As the teams take the field this spring, the boy’s soccer team takes on the extra task of rebuilding. After losing eleven boys last year the team is looking to repeat the success oflast year’s season. After winning the district championship and making it all the way to the regional semifinals, this year the squad hopes to make it to the state playoffs. The strengths of the team is their charisma, team unity, and the ability to outplay the other teams with endurance and skill.

The new team is widely diverse and young; it includes six sophomores and eight juniors. A newcomer to the team, Damon Silva (So.) says, “I am really glad to be on the team and I am looking forward to playing with these guys.” This enthusiasm abounds - the players are excited and anxious to take the field and get playing. The long hours put in every night going over plays and working on drills has paid off in the past. Since Coach Tommy Hipple assumed the position of head coach, the squad’s record has improved each year. The team currently faces the problem of replacing and rebuilding quickly enough to get ready for the new season.

Senior Alex Wildeson says, “Rebuilding won’t be too hard. We have a good group of new sophomores and juniors that are going to create a good portion of our team.” Rebuilding usually has a negative connotation, but this year’s team looks at it as a stepping stone into the future. They hope to finish first in the district, and go farther into the post season than they did last year, hopefully reaching the state playoffs. “All it will take is hard work day in and day out from the boys this year. By playing together as a team, they can accomplish all their goals. I don’t see this as a rebuilding season. With the mix of youth and seniors, I think this team is already just as good, if not better, than last years team,” says Hipple.

Tradition helps unify the team despite differences in grade level. In years past, players demonstrated loyalty to the team by shaving their heads. Although this has fallen out of favor, the legacy of the horn continues. A designated senior brings the horn, a deer antler, to every game and practice for luck. In front of the team’s bench, the senior plants the horn in the ground and waters it. At the spring sports banquet, the horn is bequeathed to a rising senior, who in turn continues the ritual in the following year. Brian Rock (Sr.) presently keeps the horn. At the end of the season Rock will engrave an 04 on the horn to commemorate the past season’s success.