Whether it’s to get out of P.E, to socialize, or out of love for soccer, 50 girls joined Uni Girl’s Soccer this spring. Upon joining the team this year, I grew curious and terrified of the possibility of a poorly organized team. However, my fears were quickly put to rest. Despite having a colossally sized team, our coaches manage to maintain good organization, and kindness towards all players. Still, even with all the organization and kindness in the world, it’s impossible to extend playing time.
Playing time for varsity is pretty typical for soccer teams, divided based on who might support the game best. Varsity has about 23 players, so even with typical playing time, many players may get more accustomed to showing their support from the bench rather than the field. For JV (Junior Varsity) the division of playing time is atypical for a soccer team, dividing it equally among all 25 players (on average), per game. Carlos Rodriguez, one of the coaches/head coach for JV says he “rotates” players, “I pretty much try to get everyone in” he says. Since JV games are usually only 50 minutes including half time, each player only plays about 10-15 minutes per game in “shifts”. The limited playing time, whether during scrimmages or in a game, leaves many players with room for improvement but little space for it.
If you want an intense soccer team, and you can’t find that outside of school, Uni High may not be for you. Our school has no-cut sports, meaning we don’t have try-outs to make a team- anyone can join. This leads to less intensity but also a close-knit community of people interested in trying a sport, potentially for the first time. Although competent (for the most part) in playing, we aren’t typically competitive. When you hear the words “soccer team”, you typically hear an emphasis on soccer, but at Uni we belong first to a team then to a sport.
