Powerful kicks, full sprints, crashing, sliding, and colliding are all parts of soccer. Getting back out there and still playing at 100% no matter how tired they are is all just a part of the sport for LTHS athletes. 

Soccer is a demanding sport, and practicing a sport to perfection is no easy task, with athletes putting hours of dedication towards soccer.

“What motivated me to try out for soccer is my love for the sport because I have been playing it since I was six,” sophomore and athlete Thomas Berrizbeitia Russo said. 

Dedication is at the heart of success for athletes, and devoting precious time away is all seen as just a part of the sport. 

“I have that feeling when you get really far into something,” Berrizbeitia Russo said. “It gets harder to abandon, like games on your phone.”

 The amount of work that goes in is often missed, as both coaches and athletes train day in and day out.

“[Spectators] will miss the adversity that the boys face every game from injuries and illness and what they are battling through in practice and in games,” soccer coach Kenneth Hegmann said.

All practice builds up to games, which the boys team has so far won four out of six of. 

“I feel so far the JV boys team has a really good chance to do well as well as the girl’s varsity team,” Berrizbeitia Russo said. “Whereas the varsity boys team are really going to have to prove themselves because some people quit.”

Whether at practice or on game day, LTHS soccer pulls through, lining up victory after victory. 

“Next year,” Berrizbeitia Russo said, “I’m definitely making varsity.”