The varsity boys soccer team has gotten its best start in years, and they did it with only seven seniors on the team, compared to last year when they had 13 seniors.

Not only do they have fewer seniors, they have added a freshman and an eighth grader to the team. Eddson Garcia, eighth grader at West Junior High, and Nico Shirley, freshman at West Junior High, have both earned a spot on the HHS varsity soccer team.

“I feel very privileged to be on the team, especially being one of the youngest players. I worked really hard to get the spot,” Shirley said.

Shirley has an older brother on the team, Andrew Shirley, junior, and Andrew is very confident in the talent of both his brother and Garcia.

“[The younger players] will definitely help. It’s their first or second year, and they will have a lot of experience going into the future seasons,” Andrew said. “I feel our younger athletes have more skillful attributes than physical attributes, and it’s helpful to have that balance between the older and stronger guys and the younger guys who have skill with the ball at their feet.”

The head coach Justin Hegre believes the team has a good mixture of ages and talents, and he trusts the players’ abilities to perform.

“There is an eighth and ninth grader on the team this year, as well as several tenth graders,” Hegre said. Its not just a freshman and an eighth grader that make this team great, they also rely on their older, more experienced players.

“We also have juniors and seniors that have been at the varsity level for a while, so it’s a pretty healthy mix of exciting new talent and veteran players,” said Hegre.

The boys soccer team has a total of eight wins so far this season, compared to six wins last season.

“Our team chemistry is really nice. It’s a good environment. We are all on the same page. We are all together. No one is left out, and we are all involved. We are all together fighting for a common goal,” Andrew said.

Nico and Garcia said they get along and have a good time with their teammates despite their grade and age.

“I’m pretty good friends with most of the players, and they let me tag along with them, so I feel very accepted. [Eddson] fits in and tags along as well and has a good time,” Nico said.

It’s not only good chemistry that makes a winning team. A good team needs to have skill, and this year the boys seem to have a lot.

“The boys have worked extremely hard this year, and it’s paying off so far. We have a difficult schedule and section, but our goals are high. This team has a lot of potential and skill. I’m excited to see what they can accomplish,” Hegre said.

For Andrew, age doesn’t matter. It is all about the player’s ability to perform and the player’s ability to be a team player.

“For me, it’s about putting the best 11 players on the field no matter what their age or how strong they are,” Andrew said.

Starting the season with seven wins has been a big surprise for a lot of people, including Nico.

“[This season] is definitely going better than I thought it would. I wasn’t sure how our season would end up, but so far it’s better than usual,” Nico said.

Hegre is happy with this season and said he believes the team has a very bright future.

“We have had a significant increase in the number of students that came out for soccer. Specifically, we have more freshmen in the program than we have ever had before which is a good sign for the future of hopkins soccer,” Hegre said.

The soccer team has also set goals for themselves so they can be the best that they can be.

“We’ve had several goals over the course of the season. Our first goal was to start 4-0. We knew that our schedule was going to be tough this year, so we decided in order to keep up with our rivals that we must win our first four non-conference matches. Goal accomplished,” Hegre said.

Andrew thinks the main difference between this year and last year is what drove the team and the belief in themselves.

“This year there seems to be belief in the team, versus last year where we were used to being that Lake Conference team that doesn’t win games. This year we are tired of having that reputation, so we decided that this year was going to be different, and so far it has been,” Andrew said.