The Varsity Boys’ Soccer team triumphed 4-1 over Ocean View High School, kicking off their season with an impressive win for their season’s first official game on Dec. 2. With a spirited Sage Hill cheer team on Ramer Field, the Lightning celebrated their victory as Head Coach Raphael Alves engaged with players and chatted with parents.
Since the start of the winter sport season, the Boys’ Soccer team has been laying the groundwork for the demanding contests they are set to face this year. Alves reflected on the growth of the team over the past three years, particularly in terms of recruitment and participation. Despite this progress, he acknowledged that the team is still younger compared to many of their league rivals.
“On Varsity, we have one senior, a few juniors, and mostly sophomores and freshmen. The JV team is even younger,” Alves said. Sage Hill, as part of the Pacific Coast League, plays against public schools with nearly six times the amount of students.
“We tend to dominate most of the games with the ball and everything but physically we start getting tired,” Alves said.
“With the ability to rotate players that the other teams have, their physical advantage ends up overpowering us almost every game,” he said. This issue of stamina is a key concern for the team, which will require efficiency and direction in order to remain competitive throughout the season.
Junior and Varsity left winger Sascha Pirghibi shared his thoughts on the team’s challenges and potential for success.
“Since Sage is one of the smallest schools in our league, we have the least amount of players. We will most likely have difficulty with players getting tired by the end of the season,” Sascha said. Yet, he remains optimistic about the team’s prospects.
“All teams will pose a challenge to us, but I believe we can be successful.” In order to compensate for their player deficit, Alves is specifically working to build connections on the field.
By building a complex system of players to unite the team during games, Alves hopes to help his athletes collectively improve and collaborate. This focus on developing a cohesive system is essential considering the physical support that other teams have from their sizable benches.
Additionally, the team incorporates sprinting drills in practice to improve endurance and fitness. Alves wishes to refine the team’s understanding of the “game model,” which refers to each of the players position and actions on the field during every phase of the game.
“It’s just the way we play, you know, like the phases of the game when they do have the ball, when they don’t have the ball, when they lose the ball, little things like that.” Alves explained. Alves emphasized how consistent training has already presented improvement in the players’ performance.
By fine tuning their understanding of the game, drilling to improve physical fitness, and building systems of players on the field, Boys’ Soccer positions themselves positively to face some of the largest teams in the area.
