By Chase Porter
Staff Writer
Photo by Brian Hwu
Coming off a productive last season the Coppell boys soccer team has risen to the top. With a new head coach and a full roster, the team has become No. 1 in the state and second in the nation.
Last season, the Cowboys had a very productive season, ending with 18 wins and five losses making it to the playoffs, but losing in the first round.
New head coach Chad Rakestraw took over prior to this season from former coach Shane Bybee. He has been around a soccer ball since birth playing on the Texans soccer club and at Denton Ryan High School, and eventually moving on to play at Midwestern State University. This past season he coached at Northwest High School and says that the transition has been more than smooth.
“The transition from Northwest has been an unbelievable change. The school pride here is fantastic and the administration has been a huge help with my move,” Rakestraw said. “It’s an incredible blessing how easy the transition has been.”
Even in Rakestraw’s first season with the Cowboys he has already implemented a system that appears to be perfect for this years team. By keeping the team motivated and focused on the goal ahead the team.
Sitting with a perfect 16-0 record and top state ranking, his raises a lot of questions but the main one is; what are they doing right? According to senior captains, center back Garret Miller and left forward Tanner Lines, it is all in the team chemistry.
“Everyone on the team plays well together,” Miller said. “The team chemistry is great and all the guys work really hard.”
Lines agree that the productivity of the team is because of the team’s commitment to each other.
“We are all really committed to the team,” Lines said. “We all play well together, nobody relies on just one person to make plays.”
Rakestraw has a sort of unusual method to prepare for upcoming games. Instead of watching film on the next opponent and practicing how to beat them Rakestraw likes to focus on the past games.
“It’s different every session but we base practice off of the previous games, focusing on what we didn’t do well,” Rakestraw said. “We aren’t worried about what other teams are going to do we just want to keep getting better and stay focused.”
Not only has Rakestraw had to adapt to a new team, but the players have also had to adapt to their new coach. Lines and Miller said conforming to Rakestraws system has been extremely easy.
“He’s such a good coach, he keeps us disciplined and at the same time he keeps us motivated for the next game,” Miller said.
Lines also attributes the team’s success to Rakestraws coaching and the preparation of the less experienced players.
“Practice is really intense and everyone is focused,” Lines said. “Also, we have a really deep roster and because our practices are so intense everyone knows what to do at all times, not just the starters.”
Not only does Rakestraw want to make the team better at soccer, he wants to make them better people as well. He believes that keeping them on top of their grades is crucial and making them more responsible will make them better in the classroom and on the field.
“My main goal is to make them young men and develop the characteristics that will make them upstanding people in the future,” Rakestraw said. “I try to keep them responsible because you don’t have soccer without grades.”
Rakestraw and the rest of the team are ready for the rest of the season and the fast approaching playoffs. The players agree that they do not want to get overconfident, but Rakestraw is confident they can win if they stick together.
“The guys have to be able to put the effort in at practice and it will pay off on the field,” Rakestraw said. “They play for each other, they play as one cohesive unit.”
