By Justyne Buenaventura, Kelly Jiang, Francesca Manabat, Vivian Mei, Sophia Park, Marcella Soewignjo, and Christine Xu, Staff Writers
As the school year kicks off, students are getting back in the game—not just in the classroom, but on the field as well. The Townsend Harris girls’ and boys’ soccer teams open this season with new team captains. Soccer coaches Matthew Curiale and Vaselios Sioukas appointed seniors Nile Johnson and Rohan Iyer as captains for the boys’ soccer team and seniors Victoria Fraczek and Kayla Seepersad as captains for the girls’ soccer team.
Victoria shared how she developed her passion for soccer: “When I was five years old, I was automatically placed in the club team my dad started with his friend and I grew up playing soccer.” As a captain, her goal is to get her team passed the second round of the playoffs. She said, “I want to beat Scholars Academy and Francis Lewis High School…they are our biggest rivals.”
“It’s always a goal to…maximize the amount of achievement you can get” said Rohan. His teammate, senior Shane Werther, said that the captains are “always pushing the team and making sure [they’re] one. They hold everyone accountable.”
Regarding team dynamics, Rohan said, “We just focus on building our chemistry… it’s a lot about working together as a team. At the end of the day, it’s all about the team winning.”
Coach Curiale emphasized that “a sense of belonging is very important.” He explains how captains are “…supposed to motivate their players by showing effort…, encourage the guys to clap on the sidelines, and encourage the team to have team spirit.”
Sophomore Samuel Tsai shared, “As a part of the team, I learned how to cooperate with my teammates… we were able to communicate with each other more effectively and pass the ball efficiently.”
Similarly, sophomore Angelina Kretz recognizes her captains’ leadership through “communicating on the field and taking control of our team to work effectively.”
Sophomore Julia Maciejak claimed they are “the best sport family [where] everyone supports everyone even through your ups and downs.”
Kayla encourages interested players to join the soccer team. “It’s a great game, most people who play soccer do it for the love of soccer… Once you enter the community you are going to see why people fall in love with the sport and continue to love the sport,” she said. “So give it a shot, what is there to lose?”
