Photo by Erin Nelson.
Homewood vs Oak Mountain Boys Soccer
Oak Mountain’s Andres Sanchez (21) and Homewood’s Hardy Smith (14) battle for possession of the ball in a game between Homewood and Oak Mountain at the Homewood Athletic Complex on Feb. 20.
Editor's Note: As of press time, high school sports have been postponed indefinitely due to the new coronavirus.
First-year head coach Julian Kersh has been given a young team. Most coaches would worry about the youth, but Kersh has embraced it.
Kersh said a young team isn’t a cause for worry in his first season at the helm of the Homewood High School boys soccer team.
“We’re a young team, which is exciting,” he said. “We graduated 18 players last year, and some coaches would look at this as a bad thing. I look at that as an exciting moment for a program because it gives a lot of young guys the opportunity to step up.”
Kersh said the energy the underclassmen have brought is helping the seniors be their best and has provided a new ambition for the Patriots soccer team.
Senior Harrison Massie said the team is working through the kinks in the early going, but he feels the team can overcome it and become a well-rounded team.
“We are still getting used to all the new things, new coach, new players and even a new practice field,” he said. “Despite this, we’ve already grown great team chemistry and feel confident about our abilities going forward.”
Homewood is off to a great start, posting a 7-2 record with region play looming. Junior Hardy Smith said the team needs to figure itself out, so it can be ready for region play and playoff soccer.
“We need to find out identity first,” he said. “We’ve been improving very fast, but as we keep playing games we need to identify our play style and attitude. Once we do that, it should give us our best shot at a championship.”
The Patriots will rely on multiple underclassmen, including a group of five sophomores that will log important minutes during the season for the varsity squad. The team will have 12 seniors to help ease some early-season pains for the younger players. But Kersh understands the importance of having the underclassmen ready to play and they are ready to play fearlessly, he said.
“Any time you have younger players you might be concerned with their inexperience. In some ways, the younger guys playing at the varsity level for the first time is a good thing,” he said. “They’re almost too green to be afraid. They’re not intimidated and I think that’s the most encouraging thing, is being able to look to the bench and know these guys can come in for a senior and you’re not going to skip a beat because they’re up for a fight.”
This fearless fight the team has adopted is what it hopes propels the Patriots to a successful season. Area opponents are the start to that journey with Huffman and Shades Valley standing in Homewood’s way. Smith said the goals are simple, but he wants the team to get better every day and let the rest take care of itself.
“Obviously we want to win a state championship, but I don’t think that’s our number one goal (right now),” he said. “Right now, we’re focused on improving as much as we can to try and give ourselves the best opportunity to be in a position to succeed and make another run in the playoffs.”
Massie said after coming up short last season, 2020 is for the taking and the motivation from last year should help the Patriots seize control this year in their pursuit of the ultimate prize.
“The one good thing about falling short last year is that it provides experience and fuel to win this year,” he said. “Last year, we were hindered by expectations; this year with a new coach and a young team, we are ready to leave our mark and start another Homewood soccer dynasty.”