Calm wind blows, with the sun shining bright. It’s the best weather to play sports. Everyone’s excited to play their fall sports, and among them are the Thirds soccer players who are excited to start their season. Composed of Third to Sixth Formers, we are not here just to improve our skills but to encourage teamwork, have a positive attitude, and show our passion for the unpredictable game of soccer.
As the school year starts, every student is hugely anticipating sports. On the first day, the atmosphere is filled with nerves and excitement. Every player has different experiences and skills, which decide which team they are placed in. The tryouts aren’t only a matter of skills; each player is also assessed in how they behave on and off the pitch. During tryouts, there are four stations where each player practices dribbling, passing, and shooting after receiving a pass, which shows our diverse skill levels. After a few days, coaches started doing scrimmages to see which players played best in an actual game.
Our team’s incredible coaches remind us of the importance of teamwork and stretches. Our team has a routine of stepping onto the pitch on time, running around Upper Upvall field one lap, stretching on the middle circle, and finally, dynamic stretching before we start our drills. All of this ensures we don’t get injured in a game or practice and prepare our bodies for activity. We do passing drills, shooting drills, conditioning, and sometimes scrimmages to amplify our performance in the game. What soccer teaches the most is that being a good teammate and bringing the team together is better than being so good that you are alone. Teamwork is the key to success.
Thirds soccer had a game on September 20th, where he played against Wilbraham & Monson Academy. We had a close match but unfortunately lost 1-2. We also had a game on September 23rd against Athol Middle School, which we lost 2-5 in an away match. We have six away games and two home games scheduled throughout the season until November 1st. Our game schedule is as follows: September 29th against Smith Academy, September 30th against Academy at Charlemont, October 14th against Valley View School, October 16th against Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion School, Blue vs White Game on October 18th, October 23rd against Academy at Charlemont, October 29th against Wilbraham & Monson Academy, and finally November 1st, we will participating in the Cardigan tournament.
Our coaches are Ms. Inch and Ms. Sikoski. Members of the Thirds soccer team are Bear Adams ’29, Oliver Arcoleo ’29, Sequoia Borek ’27, Jasper Chen ’28, Chris Chun ’28, Brian Dong ’28, Blaine Gagne ’27, Shelby Jackson ’28, Minkyu Ko ’28, Wayne Liao ’27, Sungbin Lim ’27, Sean Ma ’28, Jasper Mok ’27, Julian Mok ’29, Andrew Xu ’27, Austin Yeung ’27, and Ryan Yuan ’28.
