Winooski Soccer team plays pandemic ball, and loves it

Teammates and good friends, Hertier Mampuya (left) and Hussein Abdulaziz (right), kick the ball around after practice. (Photo by Brooke McKeen)

Even with a shortened season and covered faces, the Winooski Boys Soccer team have decided to focus on the positive.

This season, the team will play eight regular season games, which is around half of the boys’ typical game schedule. They play each team once, instead of twice in a normal schedule.

“It’s sort of worked out so that instead of playing the teams twice each, we’re pretty much playing them once each, so it feels just compact, as opposed to missing out on a big chunk of something,” Boys Varsity Soccer head coach Steve Feiss said.

Under COVID-19 rules, students are only at school for two days of the week. They’re split into two pods, with half in “Group A” who go to school in person on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the other half in “Group B” who go to school in person on Thursdays and Fridays. Everyone is at home on Wednesdays.

Most days of the week, half of the boys on the soccer team have been at home all day, while half are coming to practice after being at school during the day. Soccer practice brings them all together.

“I think they are kind of excited about it because they’re with a group of kids that they might otherwise not have been able to see at all,” Feiss said.

The start of the season fell about two or three weeks later than past years. “We started the season on Tuesday, September 8,” Winooski school district’s athletic director, Dennis Barcomb, said. “The original high school start date was August 10, so the start of the season was just about a month behind for high school.”

In order to adhere to safety precautions, each member of the team gets their temperature checked at the beginning of every practice and everyone is required to wear a face mask at all times on the field.

Head coach, Steve Feiss, moves down the line of players as he checks temperatures before practice begins. (Photo by Brooke McKeen)

“The team will have to be wearing masks while they’re playing, while we’re on the bus, when they’re on the sideline, so start to finish, they’ll be covered up” Feiss said. “They’re not exactly excited about the masks. It’s one more thing we have to nag each other about, but you know, they’re just excited to be playing.”

The team has made big improvements since the first practice, players say, as it was initially difficult to adjust to a mask.

“The first time we practiced, we were out of breath like ten minutes after practicing and it was hard for everyone to remember to keep their mask on. Now, everyone’s cool with it,” said Ashbin Mangar, a senior.

When talking about the idea of a shortened season, Hussein Amuri, a senior on the varsity squad said, “I know we’re in unprecedented times because of the pandemic and we have to do our best to keep everyone safe by wearing masks and not playing our entire season. We’re very fortunate to have a season.”

Coaches have been pushing a sense of gratitude, even though the 2020 season will not be a normal one.

“I try to keep reminding the team that most other places aren’t getting this opportunity at all. So we want to make sure that we’re doing the right things so we don’t ruin it for ourselves and for everybody else,” Feiss said.

Feiss’s message has been embraced by his players, recognizing that some schools are

“Not many schools in the country have this opportunity,” Mangar said.

This feeling of excitement and anticipation seems to be present throughout the entire team.

“I’m feeling like we’re going to get far this season. I’m really excited and I feel like this is our time,” Hertier Mampuya, a junior on the varsity team said.

The way that this pandemic and this season is testing the team in many ways, seems to have strengthened that presence of camaraderie and togetherness.

“We all have a good relationship,” junior Hussein Abdulaziz said. “We’ve all known each other for a pretty long time now and we know that when one of us makes a mistake, we just have to talk to each other and communicate.” Hertier and Hussein said, “We’re more than a team. We’re a family.”

At the end of practice, the team discussed first game details and finished off with a group conversation as the sun set over the field.

Ashis Dahal (left) and Nuru Mami (right) go after the ball as the rest of the team watches during a scrimmage drill. (Photo by Brooke McKeen)