Making history: Cassville varsity girls’ soccer team preps for first game
Pictured above, the Cassville girls’ varsity soccer team practices in preparation of their season opener this Friday in Fair Grove.
March 13, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Recently, Cassville R-IV School District had elected to make girls’ soccer a varsity sport for the first time in the school's history.
The decision was long in the works, according to boys’ and girls’ soccer coach Jake Forste. “It’s really been a long time coming,” said Forste. “It’s the culmination of the efforts of a lot of people.”
Last year, Cassville entered their first all-girls junior varsity team for play for the first time since the soccer program’s inception. During that season, the team had a record of 10-1, with their one and only loss suffered at the hands of McDonald County during their final game of the season.
Before this, soccer at Cassville was run as a coed program with boys and girls playing on the same team. Forste explained that, while this was a good system for the time, many of the players on the team are happy for the switch.
“I think that some of the girls would still like to be playing against the boys, but there’s a lot of the girls that are happy to be playing in their own league,” said Forste. “Coed soccer is almost a different game.”
Beginning this season, the Cassville girls’ soccer team will be playing against varsity teams from all over the county and surrounding areas. Preparations for the start of this new season were long and intricate. According to Forste, the staff and eventual team members have been hard at work since the end of boys’ soccer season on the task.
“It started with the recruiting aspect,” said Forste. “We’ve had a really long run up to this season, so we’ve had been playing futsal in open gyms two or three times a week just getting new players out, getting some touches on the ball and getting people interested. It’s been a lot of preparation, but I think we’re ready.”
Forste and his team, though elated to finally play on a varsity level, are aware of the challenges that lie ahead for them.
“I think we know the competition is a lot stiffer,” said Forste. “Our goal is to get out there and compete every chance that we can. We’ll hopefully give ourselves a chance to win the conference and the district.”
According to Forste, reactions to the news of the formation of the girl’s varsity team has been overwhelmingly positive. One of the biggest components of this is Forste himself.
“It’s really a dream come true for me, personally,” said Forste. “Since I started doing this, I’ve always wanted to be a year-round soccer coach.”
Forste also explains that he has been contacted by several other members of the community, including former coaches and parents, that have voiced their support for the varsity team.
“We’ve had a lot of former YMCA and youth coaches who had some of our girls that have always wanted to see them get to that next level. Several of those coaches have reached out to me. Parents and community members at large are telling me how excited they are.”
The team will be making their debut on the field this Friday and Saturday at the Fair Grove tournament where they will play three games. Friday’s game will be against Marshfield at Burl Fowler stadium at 4 p.m. They will play two more games on Saturday.
Their first home game will be Friday, March 22, against New Covenant Academy of Springfield.
Vinnie Roberts
Recently, Cassville R-IV School District had elected to make girls’ soccer a varsity sport for the first time in the school's history.
The decision was long in the works, according to boys’ and girls’ soccer coach Jake Forste. “It’s really been a long time coming,” said Forste. “It’s the culmination of the efforts of a lot of people.”
Last year, Cassville entered their first all-girls junior varsity team for play for the first time since the soccer program’s inception. During that season, the team had a record of 10-1, with their one and only loss suffered at the hands of McDonald County during their final game of the season.
Before this, soccer at Cassville was run as a coed program with boys and girls playing on the same team. Forste explained that, while this was a good system for the time, many of the players on the team are happy for the switch.
“I think that some of the girls would still like to be playing against the boys, but there’s a lot of the girls that are happy to be playing in their own league,” said Forste. “Coed soccer is almost a different game.”
Beginning this season, the Cassville girls’ soccer team will be playing against varsity teams from all over the county and surrounding areas. Preparations for the start of this new season were long and intricate. According to Forste, the staff and eventual team members have been hard at work since the end of boys’ soccer season on the task.
“It started with the recruiting aspect,” said Forste. “We’ve had a really long run up to this season, so we’ve had been playing futsal in open gyms two or three times a week just getting new players out, getting some touches on the ball and getting people interested. It’s been a lot of preparation, but I think we’re ready.”
Forste and his team, though elated to finally play on a varsity level, are aware of the challenges that lie ahead for them.
“I think we know the competition is a lot stiffer,” said Forste. “Our goal is to get out there and compete every chance that we can. We’ll hopefully give ourselves a chance to win the conference and the district.”
According to Forste, reactions to the news of the formation of the girl’s varsity team has been overwhelmingly positive. One of the biggest components of this is Forste himself.
“It’s really a dream come true for me, personally,” said Forste. “Since I started doing this, I’ve always wanted to be a year-round soccer coach.”
Forste also explains that he has been contacted by several other members of the community, including former coaches and parents, that have voiced their support for the varsity team.
“We’ve had a lot of former YMCA and youth coaches who had some of our girls that have always wanted to see them get to that next level. Several of those coaches have reached out to me. Parents and community members at large are telling me how excited they are.”
The team will be making their debut on the field this Friday and Saturday at the Fair Grove tournament where they will play three games. Friday’s game will be against Marshfield at Burl Fowler stadium at 4 p.m. They will play two more games on Saturday.
Their first home game will be Friday, March 22, against New Covenant Academy of Springfield.
