In previous years, the Berkley High School’s Boys varsity soccer team has had great success. ‘In the 2023 season, they ended off their normal season ranked No. 1 in the state.’ This year the boys are making their way back up to that spot, currently ranked No. 9 in the state. Both this season and this summer, the team has been working tremendously. Coach Steve Wloszek, and Captain Sam Niyo gave us a look into how their team and season has been going.
Niyo has confidence that the team is practicing hard to step up and fill the shoes of the ten previous seniors who left. He explains the captains’ and coach’s pregame routine, “We tell [the players] what’s going on, how we can be better, and what we need from everyone. We will also talk about what we need to accomplish on the field before the game in the locker room, what we need to focus on.” Doing this before every game, and bonding as a team, helps them in preparation for their next game. He continues to talk about the unfortunate 3-1 loss to their rivals on Sept. 5th, Troy Athens, “The Troy game was a rough loss, but we know they are a good team and one of the better teams in the state. I think it’s good for our team to have a loss so we know how it feels and prepares us for next time. We are excited and ready to play them again in districts.” As mentioned, the team is currently ranked No. 9 in the state. Fortunately, they still have time to move their way up in the ranking. Niyo shares how that works, “Basically, you beat a team and if they have a good record, based on who they play, you get a certain amount of points. You get more points based on the better team you beat.” It’s very important that the team continues to draw wins in their future games. Niyo continues, “So as long as we keep beating good teams we will keep going up.”
Last year’s team had a tremendous impact on the current team. Their expectation to carry on the place of No. 1 in the state is high. We talked to the Boys Varsity Soccer Coach, Coach Wloszek who has shaped the boys team to what they are now. He states, “Like any sport, soccer values and principles can be applied to life. The things I emphasize will help these boys later in life, in their workplace, or other facets of their life: Punctuality, attention to detail, preparation, organization, respecting authority, team-first mentality, instilling a strong culture of winning, and community engagement, among many other principles.”
Wloszek highlights core values and principles in his coaching. He expands more on the Athens game, saying it, “taught us that there is still room for improvement on the season. We need to focus on getting better everyday for when we potentially play them again in districts.” Speaking of districts, their team needs to prepare for that along with their regular season.
Wloszek continues, “We prepare for a district opponent like we prepare for any regular-season opponent. The coaching staff reviews film to identify the opponent’s key players, formation, set pieces, style of play, etc. and then we focus on finding weaknesses to exploit.” Wloszek specifies that the team thoroughly breaks down each team that comes in front of them.
Lastly, Wloszek expressed what his short-term and long-term goals for the team were for the team. He explains how they go hand-in-hand and expresses they want to make “the Berkley community proud by doing everything we can as a program on a daily basis to continue to build our ‘brand’ on the strong base that has existed in Berkley soccer over the past 15 years so that the success of the program and the respect of our program from other teams in the state continues. We have aspirations of being one of the best teams in the OAA and one of the best teams in the state year-in and year-out.” The team goals are what keeps them pushing through the tough season to climb their way up the rankings in the OAA and in the state.
Both fans and students report that the student section has made the game more enjoyable. Showing up to home and away games, students this year have been very supportive, dressing up in the themes, cheering loud, and waving the bear pack flag. “It’s great to have,” Niyo states, “It adds a lot of energy to our game, and we are all more excited to go play when we see everyone in the stands, loud and excited.” Not only do the Berkley Bears hype up the players for their game but it’s also enjoyable for the students in the stand. The student section definitely makes the games memorable for everyone.
Coach Steve and Captain Niyo both want to see great things for the team this season. Even though it’s been a competitive season so far, from pregame talks to intense practices, they have hope the team will not fail to excite the students who show up, and will continue to impress and represent Berkley.
