Girls Soccer

I spent some time with the OHHS girls soccer team and coaches today, and have this to report:

The soccer team is coached by Steve Barker, an English teacher at OHHS for 27 years. Originally from the Tacoma area, Coach Barker graduated from Bellarmine Prep and later the University of Washington. At that time, there was no interscholastic soccer competition, so Coach played when and where he could, totalling over 30 years of soccer experience.

As well as teaching at OHHS for all those years, he's also been involved with the OHHS soccer program. At various times he's been either the boys or girls head coach, head coach for both (as he is now), or an assistant. Coach Barker is truly in love with the game, and speaks of it with a passion. He likes to point out that soccer is a very fluid game, and is a sport not for really large or really fast people, but a game for athletic people.

Coach Barker is assisted by JV coach Brian Thompson, an OHHS PE teacher. Originally from Minnesota, where he attended both high school and college, Coach Thompson has been teaching for 20 years and has 17 years coaching experience, all in Oak Harbor.

Last year was a tough one for the team, with little showing on the scoreboard for their efforts. However, Coach Barker said there was more to playing soccer than just a win-loss record, and while winning is important to him, one of his highest goals as a coach is to have the players learn and enjoy the game while at the same time learning more about themselves.

Although losing 6 key seniors, Coach Barker is looking forward to outstanding play from key returners Carson McKole, Hope Thompson, Roni Tomlin, Kirsten Roof, Kathy Silveira and Claire Trepanier.

Barker expects this years team to be competitive, and is planning for the team to participate in post-season play. Win or lose, Barker was to make sure that the other teams work hard when they play us, and hopes that our opponents go home unhappy they tangled with the Wildcats.

The JV team is not yet formed. It's only the 3rd day of tryouts and Coach Thompson hasn't really been able to see all the girls together. While he says that all the younger players he's been working with so far are a great bunch of girls, he is concerned about being able to field a complete team. A full soccer team has 11 players, but of 3 days practice, Coach Thompson has yet had 11 players at any one practice.

I took a few photos, but some of the upperclassmen and freshman were not at practice due to Freshman orientation and Link Crew participation. Some of the photos have names, some only numbers. The only reason some have names is those are the girls I know. I'll be posting photos again as the season progresses.

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/GSoccer827tryouts