitken said. “Over the years, I have learned little ways to better my time management skills and worked hard to get everything that I can done in school, but I still have to be prepared to stay up late most nights.”

Many of the girls have played soccer since they were toddlers and have had other people in their life encourage them to continue to play.

“I started playing soccer when I was three years old,” Aitken said. “As soon as I could start running, my dad threw me on the field with my older sister and her team.”

For junior Emily Sample, soccer is more than kicking a ball and scoring goals. It is a way for her to release stress.

“I love that when I’m on the field, I’m not focusing on anything else,” junior Emily Sample said. “It is just a way a to clear my mind.”

Although the team consists of different ages, this does not stop them from maintaining a good relationship with one another and supporting each other.

“Being able to serve as one of the team captains gives me a cool experience to have a relationship with the other girls on a personal level, as well as serving as someone they can look up to,” Aitken said. “We all love each other like a family would. The bond of a team is definitely something special.”

Being on the team has given the girls more opportunities to make life-long friends and is good way to be involved in school.

“There’s so much to benefit from being on such an amazing, competitive team filled with such awesome teammates,” Murray said. “You gain many friendships and experiences along with being active and doing the sport you love on such a high level. I look forward to our season and cannot wait to see our success as a team.”