Injuries and grades take toll on Patriot’s soccer team
February 10, 2015
The boys varsity soccer team gathers to raise moral as the members prepare for a home game against Granada Hills Charter High School on Jan. 30 in Balboa Park.
The new soccer season has started meaning new goals and challenges for the Patriots soccer team.
One challenge that the Birmingham Community Charter High School soccer team is currently facing is that players are starting to leave the team. Daniel Pearl Magnet High School senior Lorenzo Campos is the only player currently playing for the team.
“I am the only soccer player from DPMHS that plays for BCCHS. I actually feel proud of myself because I can show the team that DPMHS students have more to offer than just good grades,” Campos said. “I also have more pressure than the other players because I’m the only one representing my school.”
There is a decrease in DPMHS players from the previous season. Last season DPMHS students Alfonso Serrano, Michael Linan and alumni Jonathan Hinojosa were on the team. Together they took the 2014 city championship.
“I quit the team because almost all the players from last season quit, and we created a bond that the new team won’t be able to replace. I also don’t feel comfortable playing with the new team,” senior Serrano said.
There are many reasons why players leave the team. These reasons range from injuries to finding a job or not having the grades to be on the team.
“I left the team because of an injury that I got. In my opinion injuries are the main reason why people quit the team for any sport,” senior Linan said.
Last year’s city champion players think that the new team won’t be able to produce the same results as last year because the new team hasn’t learned how to work together. Only time will tell how the team will do this season.
The other thing new about this season is that there are difficult goals set ahead for the team. After the team won the city finals last season, coach E.B. Mahda and the new team have high expectation to make it to city finals.
“My goals for the new season is to win city finals again, because in my opinion this season’s team is better than the previous team,” Campos said. “We just need to learn to how to work together, when we figure this out we will be unstoppable.”
