As the girls’ soccer season approaches, the players and coaches need motivation to kick-start the season. After ending their last season with a losing record, the Mustangs are hopeful to make a comeback this year.
Girls’ soccer coach Christopher Hernandez discusses his experience with his approach to motivating the team.
“It is a lot of athlete-driven … the culture is determined by the athletes. Yes, coaches can go ahead and say things about what we want [but] all those things don’t matter if the players don’t buy in,” Hernandez said.
As the season progresses, the players’ commitment to their sport becomes just as important as their soccer skills. The players are the primary controllers of their performance in the games. If they don’t truly want success, they won’t achieve it.
Junior Hannah Hake shares her experience with motivation on the girls’ soccer team.
“Trying to get to that next level and then also winning it for my team, kind of like having those moments together, like the bus rides home and stuff like that. Celebrating at the end,” Hake said.
“Trying to get to that next level and then also winning it for my team, kind of like having those moments together, like the bus rides home and stuff like that. Celebrating at the end,”
Many moments really influence how the players work for what they want. They each have something for themselves that motivates them to work harder during games, practices and training.
Another aspect of this is the coaches and the way they motivate the players. How coaches talk to the players and coach them really affects how well they do.
“So for us, it’s about the standards that have been set since. You could say five years ago, you could say three years ago, you could say 10 years ago, and it’s just about carrying things over. So this group, because they were so young last year, I think a lot of that motivational kind of carries over from positive habits that we’ve had in the past,” Hernandez said.
The motivation given by the coaches is really generational. The way they treat one group really sets the tone for years to come. The players feed off each other and get their drive from teammates and coaches.
The season will begin around the beginning of March, and the players are motivated and ready to begin their season.
