Viva News

              Highland’s senior boys soccer team returned home from the Burnaby Provincials, satisfied with 11th place out of 16 competing teams. The boys are looking forward to next year’s season and the potential it holds.

               Coach Will Bakker recognized the challenges the team faced. Scheduling practises around school times and grad activities proved difficult but the team managed to power through despite the minimal preparation; “We had a good team so I wasn’t nervous, simply excited to see how our team stacked up,” stated Bakker after the games.

               Left middle striker Walat Younis excels at beating people off the ball and was disappointed his team couldn’t challenge Isfeld’s. Younis hopes to play into his post-secondary education. Defenseman Tim Colesman worried about the Sahali team immensely. Sahali’s team contained many towering players which was very intimidating, the Sahali team placed second overall. Colesman is a grade 11 student and he’s been playing soccer for 10 years. He has enjoyed participating in the provincials and was very happy about the outcome, as was Captain Liam Worth; “It was awesome to make Provincials for the first time in Highland’s history.”

                    “A strong team requires strong players, communication, and commitment,” stated Bakker. Wirth and Max Powsey are two strong players Bakker notices most on the field. “Powsey is always serious about his stretches and pre-game warm up, and he’s good at leading it all,” said Younis.

                 With Bakker’s first year of coaching a senior boys soccer team, he was pleased with the leadership and sportsmanship his team showed; both coach and players look forward to next year’s challenges.