Faced with their first game of the season, the boys’ soccer team has been preparing in a variety of ways, on and off the field. With rigorous conditioning and early morning practices, the team is stronger than ever, quickly adapting to their new roster.
After five seniors graduated, a new dynamic is being established. “We lost a lot of important players, like both of our centerbacks: George and Andrew. Right now we’re just focused on adjusting to that and trying to fill those roles with our current upperclassmen,” says senior Owen Snyder (‘24). Connor Lucido (‘24) and David Williams (‘25) have become the new centerbacks, despite both of them never having experience in those positions. The team has adapted to the new positions in stride, focusing on supporting and guiding the new players, including all the freshmen.
Despite the heavy losses, senior Connor Lucido (‘24) says that team chemistry was at “an all time high.” Four new captains have risen to the challenge this year, with juniors Carson Matula, David Williams, and Cale Williams (‘25), and senior Daniel John (‘24). Matula has taken the biggest responsibility in guiding the team and is known for his witty remarks, such as, “Soreness is the prerequisite to greatness.”
As a bonding activity, the team went to the Big Biscuit for brunch after the last preseason practice. At this annual breakfast, at least one player tries to complete the challenge of eating the “three car pile up,” a 3000-calorie meal consisting of a massive pancake topped with eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, biscuits and gravy. In past years upperclassmen Amrit Sian (‘22) and George Columbo (‘23) have attempted this challenge. This year, Matula gave it a shot.
While the team lost several graduates, they have also gained seven new freshmen. Now the 9th graders have had to adapt to more rigorous practices. Freshman Quincy Stribling (‘27) shared that playing for the high school team is immensely different from middle school, mostly due to the coaching of Coach Huppe. “He pushes us a lot harder, twenty times harder than our coach in middle school did. He’s a lot more hands on with drills. If you slack off with Coach Huppe that is not going to end well with you,” says Stribling.
With practices every day and new positions to learn, the new underclassmen rapidly adjusted to the change. “Coach Huppe gives us a lot of time and exercise in the preseason to do a lot of running,” said Stribling, who feels as though the team is constantly improving. The team leadership has also made strides to include the freshman in team dynamics.
The upperclassmen this year have been especially involved in making the freshmen feel welcome. “When I’ve seen the freshman in the hallways I’ve just gone up to them and said how’s your day been? Just checking up on them,” said senior Pierce Farinelli (24’). He continues, “I remember being an underclassman was kind of hard.”
This season has not been without its difficulties. In the second week, practices were moved to the mornings due to the excessive heat warnings and air quality issues. However, the team is grateful to have any practice time at all, and they are ready to use it to their advantage. “It’s just good that we get to go outside more before the game because we definitely have stuff we still need to work on,” said Snyder.
The team has never had to institute morning practices before, so some adjustments have had to be made to the routine. The practices are shorter, and more focused on utilizing their limited time to learn Coach Huppe’s system. Additionally, the players had to shower in the locker room. “It was a little uncomfortable because of the humidity, but it was bearable, much more bearable than after school,” said Snyder.
The early morning practices have done their job, because the boys are more confident than ever in their game.
When watching the team practice it is clear that they strive to all be supportive of one another. “I feel like a big brother to them,” said Matula (‘25). Many of the returning players credit the relationships they’ve made on the team as the most important part of their Barstow soccer experience. “It’s fun to be a part of this team,” said freshman Shia Zeldin (‘27).
The seniors of this team had to miss their freshman season in 2020 due to COVID-19, so this year is especially important to them. Along with the seniors that have played soccer their entire highschool career, two new seniors have joined the team, Nithin Guduputi (24’) and Mateo Mountford (24’). All the seniors on the team recognize the importance of senior year and are dedicated to doing their absolute best this season. “I’m just trying to make this year count,” said Farinelli (24’).
