Boys’ Thirds soccer, led by coaches Mr. Johnson and Mr. Robles and captains Imad Rizvi ’18 and Andrew Garver ’17, is renowned around campus as one of the most ferocious squads to step foot on the grass. The sheer mental and physical demands of being a Thirds soccer player are worrisome. Throughout their daily two-hour practice, the Wild Boars run sprints, hone their skills, and play practice matches. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the weekly improvement is apparent when the team takes the field for matches.
Through team camaraderie and a resilient mindset, Coaches Johnson and Robles aim to make the players better people, on and off the field. According to goalkeeper Michael “Miguel” Swierczynski ’19, “Coach Johnson and Coach Robles instill a sense of toughness among us; we have to work hard towards our common goal of eventually moving up to the varsity team, and maybe even playing soccer collegiately.” Adrian Whatmore ’19 commented on how he gets through the day: “I try to live by the mantra ‘soccer is love, soccer is life.’ This enables me to stay mentally tough on the field during practice and games, especially when I face adversity.” Swierczynski commented on the teams progress so far this season, saying, “I think we have done well, especially with our close win against Andover (2-1). We had to dig deep and listen to our coaches instructions in order to come out with a win.”
In an interview with several players on the team, they stated unanimously that their pregame pump-up song is “Sandstorm” by Darude. Jimmy “Jumbo” Engmann ’19 commented about the Thirds Soccer anthem, “It gets the whole team going and ready to play their hearts out.” They also stated that their favorite soccer player is Yaya Touré of Manchester City. Ian “The Train” Mentz ’19 stated “Touré provides inspiration for us. He is an exemplar for rising soccer players around the world.”
Overall, the team is off to a steady start, sitting at a record of 3-3-2. The squad is in full preparation mode for their next game against Hotchkiss this Saturday, October 24th, before their season climaxes in a massive tilt against Deerfield Academy on Deerfield Day, in what is always an instant classic.
