Legacy soccer success a welcome surprise

OCOEE  When David Hill, coach of the Legacy Charter High School soccer team, thought of the start of this season, his goal was to surprise people. 

The soccer program at Legacy is in its third season and experienced growing pains its first two years. In the first season, the team lost every game, and games ended in a mercy rule nearly three-fourths of the time. The second year was a bit better — the team played strong every time, though it won only five games, one of which was a forfeit.

This year, the team has met Hill’s goal of being a surprise. 

The co-ed team has an 8-4-1 record and is poised to be third in its district. 

“It’s crazy how much we’ve improved from the very first year we’ve played,” said Cole Pruim, a junior striker who has played on the team for three years. “The program’s really taken off.”

Emily Ripley, a junior who has been on the team all three years, has watched the team grow. She sees this year’s season as a product of hard work and teammates understanding one another. 

“We really work well together as a team,” she said. “We grew together as a team.” 

This year, the team has enjoyed plenty of records and firsts: highest win total, most goals, first year participating in district play and its first hat trick. 

But why the sudden turnaround?

“Having three years and having players stick with it, their skill level has gotten better,” Hill said. 

The team has also benefited from new, but talented, players. Two basketball players switched to soccer and added to the team. Three other starters transferred to the school. 

“It’s crazy how much we’ve improved from the very first year we’ve played. The program’s really taken off.”

-Cole Pruim 

 

Six seniors left the team, so the new players were able to fill the gaps. Several of the new players also had experience playing travel soccer, which also raised the skill level of the team. 

Hill thinks the improvement of the team is a combination of the new and the old. 

“If our players that had been here since the beginning had not improved, then these additions still would be struggling, because you have nobody to pass it to,” Hill said. 

Specifically, the team has benefited from the addition of Caleb Enright, who plays center midfield this year after playing basketball the previous season. He is a strong leader on the team. 

Playing Miles Moyer as goalkeeper also has been a good move for Legacy. 

After the first game, Hill asked Moyer, who had never played goalkeeper, to try out for the position. Moyer agreed. 

“It turns out Miles is a phenomenal keeper,” Hill said.  “He’s learning the game and he’s learning it fast.” 

Hill puts a strong emphasis on defense because he often says: “If they don’t score, we don’t lose.” 

The team hopes to maintain its success and complete a winning season. At the beginning of the season, Hill hoped to win the team’s first playoff game. Now, Hill hopes to make it to the district finals. 

He also emphasizes sportsmanship among his athletes. 

“I don’t want any cards for attitude problems,” Hill said. “If it’s an interpretation from the ref, OK I can take that. But I don’t want any of my kids to have poor sportsmanship and therefore get a yellow card or red card or blue card. And so far we’ve had no cards.” 

Contact Jennifer Nesslar at [email protected].