Lady Dragons soccer is young and willing to learn and grow
Clinton High School’s Girl’s Soccer Team is gearing up for the fall season.
Last year, the team had so few players that they were forced to forfeit a number of games.
This year, with five incoming freshmen, the team has risen to sixteen members.
“We have enough to fuel the team and we have a few subs, and that’s better than last year. Hopefully we don’t have any injuries,” said Suzanna Stout, Clinton’s head coach.
This is Stout’s first season as head coach after taking the program over.
Before now she was an assistant for the girl’s team and worked as a coach for the boys team for two seasons. Despite the team’s youth, she said she’s really optimistic.
“It’s a young team, but we’ve got some girls that are pretty good. It’s just helping them to build [skills] with the ones that haven’t played much,” said Stout.
Assistant Coach Amanda Wielgus agreed.
“I think we’ll grow a lot over the season because we have so many new players. A lot of them have never played in a game before and it’s one of those things where I feel like, as time goes on, we’ll have an amazing team. A lot of the older girls have stepped into that mentorship role for the younger ones.
“They’ve taken them aside and worked with them one-on-one and just really been leaders, and I think that’s a really good sign of the team dynamic.”
“The great thing about the girls,” Wielgus continued, “is that all of them are really excited about being on the team. They’re all excited to learn and just excited about accomplishing everything.
Both agreed that the team wouldn’t be functioning nearly so well if it weren’t for the parents.
“Our parents are awesome,” said Wielgus. “They’re just so helpful and they’ve donated their time and money. They’ve made sure we have water, and some even donated stuff for us to sell at the concessions stands. We really wouldn’t be where we are without them.”
Clinton’s first game of the regular season will take place against Anderson County on August 20, at Anderson County High School.