Foundation being laid for rebuild of WH boys soccer program
Josh Wengerd, shown here from this past summer at a youth camp, gradually improved the West Holmes girls soccer program during his tenure from 2008-15 and now has embarked on trying to do the same as the first-year coach of the West Holmes boys.
Josh Wengerd knows a thing or two about rebuilding a high school soccer program.
He took over the West Holmes girls program in 2008, inheriting a team that won one game the year before.
The Knights won five games his first year in charge, six his second and seven his third.
By that point the foundation was laid, and wins — in bunches — followed over the next five seasons until he stepped down in 2015.
Wengerd is hoping the knowledge he gained from that previous experience will help him perform a similar turnaround with the West Holmes boys program, which he took over this past offseason after the Knights went 2-15 last season.
“I’m kind of basing everything off that experience of what it’s like to build (a program) slowly,” he said. “I think that’s the way to do it. The big difference is when I coached the girls, numbers were never an issue. We always had a JV and varsity. Not having a JV adds a whole other wrinkle.
“It’s similar in some ways, but it’s different in a lot of ways also. I do draw back on that experience and think about what worked with the girls when they weren’t so competitive and what didn’t and try to take that same approach with the boys.”
The Knights starting lineup consists of two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen. Eight of the 15 players on the roster are freshmen. Three others are sophomores.
Having a roster littered with underclassmen provides plenty of challenges.
“We have found it very difficult to be competitive with teams in our conference,” said Wengerd, whose team entered the week of Sept. 19 with an 0-8 overall record and 0-4 league mark. “The Ohio Cardinal Conference is pretty stacked when it comes to soccer. It has some very good teams in Wooster and Lexington and Madison. I think everybody we play has a lot of kids who play club soccer. We don’t have that in Holmes County. We don’t have the accessibility that a lot of the other schools do, so we’re kind of behind the 8-ball there.
“Losing so many seniors last year and replacing them with freshmen, you take away four years of experience with kids who have very little if any experience. We find it hard to score goals. We’re still learning to play together because we’ve got guys who have never played (together before). That’s been a challenge.”
With so many young players, a focus has been put on improving at least a little bit each time they take the field. It’s taken the players some time to understand the things they’re working on during practice — even the ones that seem repetitive and pointless — all translate to games. Each day, though, they’re seeing more and more of the big picture.
“Our main focus right now is let’s just get a little better each time we take the field,” Wengerd said. “Let’s do that by working hard at practice and trying to understand that what we do at practice translates to the game. It’s like, ‘Coach, why are we doing this drill where we’re in a tiny little space and we only get two touches?’ Well, it’s because when you’re playing on a big field, you should feel more comfortable with the big space and be used to getting rid of the ball quickly.
“It all translates. I think we’re starting to see that a little bit.”
In a perfect world, Wengerd would have enough players in the program to field a junior varsity team too. That would allow the underclassmen to develop against players who are close to their age while not facing the pressure that comes with playing varsity.
Wengerd’s players don’t have that luxury. Instead, they are learning on the fly against mostly older players.
“I know with our youth program we have some good numbers coming up, but it’s still a couple of years away,” he said. “Numbers are important so you can have a JV team and develop the younger players. It’s not fair to put a freshman out there who’s 14 years old against a 17- or 18-year-old senior and expect them to do well. It’s just not realistic.
“We’re boys playing men right now, so we just need to weather this storm for a couple of years, and then I think you’ll have your juniors and seniors out there playing varsity, and the underclassmen instead of playing varsity will be developing their skills at the JV level, which will help everybody. It’s going to be a long building process.”
Although they will have graduated by the time wins become more frequent, this year’s seniors and juniors are key to the rebuild.
“They’re starting this turnaround,” Wengerd said. “Without their contributions and leadership this year for these younger kids to look at, they’re part of it too. They aren’t going to be around when we start winning more games and become more competitive, but they can feel proud knowing they were the start of that.”
As losses pile up, it’s easy for players to get down on themselves and develop a losing mindset. Wengerd is aware of that.
“We just try to stay extremely positive,” he said. “I’m not a yeller anyway. That’s not my coaching style. We really don’t get on the boys for things that are beyond their control. We try to find the silver lining in things — those moral victories that they’re usually called. I’m not a fan of moral victories, but that’s basically where we’re at.
“We have to find the positives and build on those and not lose sight of reality.”
Getting the program back on track is personal for Wengerd. He’s a 1995 West Holmes graduate and played soccer while there. He also teaches in the district.
“I love West Holmes,” he said. “I love soccer. It’s a good marriage between the two. I care about the program. I want things to turn around. I want things to get better. Obviously, it’s not going to happen with a click of the fingers or overnight.
“I’m committed for the long term, and that’s all I can ask from our players and their parents is to commit yourself and it will get better.”