As athletes gear up for spring sports, stress is at an all-time high. Tryouts are an anxiety-inducing ordeal, and for students who haven’t experienced that environment before, not knowing what to expect makes it that much worse. 

Some Liberty sports teams, like girls soccer, have been holding scrimmages to allow students to get to know their future teammates and showcase their abilities. The scrimmages have been a huge success, with more girls than ever showing up this year. 

“We just emphasize that we’re looking for things that they’re doing well, we’re not looking for things that they’re doing bad,” girls soccer coach Kleekamp said.

Many underclassmen will feel relieved at that fact, but some may say then, “what’s the point?”

Students who perform on club teams or at a high level understand that sports are an intensive activity. Pressure to win, pressure to make the team, pressure to secure a scholarship, and so forth, but the soccer team intends to take a step back from that pressure and remind the girls why they are playing. 

“A big thing with high school soccer is we just try to find their love for the game again,” Kleekamp said. “I think sometimes that gets lost in the club world. It gets really competitive with making different club teams and searching for a college scholarship or whatever their goal may be, so our goal with high school is just helping them find the love of the game.”

While the soccer team seeks to ease the stress of club sports, it is still a competition.

“You always have to compete, you can’t drop your level for other people,” Sophie Means (10) said.

This can be an intimidating message, but Means also gives the newbies some advice saying, “Just go for it. Put your best effort in and you can be proud of the results.”