A new Knight: Samantha Sampson leads the Ocoee girls soccer program forward | Observer Preps

When Samantha Sampson applied for an open art position at Ocoee High, she didn’t expect to be anything more than an art teacher.

She assumed she would teach artistic techniques to curious students and dive into the history of art — studying the likes of Rembrandt and Dali.

But along with her time in the classroom, she was asked one additional question during her interview: “Can you also coach girls soccer?” Her answer was a nervous, “Yes.”

“I have been an assistant coach before in the high-school level and have coached academy teams back home, but I’ve never head coached a varsity soccer program before,” Sampson said. “But when they said they literally didn’t have a coach, I really couldn’t pass it up, because I can’t deprive 40 girls — JV and varsity teams — from not playing soccer. 

“If they have the heart for it and they’re willing, and all they need is just someone to just kind of encourage them and bring a little bit of knowledge to them, I could not pass that up,” she said. “I wanted to help in any way that I could.”

Sampson’s start as the new coach came the moment she stepped on campus. After starting Nov. 5 — a Monday — she participated in her first team practice the following day. It turned out to be a bonding moment for Sampson and the girls, despite its sloppiness.

By starting from scratch, Sampson sat and talked her new team as she learned about each of them and the soccer that they had been playing during their time at Ocoee.

Going over what formations with which girls were comfortable and learning the quirks of each girl’s game are things that take time to polish out and refine.

It’s a long process and one that takes a lot of work from everyone, but the girls have welcomed it, Sampson said. 

“They were just overall so thankful to just be playing soccer — it was super evident that they were just happy to have a coach,” Sampson said. “A lot of them didn’t think they would have a team all year and they just were not going to be able to play, and that is just heartbreaking —especially for the girls (who) don’t play travel ball.”

“If they have the heart for it and they’re willing, and all they need is just someone to just kind of encourage them and bring a little bit of knowledge to them, I could not pass that up. I wanted to help in any way that I could.”

— Samantha Sampson

Sampson said before she arrived, she had heard from folks at Ocoee that many a tear had been shed by members of the team because of the uncertainty surrounding the season. But now, they have the experience of Sampson to help lead the way.

A native of Salem, Virginia, Sampson has played soccer her entire life — from her time in club ball all the way up to her college career at Emory & Henry College, where she played center-mid and center-back for the Wasps women’s soccer team. She also officiated soccer for 13 years.

While the girls will be taking full advantage of that lifetime of experience, they also will be helping Sampson adjust to the game in Florida — especially as it relates to varying rules.

“I’m learning a lot as a coach; the rules are so much different in Virginia than they are in Florida,” Sampson said. “I was introduced Monday to the blue-card system, which up until Monday I didn’t even know existed.”

Luckily for Sampson, she has a few strong leaders in Yoan Ruiz, Madison Foster and Olivia Bell to help. The trio is at the core of the Knights’ lineup, Sampson said. Currently, the game plan is less about worrying about the score — which hasn’t been kind to Ocoee over the first few games — and more about seeing who works where and how to best move the team forward.

One of the best parts about having a team with such young and inexperienced players is that Sampson can start from the ground up with each girl — building them into better players and teammates. Through building that foundation — for the girls and the program — Sampson hopes to guide her program forward.

“I just really hope to build stability in this program and that it’s a program that the girls can really take a lot of pride in and take pride in themselves because they’re working so hard,” Sampson said. “What we have really talked about this week is attitude and effort. … As long as they really work hard at those things, good things will come.”