Boys vs. girls high school soccer
October 1, 2019
Isabella Shradar
Senior
Q: How long is a normal practice?
A: “It’s usually an hour and a half to an hour and forty-five minutes.”
Q: When do you start conditioning?
A: “We have open field right now…but conditioning starts in November.”
Q: Do coaches give you any dietary restrictions?
A: “They don’t impose a diet [on you], but they expect you to be taking care of yourself and eating healthy.”
Q: How long is a game?
A: “We usually have an hour to forty-five minute warmup before the game, and then you have two forty minute halves [and a] ten minute half time. In general, you’re probably doing stuff for two and a half hours.”
Q: What expectations do the coaches have?
A: “They do have high expectations of your grades. They really endorse working hard, getting your classes right.”
Q: What’s the number of games per season?
A: “I think it’s somewhere around eight before metros.”
Q: Do you hold team-bonding activities?
A: “We do team dinners. Personally, I want to try and get better at that as a senior this year.”
Q: What’s the most important part of being a good soccer player?
A: “I think it’s ability to take things with a grain of salt. If your coach is yelling at you, you need to understand it’s not because he hates you… he’s trying to make you better.”
Q: How often do you hold practices?
A: “During the season, usually we have a practice every day except for game days.”
Q: How would you describe the practice energy?
A: “Our assistant coach, Denton, really tries to get the energy high. Jose [the head coach] is a lot more ‘it’s upon yourselves’ to rally within each other to find that energy to have a good practice.”
Q: Do you like your coaches?
A: “I do enjoy them. Denton, I love. Jose, I love.”
Q: How many players are usually on your team?
A: “We usually have 18-20 at the beginning of the season.”
Q: What was your record last year?
A: “I don’t even know. It was not what I wanted.”
Q: What is a typical practice like?
A: “We usually have a warmup… and then we do ball work. Then our coach will come in and he’ll usually do passing patterns. Last year we did a lot of focusing on small-sided attacking and defending. At the end, we’d finish with something involving shooting.”
Q: Do you do weight training?
A: “We do not do weight training.”
Q: Should girls be allowed to play one the boys team/vice versa?
A: “I think that girls can play with boys, but obviously it can’t be pity points. You have to be able to keep up. I don’t think that boys should be able to play with girls because they do have the genetical aspect of it…they’re built to be more physically prepared for a game.”
Q: Is there a difference in physicality in boys and girls soccer?
A: “Yes, I think that boys are not as physical as girls. When I started playing with the boys team [for my club], …they were freaking out because I was so aggressive.”
Q: Do you think the Central girls team will win state this year?
A: “I have a goal to make it to the state tournament. I’m never going to say never, but I don’t see it.”
Q: What are your goals for the season?
A: “I want us to be able to win our metro/district. I think we can win our district at least and make it to state, at least for one round.”
Coy Leytham
Senior
Q: How long is a normal practice?
A: “A regular practice is about an hour [and] thirty [minutes].”
Q: When do you start conditioning?
A: “About three months before the season actually starts.”
Q: Do coaches give you any dietary restrictions?
A: “No.”
Q: How long is a game?
A: “Games are usually forty minutes each half.”
Q: What expectations do the coaches have?
A: “Our work ethic is crazy. You’re just working hard and getting better than the person next to you.”
Q: What’s the number of games per season?
A: “Eighteen. If you go to state, 20-23.”
Q: Do you hold team-bonding activities?
A: “All the time. We do team dinners every week during the season.”
Q: What’s the most important part of being a good soccer player?
A: “School. We had a lot of really, really good players that if they got good grades, they’d easily go to D1 (division one).”
Q: How often do you hold practices?
A: “Every day a week besides Monday for the whole season.”
Q: How would you describe the practice energy?
A: “It’s either we’re slacking really hard , and it’s not a good day, or it’s a really good day. There’s really not an in between.”
Q: Do you like your coaches?
A: “I do. Pham- favorite person ever. He’s there for all of us. The new head coach brings all the coaching aspects that Pham doesn’t have.”
Q: How many players are usually on your team?
A: “Probably 22 total.”
Q: What was your record last year?
A: “I think it was nine and nine. We lost some games we shouldn’t have and won some games we shouldn’t have.”
Q: What is a typical practice like?
A: “Get out on the field, get all your stuff on. Stretch out with the whole team. I’m a goalie, so I go do some goalie stuff while the players do technical stuff. At the end of practice, we usually get some shooting in.”
Q: Do you do weight training?
A: “For conditioning, we do, but we don’t during the season.”
Q: Should girls be allowed to play one the boys team/vice versa?
A: “I think if a girl is way above where all the other girls are [then yes]. If we had a girl that was outstanding, number one in the state, I think that she should be able to join the boys team.”
Q: Is there a difference in physicality in boys and girls soccer?
A: “Typically, if you watch a girls game of soccer, it’s way slower in physicalness.”
Q: Do you think the Central boys team will win state this year?
A: “I do.”
Q: What are your goals for the season?
A: “My goal this season is to be on point with everything. See one person slacking off, the whole team is taking a consequence for it. I’m trying to be the person that keeps it all in line.”