The thirds soccer team is “a doorway to the whole [soccer] program,” according to assistant coach Voorhees. This statement is backed up by the fact that many thirds players end up on the JV or even the varsity team.

How does the thirds program produce quality soccer players year after year? The answer lies in the coaching of Mr. Heslop and Fr. Voorhees. They don’t just help the boys become good soccer players; they teach them to be good teammates.

Coaches Heslop and Voorhees work the team tirelessly, pushing the boys to their limit with sprints, laps, and gassers. But the coaches don’t forgo teamwork. If the players aren’t running, they are practicing passing drills, communication drills, or set pieces to learn to play within the team.

While the team has the longest practice hours of all three soccer teams, team bonding doesn’t end in South Fields. The boys can be seen in the dining hall having a team dinner or trudging back to campus together, collectively complaining about a particularly grueling set of gassers.

Once a season, they can even be seen walking over to the cross-country course for one of coach Voorhees’ famous nature walks to discover their spirit animals. As veteran player Ka Yu Wan ’18 says, “It’s all about the camaraderie.”