For the second season, with the school not having a girls’ soccer program, the male and female players at Excel Christian play together on one JV team.

“At present with our student body size, we chose to play JV soccer which allows us to carry female players since we are unable to offer an all women’s team,” said head coach Eric Helms.

While there are girls on the team, Helms said there is no difference between his team and an all boys team when it comes to the characteristics the players embody, which Helms said is “what makes this a beautiful game.”

“Player characteristics like hustle, determination, toughness, soccer smarts, and teamwork are not gender specific. After a few minutes of play even opposing teams seem to forget if it is a girl or boy,” Helms said.

This season the team will face off against in-county schools such as Cartersville and Cass, as well as schools outside the county such as Darlington.

The first game of the season was against Cartersville which ended in a 2-2 tie. Helms said he feels good about the season now that the basketball season is over.

“So far we are feeling very optimistic, especially since we are just getting our entire team together with the end of the varsity basketball season,” said Helms.

With the entire team being key, according to Helms, there is one important factor of the team that helps the team function well – familiarity.

“The core of our team is a large group of freshmen that I have had the privilege to have coached since their fifth-grade year in middle school soccer. This is a huge advantage in establishing our team’s fundamentals and style of play,” Helms said.

With the season just getting started, Helms said the Eagles have several goals they would like to achieve throughout the season.

“Our goals include development of the individual players’ skills, connecting the individual players into one strong team, achieving a winning record for the season, and to honor our school and Savior with the gift of playing soccer,” said Helms.