 | Author: | Chloe Lium |  |
| Grade: | Senior |
| School: | Bothell |
| Mascot: | Cougars |
| League: | Kingco 4A |
| Classification: | 4A |
Family, Desire, Discipline
For fall athletes statewide, summer comes to an end mid-August in preparation for the upcoming seasons. Golfers dust off their putters, swimmers break out the caps, and football players bring out their pads. This was my fourth and final summer pulling out my soccer cleats as my senior season approached. The Bothell girls soccer team went into tryouts with a major chip on our shoulders from the prior winless season. My junior year of soccer included ¾ of the team out from injury most of the season, lack of togetherness and care for each other, and wrapped up with a missing desire to win and compete as a team. With a new season around the corner, each and every one of us knew that a change needed to occur in order to prevent a reoccurring nightmare.
It started at camp. Each summer following tryouts, the program loads up and spends three days at Fort Casey, eating, breathing, and living soccer. All of the girls on the team have always adored our coaching staff. It was the change in our coaches that kick started our determination to make a name for ourselves as a soccer program. Practices included less games and more skill work, drills were ran at game speed, and we were constantly reminded and pushed to be better.
It was at camp that we as a team decided upon the three core principles that we would stand for. Family- We wanted to be a family and play as a family on the field. Desire- We all had the desire to be better, to win, and to push each other. Discipline- We all wanted to play as disciplined individuals and make disciplined decisions on the field and in practice.
The team dynamic of Bothell Girl's Soccer is different than any other team I have ever been a part of. From attending a practice or team dinner, a stranger would have no idea who the seniors, sophomores, or juniors on the team are, due to the closeness of each grade level to each other. It’s truly a team full of best friends who love spending time together. Being a family, we call each other out to work hard and push each other at practice. Outside of soccer, we are almost always together. It’s a group of girls that you won’t be able to find anywhere else, and that anyone would fall in love with.
Game one. For the first time that I can remember, we were winning 2-0 in the first half. The team looked better than ever, and everyone in the stands could see a different group of girls out there from the prior season. When the game ended, the score read 2-2, and we felt just as defeated as a 5-0 loss as our first win slipped out from underneath us. As pre-season continued, we won our first game in a long time, followed by two more wins and three losses to go 500 for pre-season. Our goal to make the playoffs would be a long road, but we were ready. Our first conference game would be against our rival, Woodinville, whom had not been defeated by Bothell in 6 seasons. This game was huge in the standings for the playoffs, and would give us the head to head against them if we won. There was only one thing dangling over the heads of all of us… we had lost to them 8-0 last season.
The first half was physical, and ended at 0-0. We came out as underdogs that nobody bothered to scout before playing, having the prior knowledge of the scores from our previous season. Ten minutes into the second half we scored. After what seemed to be the longest 30 minutes of my life, we did it. We kicked off our season with a 1-0 win over our rivals. We know the remainder of our season won’t be easy, but that it will not be the same as last years at all. We are truly a family. We are disciplined and play with desire two hours every practice, and 80 minutes every game. We are Bothell Girls soccer and we are making a name for ourselves.