Two years ago, Coach Holly. Last year, Coach DeLeon. This year, Coach Cloud.

The Lady Tigers soccer team will start their season on Jan. 14 with new coaches on both varsity and JV. Coach Hillary Cloud has taken over varsity, and Coach Leslie West over JV. This is the second time in two years that the girls started their season with a new coach.

“I think this season will be different because we have a lot of new girls,” senior Sarah Rogers said. “I think that starting last week when we started to practice, it’s been really good. And I think this is going to be one of the best seasons we’ve had yet.”

In previous seasons, the varsity and JV teams have had influential coaches. As they embrace another coaching change, the team is hoping to benefit from the change by adding new ideas and techniques.

“I think that it’s going to be nice because now we have two different perspectives that came in, and it’s kind of like everyone starts on a clean slate,” senior Kailie Lyons said. “They know our past, but they’re not basing anything off of it. They’re basing it off of you showing up the first day at tryouts. That’s what they start from instead of how you’ve done previously because they haven’t watched us.”

While new bonds were made, the girls have had to endure these adjustments for two years in a row. The team has had to learn how to cope with these modifications to the staff and have become stronger for it.

“It’s definitely hard going from one coach one year, to another coach, to another coach third year. But it’s also nice because it gives you a different perspective because no one has the same opinion, and if they do it’s from a different point of view,” Lyons said. “Personally, I feel like getting a new coach helps us adjust to new coaches, so if you want to play soccer in college, you’ll be adjusted to new coaches and how different they run everything, stuff like that.”

The girls have a positive attitude toward the revision of coaches and see this as a new opportunity and fresh start for the team.

“We’ve learned different skills and different ways of thinking with both [coaches],” senior Grace McGuire said. “It’s a new opportunity for change and growing as a team. This will be a good season as long as we work hard.”