With fall on the rise, the JV Men’s Soccer Team is back and ready to kick the competition. The Shadow soccer family has been anticipating their return to rock the scoreboard and win some games. 

Player Elijah Gonzalez has been a hard-working member of the team since his sophomore year. He makes sure he’s able to balance both  school and sports and he’s able to do all this with the support of his coach and his team.

Gonzalez says, “My favorite thing about soccer are the challenges it gives me and the new people I can meet.”

Coach Nathaniel  Kramer, a well-liked and respected member of the school for four years,  coaches this year’s Men’s JV Soccer Team. He puts the team to work with practice on an average of 2-4 days a week depending on how many games they’re scheduled to play.

Coach Kramer states, “Coaching at Shadow Ridge has been a great experience. Every season has a new lesson, and I have so much fun every time I am out on the field.”

The coach believes Shadow has an amazing support system from both the audience and the administration. This gives the players a great morale boost and helps them overcome many obstacles they may face when playing.

When it comes to improvements to the team, most of the players agreed that they need to work on communication while on the field. This will help the players make the split-second choices on the field to take the game.

Both Coach Kramer and a majority of the players believe that the largest hardships in soccer would be injuries and hard losses. Kramer tries his best to prepare his players mentally so that they will be ready for anything.

Gonzalez continues, “My favorite thing about soccer is the challenges it gives me and the new people I can meet.”

Soccer and any sports team always have room for improvement whether it be communication, attitude, overcoming adversity, or determination to see through to one’s goals.

One thing any team should do is establish clear and achievable goals and good helpful habits. These habits can be beneficial in ways like helping someone get homework done, study, become healthier, or even just keep things clean.

Coach Kramer says, “Thoughts become words, words become actions, and actions become habits.”