Leading through a rebuild
When a team is bumped up from Class 5A to 6A, the team has two options: either cower in fear or rise to the challenge.
For the Briarwood Christian School boys soccer team, the choice was clear.
“God’s told me to go in and face it,” said Sam Jauregui, one of two seniors on the team. “Go in with everything 100% or nothing.”
Since 2017, the Briarwood boys soccer team has seen huge successes. The team was the state runner-up in 2017 and 2018, and then in 2019, the Lions were state champions.
The momentum continued in 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short. Then two things happened in 2020 that presented a challenge to the team: not only did 12 seniors graduate, but the program changed divisions, meaning that the team would face tougher competition in 2021.
The 2021 team has two seniors and a young group overall with three eighth graders on the team. Nonetheless, Trent Malloy, the other senior on the team, said he thinks the Lions are “severely underestimated.”
“I think a lot of the kids that were coming in, even though they’re young, I think they’re good soccer players,” he said. “And I think there’s a really good attitude. Before the season started, we talked about making sure every practice counts, and we’ve got to use that to our advantage to make sure we’re always working hard.”
The team has had a successful season so far and won its first five games. Great leadership has been one reason why the team has excelled, said coach Shawn Brower.
Jauregui and Malloy have been playing soccer together since they were 7 or 8 years old and on the same club team. Since ninth grade, when they began playing together at Briarwood, they’ve been accountability partners.
“It means that if he’s going through something, then I’m going to be the first guy there for him and vice versa,” Malloy said. “I’m making sure you’re not staying up all hours of the night, making sure you’re going to be good for a game the next day, stuff like that. But it’s also there for if we need to encourage each other and make sure we’re on track.”
This experience helped them translate into team leaders. Although their leadership styles are different, Malloy said, they know how to work together and try their best to lead the team well. They work to include the younger teammates, and Malloy said there aren’t any cliques within the team.
Despite the challenges, the 2021 season has been Jauregui’s favorite so far.
“And we’re not even halfway done,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed getting to use the platform that God has given me to set the atmosphere and the attitude during the games.”
The team established goals for the season, and their biggest one is to finish in the top two in the area. Being No. 1 is ideal, Malloy said, but they want to at least make playoffs again.
“And once we get to playoffs, anything can happen,” he said.