Upperman Boys Head Coach Mixon Moore said having new players in the lineup helped the team chemistry this year.
Upperman added nine freshmen to the roster this season. Of their 21 goals scored as a team, 14 were by underclassmen. Moore said he could see the team improve after each game.
“We feel it came together really smooth this year,” Moore said. “I think sometimes just having a little bit of new blood in there but also honoring the past and keeping all that together, and we created a team that wasn’t clicky, it just seemed to gel really well.”
Moore saw his team take a program high in red cards last season. This year, Upperman did not see one red card. Moore said the team did not let their displeasure fester on the soccer pitch.
“I think they saw how serious they should take it, and I think they just kind of said okay, it didn’t go our way. We’re fine; we’ll keep moving on,” Moore said.
Moore said the program was at risk if the red cards continued.
“I think the boys just said, you know, we’re not gonna do that, we’re gonna do it different this year,” Moore said. “They were one of the easiest [groups] I’ve had to coach. They responded very well.”
Moore said he asked the team what they wanted to do after the choice of continuing soccer this season had been made. Four different Bees picked up four separate yellow cards this season. One of them was Moore, which occurred after he argued a call.
“We are proud of our school, we are proud of our team and that’s what we want to be,” Moore said. “We want to be who we always should have been.”
