JERSEY - Jersey's girls soccer team and their coach look to the future with solid expectations with an abundance of juniors, sophomores and freshmen on the squad this past season.
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"I am encouraged because the current juniors, sophomores, and freshmen are challenging themselves to make dramatic improvements to their skills over the summer, fall, and winter," Jersey head girls soccer coach Brad Kimble said.
"I have been using the analogy of being malnourished and receiving medical advice to increase calorie count. Our team is malnourished, the coaches are the medical staff, and the prescription is simple, yet it needs to be followed in order to reach a new level of health.
"Not following the prescription maintains an unhealthy level, therefore, a change in results for next year would be unrealistic. Framing our team this way has resonated with several players and they not only recognize that reality, they also accept the medication.
"In addition, I am also encouraged by the development of youth players in this community. The Jerseyville Parks and Recreation Department recently announced that it is offering a girl's league this fall. This will be a tremendous boost to the soccer growth in both quality and quantity. The foundations are being set with careful precision. If you take a moment to imagine the future, the castle is being built and the queens are ready to rule."
Coach Kimble said he has talked all year with the girls about developing the person first.
"The player is an extension of the character skills that the person wants to practice," he said. "If one were to look at the season and only focus on the scoreboards, then it looks like we had another failure of a season. However, when one watches the team play, they see hard work from the first whistle to the last whistle.
"When one listens to how the players talk to each other one would hear positive game-centered words in addition to players who encourage and uplift each other even when the scoreboard justifies negativity and frustration. When one hears the giggles of girls when they are hanging out in their free time one would think they were best friends, not just teammates.
"We decided from day one to develop young ladies who have clearly identified the character skills they want to display and then give them strategies to ensure those skills are practiced and lived out. That is our success."
The Jersey Lady Panthers Soccer Team recently held the end-of-the-season awards banquet.
The Jersey Lady Panthers Soccer Team Award Winners:
Offensive Player of the Year: Hailea Tepen
Defensive Player of the Year: Nicole Maag
Most Valuable Freshman: Elese Smith
Most Valuable Sophomore: Gaby Stephens
Most Valuable Junior: Natalie Howell
Most Valuable Senior: Alli Bohannon
PAC Pride Award: Erica Bechtold
?Pictured = JCHS Varsity Soccer Team? Members
Erica Bechtold = PAC Pride Award winner
Seniors who played all four years for the Panthers were Alli Bohannon, Hailea Tepen, Nicole Maag and Erica Bechtold.
"The seniors have set a new standard of excellence for the players who will continue on," Kimble said. "Emily Walsh and Alexis Lehnen did not play all four years, but they did display a level of leadership and encouragement that also motivates the underclassmen towards excellence. I am really going to miss this senior group because they truly are special."
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