With new coach and new mindset, girls’ soccer moves forward

ARHS girls’ varsity soccer has had a rough start to the season, with a record of 3-7, but players are more motivated than ever to work as a team and see the results of their hard work. With a new coach and many new players, the team has struggled with injuries and hard losses. However, with shifted efforts, new mindsets, and countless hours of hard work, they are beginning to see results.

Senior Emma Learned-Miller has been playing soccer since age three. This season, she has been promoted to captain, along with senior Myla Peltier and junior Aliya Morales-Fernandez. 

This year, the team is made up of only three seniors and one junior; the other 12 members are all sophomores and freshmen. “It’s a really great team,” said Learned-Miller. “All of the newer players have brought a lot of positivity, and are very open to improving the team without negativity.” 

New players are not the only addition to the team this year, as girls’ soccer has welcomed a new Head Coach, JW Benoit, who also works as a physical therapist. Coach Benoit has brought higher expectations for the team, even increasing their practices to six times a week. 

During these practices, players can be found doing anything from drills to conditioning, or watching film of previous games and critiquing. “Coach Benoit is very focused on commitment to the team,” Learned-Miller said. “He does a really good job emphasizing change instead of repeating routines.” 

Learned-Miller believes that their rough start to the season is not permanent and that the team has improved greatly since the start. “I think we weren’t playing very well as a team at first because we didn’t know how to connect with each other,” she said. “We have shifted our effort in practices, and I’m ready to see the results.” 

Recently, girls’ soccer played against Hampshire for a second time. The first game resulted in a 7-1 loss, but they went into the second game with a new formation and played much stronger, losing by two instead of six.

Teagen Demers, another senior, shared similar views to Learned-Miller. Demers has been playing on and off since age five, and has faith that the team will continue improving. She believes that their recent game against Hampshire was a great sign of progress for the team. 

Last year, Demers faced a season-ending injury, and is happy to finally be back to playing. “It was definitely hard for me,” she said. “I feel horrible for people who have to go through the same thing, but I know our team will always be there for support.” 

Demers also believes that their difficult outset was due to a lack of communication. “All of our players are very strong individually,” she said. “I think that’s sometimes why we have trouble connecting during games.”

While the loss of a previous game is definitely hard on the team, Learned-Miller believes that it motivates them to be better players. 

“It has really helped me within each game to learn to not give up and that we can always win it back,” said Learned-Miller. “It’s definitely important to keep our heads up and keep fighting.” 

Similarly, Demers believes that each loss is a chance to get better. “You can learn a lot from not always playing your best,” she said. “Losing is hard, but it’s also always a chance to improve.”