This year, Rolla High School’s soccer team had the largest showing at tryouts in the program’s history. An unexpected 52 players laced their cleats and came to join the team. The record-breaking attendance has forced new action from the head coach, Matt Calvert. Though many were surprised at the creation of a third team, the concept of a C team had been discussed in previous years- it was simply not plausible at the time.
“We have always liked the idea of growing the program, but we’ve never had the numbers come out to have a full C team,” Calvert said.
This decision not only helps expand the program but also benefits the boys who may not have been able to find a team elsewhere.
“By having a C team, we kept eighteen more players than we would normally keep involved in high school soccer. If we did not have a C team, I would have had to cut eighteen players who would not really be able to find club ball in the area because with most of the teams being in the high school season, there’s not a lot of men’s clubs going on right now,” Calvert said.
Soccer captain Aiden Mertens believes the increase of numbers has also increased enthusiasm and competitiveness throughout the team.
“I think it’s actually made it more competitive because all the C team kids, and JV, they all want to play at a higher level, and they definitely have given each other a good competition,” Mertens said.
Despite the competition, the team dynamic remains positive.
“I definitely think we’re all closer. I remember from when I was a freshman, there was definitely a group that was separate and now everybody’s just kind of close. Everybody has respect for everybody. Nobody dislikes anybody,” Mertens explained.
This friendly environment has allowed underclassmen to feel comfortable stepping into new positions.
“Some of the underclassmen…have stepped into a leadership role that they wouldn’t have been able to step into if we didn’t have the C team,” Calvert said.
There has been an air of uncertainty throughout the season concerning whether or not the C team would be able to play and demonstrate their honed skills against other schools.
“Since this was so short notice, we started looking for games at the beginning of the season, and it’s not easy to schedule games once the season has started…We are trying to schedule a game with Springfield Central, which looks like October 30. And I’ve contacted a couple of smaller schools in the area [including] Dixon and Bell,” Calvert stated.
Since there has been such a positive outcome from this decision, it is only natural to wonder if this will be continued in later years.
“I see us having a C team for several years to come. Because even after this [upcoming] Knights team, I believe there will be three club teams in the next five years. So that’s typically an average of fifteen to twenty kids per club team. So I see our program growing quite a bit in the next couple years,”Calvert said.
