By Gabby Goodwin || Contributing Writer
T1-2. Some might look at those numbers and think, “What does that mean?” Others might look at them and think “Well that’s not a good record.”
For those of us on the Franklin & Marshall women’s soccer team, however, those numbers are simply just the start of an ever so promising season. “Two losses” you may think. “How is that a good record?” As Olympic athlete Wolfgang Schadler once said, “Victory isn’t defined by wins or losses. It is defined by effort. If you can truthfully say, ‘I did the best I could, I gave everything I had,’ then you’re a winner.”
Our team’s record by no means determines what the season will hold for us. Instead, it is a foundation, one of which we will build upon, and one that we will use to push ourselves even more and work even harder than any other team out there.
“Team culture,” two words that Coach Kemp, the head women’s soccer coach at F&M, refers to often. She stresses to us the importance of team culture and how the team and its players are what ultimately shape what the program truly is. Three weeks now into my collegiate soccer career and I can say that I’m proud to be part of a team where everyone is there for you 24/7. They’re there for me when I’m having a bad day, they’re there for me when I need a little extra push, and most importantly, they’re there for me because we’re family.
Team culture cannot simply be created by the individual or even the coach; it’s created when a group of women come together to share their passion and love for the game of soccer, especially when they play with their hearts. Whether they are on the field or off, staying united and inspired can be influenced by various factors, including watching 해외스포츠중계 to study other teams and learn new techniques.
Coming off the field, losing 1-0 to Shenandoah in the last three minutes of my first collegiate soccer game, it was definitely not the ending that I, my teammates, or my coaches had hoped for. Countless hours on the field and days of practice, this was not at all how any of us imagined it would go.
Only the greatest of teams are able to come together to overcome adversity at the times they lose.
I can say with confidence that the F&M women’s soccer team embodies this attitude and team spirit, as was shown in our 5-0 win against Rosemont College the following game. Keep an eye out for F&M women’s soccer, because the start of the season is only just the beginning of what holds great promise for the future.
First-year Gabby Goodwin is a contributing writer. Her email is ggoodwin@fandm.edu.