Women’s Soccer has a Winning Mindset

The FHS Varsity Women’s Soccer team is shifting their team culture and surpassing expectations along the way. 

The women’s soccer program hasn’t won more than nine games since 2017. However, this season’s team has already broken the nine year slump. Their record after regular season play was 11-6-2.

“The culture, I think, is changing it,” says head coach Samuel Vargas. “Think of team culture like a big bowl, and then we’re pouring things into it – motivation, indoor practices, team bonding, meals, all these different things. We’re getting the right girls into the room who will adapt and love the program.”

Before the season even started, steps were taken to intentionally shift the players’ mindsets.

“We had a really good preseason playing indoor, and I could see the potential level start to increase,” says Vargas. “We had the right players in the room; everyone seemed to have the same mindset, the same vision, of wanting to accomplish things and win.” 

The preseason felt good for the players too.

“I felt pretty good! The people who went to morning practices, we all played pretty well and clicked,” says Kai Pelletier, grade 11.

During preconference matches, the team was undefeated.

“You never really know the success of the team until you get those [first] few games,” explains Vargas. “The attitude was where I just wanted to compete and play, but I knew that we could win some games. Then we played that jamboree, and we won the first few games; we were playing really well and coming together as a team.”

Though the girls didn’t have a perfect season and suffered some losses, they didn’t allow those losses to define them. 

Vargas explains this attitude: “I like how the identity of the team keeps shifting as the season goes on. It’s evolving with the pressure of the season in a good way. You’re not stuck in the past. As the season gets harder, your identity is changing and you’re adapting to those challenges and you’re moving on.”

Pelletier agrees that the team energy has shifted throughout the season.

“I think this is the best attitude the bench has ever had. Usually people complain, but they’re actually watching the game and cheering for people,” she says.