When people think of sports they typically think about football and basketball. Most people do not even consider watching or learning about futbol (aka soccer). Soccer is one of the most physical and demanding sports. People do not know that soccer players have to commit 100% of their time to the sport. Here at Madison County, the girls’ varsity soccer team does just that. 

When thinking of sports, people typically think of sports that are played in one season, but that is not the case with soccer. In soccer, the players have to commit all of themselves both in season and off. Here at Madison County, the girls’ varsity team works hard every day to achieve the goals that the girls have set both pre-season and at the beginning of the season. Everyone has a different mindset, for instance, senior Payton Miller says her mindset is to, “Get The Win. I am going to give my team 100% in order to get that win.” This mindset is something that the majority of the team shares but Sophomore Emma Chason says her mindset is, “To knock the other team’s teeth out.” metaphorically of course. This fierceness is commonly shared, as soccer is an intensely physical sport. 

Throughout the years the team has progressively started to click through the leadership of head coach Lee Reno. Coach Reno has worked so hard to make the varsity soccer team a winning team. His dedication and passion for the sport of soccer has created a winning team. You might be wondering how one man created this team. The answer is not just coach Reno, but the  help of his assistant coaches Travis Moak and Randell Ballanger. With the help of coach Moak and coach Ballanger this allows coach Reno to work with different aspects of the team. Coach Ballanger is the goalkeeper coach which relieves some of the pressure off of coach Reno. Coach Reno and Moak have similar styles of coaching except for the fact that coach Moak is oftentimes the hammer who bluntly communicates to the player while Reno is more compassionate. With these different qualities each one of the coaches brings it provides an environment in which gives the player the ability to learn different skills and techniques differently. 

State is something that every high school sport wants the chance to be a part of. The 2021 varsity girls soccer team had the privilege of experiencing the thrill of going. Not only did the girls go to state they went further than any girls soccer team in the history of Madison County Highschool. This year the 2022 team plans to make it to state and go further than last year’s team. Senior Captain Lindley Hawks says, “It was an incredible experience and I would do it all over again to have the feeling.” The girls are so beyond excited to have the potential of going again.

We’ve discussed the coaches and players, but no one really talks about the parents. The girls soccer team has a tremendous amount of support from all parents of the program. These dedicated parents are the reason for the girls being able to play the sport of soccer. Without parents giving the girls rides to practices and picking them up from practice there would be no varsity girls soccer team. The president of the Booster Club, Claudet Chason says, “As a parent I am doing the best I can do not only for the soccer program but help my daughter become the best she can be.” This is her role in the Madison County soccer program. There are so many parents who are doing their best to help their daughters succeed. 

This team is getting better and better everyday. Their dedication is shown everyday every time they step on the field.