Highland Park High School offers many sports for students to choose from, but one stands out from the rest. With the fewest losses of any team sport, a strong team spirit, a great student section, game tapes and photos, and the opportunity to play with junior Joshua Montero-Reyes who has cool hair, there are many reasons to join the boys’ soccer team.
When joining a team, it is important to ensure that they are good, and Highland Park’s boys’ soccer team has a history of success. We have won two state championships in five years to our name and are coming off a year with a positive record. Varsity Coach Roig, when asked about what makes our team special, said, “What sets us apart from other teams is our technical skill level in all areas of the field.” If you're a good soccer player, you could join and make us even better, but if you're just starting to play or just not that good, don't worry because we will very likely have a JV team where everyone gets to play and improve. Freshman Robert O’Connell, who was on JV last season, explains that if he had been on the varsity team, he would have gotten little to no playtime. “Because of [junior varsity], I got actual game time, making myself better,” he says.
Our student section is another reason why our soccer team is so special. At night games, the stands are packed and making noise for the team. Henry Roesener, who considers himself a Highland Park superfan, reminisced, “Dude, the atmosphere was actually crazy…When Michael scored five goals, it was much louder than the football games.” Coach Roig also commented on the community’s support, saying, “Our fans have been amazing in creating an atmosphere of excitement and it has affected our performance on the field. Many of our best efforts and performances have been in front of big crowds at our home games.” On senior night, the fans brought flares and were chanting the names of Michael Volpert and Seamus MacKinnon after their impressive performances. It was a crazy atmosphere for a Group One high school soccer game.
Student photography at sports games is, according to Ethan Chen, “Tuff.” The man behind many of these photos, sophomore class president Seth Shapiro, will be returning to take pictures during the soccer season. Three words that Seth uses to describe the quality of his media are fire, heat, and class. If you play soccer, you can be sure that you'll come out of the season with some great pictures of you playing. Our games are also usually filmed, so if you do something cool in a game, you can go and watch it back on the game tape.
If I've convinced you to join through this article, there are a couple next steps to take to join the team. Most importantly, get in contact with Coach Roig for information regarding the summer pre-season and fall season. You can also ask a person you know is on the soccer team to add you to the team group chat. That is where all the student-run practices are planned by team captains Jesus Zambrano and Sam Ruggiero.
To conclude, here is a quote from freshman prospect Stephen Zhang about why you should join the boys' soccer team. “Um, because it's fun and it's, like, an exciting sport to play. I would say from personal experience it's the best sport the school has to offer.”