Dreams of a mid-afternoon kick-off after school are now a reality.
The Foothills Athletic Council senior boys soccer loop is back in operation for the first time in three seasons, giving Grade 12 athletes a belated opportunity to compete for their schools and communities.
“It just sucks how long it had to take for us to start playing soccer for the school team,” said HTA Grade 12 goalkeeper Gabriel Janik.
“It’s really nice to be able to actually look forward to going to play soccer after school.”
The Knights have three seniors on the squad and a good mixture of Grade 11 and 10 athletes for the spring season.
“It’s definitely been frustrating not being able to play, but now that we finally do it feels good,” added Knights Grade 12 winger Liam Eppleston.
The unique situation allows all of the players to start on an even playing field regardless of age or grade with everyone on the pitch a rookie at the high school level.
“It’s pretty good and makes everyone have an equal chance of playing,” Eppleston said. “I think we have a strong team and have a strong chance at making it to zone finals.
“I think we just have to remain focused in practices and not underestimate anyone we play against.”
For the Foothills Falcons, rebuilding the program at first intimidating, noted head coach Jeff Seaborn.
“Having some mentorship in the team was always valuable, but to be honest the team as a whole has stepped up and they’re all enthusiastic about the opportunity to play whether its Grade 10s or Grade 12s and everyone in between,” the coach added. “And there’s been some tremendous leadership on the team from all grade levels.
“So the gap of two years wasn’t as damaging as I thought it would be…They all came in fresh saying, ‘We have a new team and let’s put our effort into it.’
“One player specifically came in and said ‘I’ve wanted to do this for a couple of years and now I get to. COVID has really been a nuisance for a lot of people, but it’s nice to be back on the field, nice to see the boys playing hard and learning from those opportunities.”
Grade 12 central midfielder George Smith, the team’s captain, Grade 10 centre back Austin Dauncey and versatile Grade 11 Josh Heuver will form the team’s leadership group for the spring season.
The Knights defeated the Falcons in a lopsided opening week clash at Foothills on April 27 with HTA also earning a blowout victory over Notre Dame Collegiate in its icebreaker two days prior.
“Our whole thing is getting it up the line and crossing it in and trying to finish the ball,” Janik said. “I think that’s how we’re going to score most of our goals this season.”
The Knights were able to make hay with considerable speed on the counter with Foothills having a good amount of possession in the early going.
“We were obviously a little disappointed in the outcome,” Seaborn said. “HTA came out to win, we came out to play and that made the difference.
“We certainly learned a lot, we have a lot to work on ourselves. The basics we’ve got, we’ve just got to refine things.
“They had some incredible speed which caught us off guard a few times. We seemed to shut that down a little bit, more so in the second half, but they pressed hard and overran our defence quite a bit.”
For the head coach, the season is all about reestablishing the soccer program at the school after building it up to its two straight league championship seasons in 2018 and 2019.
“It’s a shame that the Grade 12s are only going to get one year,” he said. “But to get the culture going, the enthusiasm and support for the soccer team.
“I’d like to raise the awareness in the community and within the school that soccer is a viable sport.”
This week, the Knights host the Canmore Wolverines and the Falcons are in High River to clash with the Timberwolves.
Both games are 4:30 p.m. starts on May 4.
