Building positive relationships where teammates and coaches grow to understand and support one another, the girls soccer team works to create an environment that is not just a team, but a family.
Team captain Rachel Croll said that she and her teammates are very close with their coach.
“[The athletes on our team] are all really close with our coach and there is a very family feel to it,” team captain Rachel Croll said.
According to head girls soccer coach Lindsay Jones, one of the main focuses of the program has been to create a close family-like bond between the athletes.
“We try to encourage and instill the same values of unity, togetherness, and family,” Jones said. “We cheer ‘family’, we don’t cheer ‘Souderton’ or ‘Indians’.”
This past summer the team began an offseason summer league where both JV and Varsity girls would play alongside one another. Croll said the summer league helped the team grow closer.
“I think [the summer league] really helped us form the relationships that we normally wouldn’t form until the beginning of the season. It brought us closer as a team and we trust each other more,” Croll said.
According to team captain Payton Carroll, the coaches “really understand” the athletes.
Team captain Darby Kramer said that Jones makes an effort to communicate with the captains on the team.
“Lindsay does a very good job at communicating with us,” Kramer said. “She does a really good job at understanding how we are feeling, what we want, and what we would prefer to happen.”
Jones said that nothing learned on the team is more important than the enjoyable experiences they have and the connections they make with their teammates.
“The most important thing I hope [the athletes on the team] take away are positive experiences and lifelong relationships,” Jones said.