While the official EIL season has been cancelled, the Girls Varsity Soccer team will not let that stop them from practicing. With hopes of being able to scrimmage schools later on in the season, GVS has been working hard and growing closer as a team. Whether they are participating in zooms with Gould not knowing how to use technology, to socially distanced practices in person, the team is dialled in and looking forward to what this unique season has to offer. 

Although zoom calls for online practices are slightly discouraging, there have been some memorable moments as well. UMass Women’s Soccer coach, Jason Dowiak, joined us last week and talked about different aspects of playing soccer at the college level during a pandemic. Sharing some fun stories about building his team’s dynamic, Jason inspired our captains to create a few team bonding activities of their own. They hope to have some team dinners in the future as everyone is excited to continue getting to know each other better and make the team dynamic stronger. Additionally, through a few zoom calls we have learned that Coach Aucoin is an avid gardener. From basil to parsley to oregano, Coach Aucoin does it all. If you ever have gardening questions, he is the man to go to. 

While there have been many amazing things throughout the season so far, one inevitable struggle has been playing with masks on. Although they have proven to be a good test for our endurance, the masks definitely make a few sprints feel like a marathon. But who knows, maybe as we get further into fall the masks will start to feel like a nice face covering to keep us warm. Now that the team has finally been able to do some scrimmaging during practices, the energy and excitement has become much more apparent. Being able to play more as a team and less individually is a step in the right direction and we are all very excited to see what the rest of their season has to offer.