Kalli Marsel of the SOSS high school girls soccer team, on right, battles her Osoyoos Secondary School opponent for possession during a recent exhibition game, which finished in a 1-1 draw.
Dale Cory photo
Coaching at the high school level has its unique set of challenges.
In senior high, students’ lives are filled with, at times, heartache, success and excitement, to go along with a full schedule – from the classroom to the soccer pitch. And of course, there’s all that texting.
For Andy Marsel, head coach of the Southern Okanagan Secondary School girls soccer team, just filling the field with the required 11 players can prove to be difficult at times.
“Right now it’s hard for dedication,” admitted Marsel, who is in his first year coaching at the high school level. “A lot of them have jobs, they have other sports, they have other stuff going on, and they have work. This has been a little harder than what I’m used to.”
A few weeks back, the Hornets took part in the Osoyoos Secondary School Desert Classic Soccer Tournament.
Only problem: Disney’s High School Musical was on the stage at SOSS, and those players who were involved in the weekend theatrical performances, along with the girls soccer team, were not allowed to risk injury on the pitch.
So, Marsel was left with a team of 14 during Friday’s action, certainly not an ideal situation for coach, or players.
It showed, with SOSS falling to Credo Christian of Langley 7-1 and 3-1 on the opening day.
“They are working hard, and they are dedicated to the ball,” said a still-upbeat Marsel in between those defeats. “We got caught up in not having as many players as we should have, so they are getting a little tired. All in all, they have been playing a pretty good game. Being a small town, we ended up picking up a couple of extra players and it worked out.”
Not an ideal situation for the coach. But for the players, a chance to get plenty of field time, and improve.
“As a player, it works out,” added Marsel. “When your key group is gone, the other girls need to step up. So far they have.”
The SOSS girls ended up second in the B Pool, finishing off with a 1-0 win over Merritt.
For Marsel and assistant coach Andrew Mason, both community coaches helping out the SOSS athletic program, the main job has been to offer instruction to the girls.
“It’s a young team. And goalkeeping has been a struggle for us. Everyone wants to play out at this age group,” offered Marsel. “Usually the problem with Oliver and Osoyoos – if a player does get to be good, they get picked up by Penticton, or Thompson-Okanagan. We lose our better players living here, whereas, at the coast, these better players, who are playing here this weekend, do it for a living. The coaches do it for a living. Twelve months of the year they’re doing it. As long as we can just hold our own, we will be okay.”
This is a story about the SOSS soccer team. However, the very successful girls field hockey program at the school can also take some credit.
“The beauty of Oliver is that Ian Gibson always pushed the girls in field hockey, so there are some leaders on our team – the older girls, that are also the leaders of that team – so they can step up. Kalli Marsel, Brianna Agostinho – the seniors on the team – are good with the other kids, and the kids respect them so it works out good. On the other hand, we have a lot of young players that are doing an awesome job. They pick up the slack, they’re gung-ho and they don’t give up. Teija Anderson really works hard all the time. We have a few of those,” offered Marsel, who knows who the toughest competition will come from in league play. “I think in league play we should be able to place second. Penticton has a strong bunch of girls. We know them all, I know them all from SOYSA (South Okanagan Youth Soccer Association). They’re a strong bunch, but I think we’ll do alright.”
Dale Cory
Oliver Chronicle
