Coaching Experiences

This year is Coach Casey’s ninth year coaching at Abington High School. She instructed for four years as the junior varsity coach, and this year will be her fifth year. Other than being an instructor in Abington, Casey also coached three years at Emerson College where she was the assistant instructor. (Casey is also the head of the Wellness Department  and the Associate Athletic Director for Abington Public Schools). She also currently teaches a club team. Casey doesn’t just coach soccer, but she also plays on soccer teams throughout the summer and in the winter. She says the thing that made her interested in teaching the sport was that “soccer is probably my most favorite thing to do, and I always have wanted to coach to share my passion with the athletes. But, I love the sport and I figured coaching would be a good way to stay around it and the kids,” said Casey.

The Season

The girls’ varsity soccer team is a young team this year with seven. “Every season comes with its own challenges, but it’s great having so many freshmen and the future is looking very bright,” said Casey.  Practices are usually about two hours long. They have a nice long warm up in the beginning, which is about a half-mile-run, then some dynamic stretching that goes into basic skills, which work into a bigger skill, and finally end with a scrimmage. Remarkably, the team won their last four games to send them into the playoffs. The girls were victorious against Randolph, Monomoy, Hull, and finally Fontbonne at home. “Friday’s win was huge because it pushed us into the state tournament, which we haven’t been to since 2012. So, it’s a huge boost for the program,” said Casey. They will face St. John Paul II High School of Hyannis in the preliminary round. The game is in Sandwich on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Sandwich Water District Field, 146 Farmersville Road.  The winner faces first seed East Bridgewater in the first round of the Division Four South Playoffs.

Update – The girls beat St. John Paul II 2-1 and will face E. Bridgewater on Friday at E. Bridgewater at 2:30 p.m.

Rewarding and Challenging Parts of Coaching

Casey says that the logistics of coaching can be very demanding. Sometimes she has to catch a bus for a game, but one of the girls has to make up a test for school. “Balancing everything out for two months can be tough sometimes, not difficult, just tough,” said Casey. But, she still manages to make it all work. Even though there are challenges, they are outweighed by the rewards. “I get to see the kids come in as 13-year-olds and watch them leave as  18-year-old adults. I get the opportunity to see the finished product, how they graduated high school, where they’re going the year after, and their aspirations,” said Casey.  “It’s not so much the wins on the field or the goals, its more how they develop and how they go out in the real world. Coaching is my favorite thing to do, because I love the sport and working with the kids.”