By DAVID WOOD, for The Democrat
“It’s awesome. It’s a great experience to get to be back here and I’d never thought I’d get the opportunity to do this again,” said August “Skip” Simons.
Having graduated from Brown County in 2001, Simons has returned to his former team to salvage and rebuild what’s left of their 2017 season.
After their 11-5-1 run the previous year, the loss of former head coach Erich Nolan and seven seniors, the boys varsity soccer team has struggled to reestablish themselves. Their 0-3 loss against Jennings County last week proved no different, as the team’s record dipped to 3-11 overall.
“We’re still fighting the same fight we’ve had all season, which is earning their trust on my side, but also for those older players to learn to trust the younger ones with less experience,” Simons said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Trust is the key, he said. Though, with more than half the roster consisting of underclassmen, it’s no easy feat getting everyone on the same page.
“Teambuilding and creating a positive team environment for them has been the biggest thing for me. I’ve been trying to get them to understand that this is all 11 of them on the field fighting at the same time,” he said.
In addition, multiple injuries left key players sidelined. The already small roster struggled to stand up to a deeper Jennings County team late into the second half.
“We don’t have as big of a team as other schools, so we have a lot less subs. The second half has always been a challenge for us, but most of the time we do make that up,” senior Whitten Keith said.
Unable to play due to a knee injury, Keith is bound to the sidelines where he does his best to contribute in whatever way he’s able.
“I try to be as vocal as I can because I have a better field of vision. I can clearly see that Aidan (Johnson) is open on the right wing, so I pick stuff up more easily. It’s still a way to be constructive on the team if I can’t play,” he said.
Despite making the most of it, Keith admitted coaching from the sidelines isn’t an ideal end to his high school soccer career.
“It hits really hard, especially because of my knee. This is my third-to-last game, including sectionals, and it’s really tough,” he said.
“For me, I’m not in many other sports or activities, so this is kind of it for me. This is my passion and there’s very few things I’ve excelled at besides soccer.”
Simons hopes to spread that same passion for the game to the county’s up-and-coming youth. By no fault of anyone in particular, soccer isn’t a big priority and hasn’t really ever been, he said. By also volunteering as junior high and intermediate-level parks and rec coach, he aims to begin building the program from the ground up.
“I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. Coaches from Brown County tend to go through a four-year cycle. … I’m a local, I’ve been here and I love this community. It’s time for me to take something that I’m passionate about and share it.”
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Seniors: Jeffrey Carlberg, Aidan Johnson, Zelton Kay, Whitten Keith
Juniors: Logan Imming, Will Normile, Owen Taylor, Caleb Yager
Sophomores: Jake Huddleston, Logan Huddleston, Cameron Payne, Nick Ponzo, Kyle Roberson, Zach Spires, Ricky Stanley, Ty Wesley
Freshmen: Wyatt Fox, River Lacy-Connell, Sam Normile, Elijah Smith, Collin Trapp
Manager: Gracie Bay
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