Middle School / Junior Varsity Soccer Team Dominate in “Makeshift” Competitive Season

By: Basile Badea and Leo Margalit

Leo Margalit, Anton Wagner ‘28, and Matthew Skarin ‘27 dribble the ball past BISB defenders.

Middle School/Junior Varsity (MS/JV) soccer concluded on November 9, 2022. The team had played four games across a makeshift season - part of Newman’s development in sports after the Covid-19 pandemic. The team was headed by Mr. Zocco, the 7th and 8th grade Humanities teacher. Former Newman coach Mr. Whalen coached the team on Thursday practices alongside Mr. Zocco. The squad was made up of seventh to ninth graders. On this Mr. Zocco noted, “It’s always a blast to have a range of ages.”

Everyone on the team started off at varying levels, which impacted the rate at which the team developed. “There were some growing pains,” said Mr. Zocco in the team’s development. As the team neared the end of the year, it seemed like their chemistry was burgeoning. Mr. Zocco would agree, he remarked, “Because we only had a few games, we could focus on a few good skills. And I definitely saw a lot of improvement at the end.”

The team had some games against some less consummate teams, on which Mr. Zocco said, “We played with grace, and we restrained ourselves in some moments when we could have definitely scored more.” The JV games were played against high schools; Chauncy Hall Chapel Hill and the Cambridge School of Weston. Mr. Zocco commented, “The JV soccer games showed a lot of grit in some of the players, especially the seventh graders because it’s a huge size difference.”

The team overall, promulgated Mr. Zocco “had chemistry. It takes a little while, of course, to build chemistry, when players are used to playing with club teams, town teams wherever they might be.” But he said following this, “slowly I started to see more connections, seeing some of the passes and specifically some of the give and goes towards the end of the season. Abi Degu 28’ would agree, “Well, we won 10-5”, stating that the team’s results showed chemistry in a simplistic form. Some of the games the team played were improvised, so the team had to approach each game with a different attitude. One thing that stayed constant was that, Mr. Zocco said, “Players with more stamina would play midfield.” Of course, there were many different archetypes of players, especially since they were still in a “developmental stage”. Another thing Mr. Zocco’s admiration for the team was “We knew when to be aggressive.”

The team was able to balance the space between their lines to create a successful offense and a strong defense. The defense overall played aggressively, and the left and right wing backs were able to put shots on goal. In the game, Mr. Zocco promulgated, “Our communication abilities were probably our greatest asset.” As the team’s chemistry increased, the team became much better in game with their communication and timing their passes well, which was a skill which they toiled at during the practice.

Overall, the MS/JV soccer season was makeshift. A plant sowed from a small seed. The seed is nursed with basics, water, sunlight, and time. The seed grew roots, and from its foundations, its common ground, started to sprout, until it reached its prime. Now the plant has withered away come winter, but back in autumn it shall carry the bounds of a new harvest, a plant now with foundations, its leaves yet to come again.

Basile Badea ‘28 confronts the BISB goalkeeper with his teammates behind him.

Degu intercepts a BISB striker and defends the goal.

Wagner, Annemarie Erickson ‘28 and Kit Hernandez ‘28 kick the ball toward the opposing team’s goal.