Mac Henderson, Billy Miller and Nik Owens were likely in diapers the last time the Tahoma boys soccer team won a trophy in the state soccer tournament.
The trio are senior co-captains for this year’s Bears boys soccer squad who hope to help bring home hardware to Tahoma’s trophy case. The last time the Bears placed at state was when they finished third in the 3A tournament in 1996 before the 4A classification was introduced. Since then, Tahoma has made six appearances at state — 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2011 and 2012 — but fallen short of the trophy round.
All three of the captains said their intensity in training will lead to success on the pitch this season, which looks to be a fight again between Thomas Jefferson, Kentwood and Tahoma for the top spot.
“Every training we bring the highest intensity that we can,” Miller said. “Our intensity and effort are the two key things in how we’re getting ready every day. I would say as a whole, our strength is dedication from C team to JV (and up to varsity). The coaches, all of them, hold us to high standards.”
In fact, the seniors coordinated a weekly informal practice which started before winter break in December and continued until tryout began Feb. 25. The idea, Owens said, was to get a jump on the season because so many players graduated from a team which went to the first round of the state tournament in 2012.
“This year we weren’t sure what the team was going to be like because we lost so many seniors,” Owens said. “We wanted to see what we had. We wanted to get ready and build some chemistry.”
Doing that has created a level of closeness among the players that has led to better practices and enabled the captains, Owens said, to lead more effectively on and off the field. Plus it helped the recovery after winter break — which can be tough given the time off and all the food that comes with the holiday season — and midwinter break so they will go into the season strong.
“All three of (the captains) are returners and we’d like to move further in state,” Owens said. “If we keep the pace that we’re at right now we’ll move as far as we want to. Our chemistry is going to push us through.”
Faith in each other is an integral part of team bonding, Henderson said.
“We didn’t have to worry about building chemistry (at the start of training),” Henderson said. “We can work on learning plays — there’s not a guy on this team I wouldn’t take a bullet for — so you can spend time doing more constructive things.”
A deep run at state is one of the team’s larger goals but there are others which have been discussed thus far.
Miller explained the team wants to go undefeated on their home field at Bill Maxwell Stadium and not allow any goals when hosting other teams. There will definitely be a different flavor to the matches against Jefferson and Kentwood, too.
“When we come out we try to win always, plain and simple,” Miller said. “We have friends on each team. It’s amazing when you step across the line how quickly you become enemies. Nobody likes losing to their friends.”
Henderson noted it will be important for Tahoma to take the season one game at a time even against rivals such as Jefferson and Kentwood.
“The work ethic is going to be the big difference,” Henderson said. “The 80th minute we’re not going to be tired because in training we didn’t stop. You have to go into it ready to have fun. If you don’t, you over think it and if you do that, you’re done.”
And by the time players have moved up to the varsity level, they’ve experienced those rivalry games on the C team and junior varsity so, Henderson said, they’ve prepared mentally for those matches since they first put on a Tahoma soccer jersey.
At the end of the season, though, Miller explained, there’s so much more to wearing that Bears uniform.
“The way the coaches build the program … each and every year they try to instill that effort piece,” Miller said. “It’s changed me as a person and as a soccer player. This program makes better soccer players and kids in general.”
