The Junior Varsity soccer team had a great season and played their hardest, no matter the outcome of the games. While their record may not have been the best, they competed at every game. Their record is zero wins, five losses, and four ties. This season they were able to have enough players to consistently field a team, which is not something the JV team has always been able to do. The Junior Varsity soccer team has been improving a lot throughout the season. The Junior Varsity team has two coaches, Mr. Diana and Mr. Groseclose.
Matthew Diana has been a coach at Jemicy for five years. “I have always loved soccer, and there was a need for a coach.” He got introduced to coaching because Mr. Francis asked him to take on the role. “ Three years ago, there were lots of boys who signed up to play soccer that season” and Coach Francis asked him if he was interested in coaching junior varsity soccer. “I have been coaching every season and different sports at Jemicy,” Mr. Diana told me about his goals for the team“At the junior varsity level, you are just hoping that the kids improve, that they have a good time, that they enjoy the sport because some of them are new to it, so you want them to enjoy being part of the team. Winning the games is fun, but it is mostly about them building up their skills and having a good time.” Mr. Diana is a phenomenal coach, he cares a lot about his players and coaching staff. When I went to the Jemicy and Beth Tifiah game, I saw him explaining to his players what they should improve on and how to get better at the moment.
The Junior Varsity team had some pretty close games this year. The games they lost were from penalties or errors, but no matter what, they played their best. When asked about a favorite memory of the season, Coach Diana talks about the players getting along; he said“ the group of players that we have now, they like each other, they have lots of fun at practices, everyone gets along. As a coach all that you can ask for is for the players to get along and have fun.” Mr. Diana’s favorite soccer moments were when they played against Palloti with the JV team. He loved the senior nights, but most of all, he said,” it is always better when fans come out to support the teams.” When comparing this season to last, he said, “last year, we had a small group, we had to bring players down from varsity, so it felt a little strange. We would be practicing with guys all week. We would get some varsity players down to play, and it didn’t disrupt the team, but it broke up a little bit of the chemistry. This year there was no need to bring any varsity players down. They have been one team all season than last year’s season when bringing down some varsity players. “I love watching the guys grow together and be one team.”
Mr. Diana loved the game that they had at Beth Tifiah, “I thought that the kids played very well, and I also thought that they should have won the game; Nathan Carr made a lot of great saves. Even though it was a loss, we played very well.”When the JV team was at Beth Tifiah, I was able to go to the game to take pictures and also to get a sense of the players when they are on the field. Nathan Carr, the goalie, made a lot of amazing stops, he was able to keep Jemicy in the game. Henry Kissinger and Kai Hines were able to get the ball down the field and make everyone get a chance at the ball. To me, they were the leaders of the team. I was on the sideline of that game and I was talking to the coaches Mr. Diana and Mr. Groseclose. I was talking to Mr. Groseclose about his thoughts about the game and his coaching, and he said, “I love seeing them put effort on and off the field. You can tell if a kid or a player is putting in effort.”
The Junior Varsity soccer team had put in lots of effort to improve their games and the ways they want to get better. My hope for next year is for junior varsity soccer to get a win. Throughout this season, the guys have been improving and getting better at knowing the game. Soccer is that sport where you want to have chemistry with your teammates and that is what junior varsity should be proud of. The guys’ chemistry on and off the field is easily shown, they like to protect each other and make each other better.
MOOSE PRINTS 
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