By GANNON HANEVOLD
Moapa Valley Progress
“This year, we have the potential to be the best small school,” said Moapa Valley High School Boys’ Soccer coach Jared Bushman, when talking about his squad’s chances going into the 2016 season.
That would be a big turnaround from last season. The Pirates were winless in league play in 2015. Nevertheless, this season could certainly be a whole different story. An NIAA league realignment that shifted out some of the top contenders in the division could bring an opportunity for the Pirates to pull off a surprise.
Bushman says his team’s biggest weakness right now is depth. Frankly, the team is just thin on numbers, he said. And that might hurt them come game time.
But the small team surely has the right mindset, he said. “Our biggest strength is attitude,” Bushman said. “Our players have some of the best attitudes I’ve ever seen.”
The real difference with this team is their “willingness to do things without question,” he said.
“If I ask them to do something, it gets done. I don’t have to ask twice.”
The team is very young. Only one senior came out to play: Denver Conger. Bushman says Conger plays an important role on the team. “Denver is one of those example guys,” Bushman said.
Returning players include Israel Rubio, who was the team’s leading scorer in 2015, as well as Tanner Johnson and junior Josh Lee.
“Israel Rubio’s skill level is going to be really important,” Bushman said. “And Tanner Johnson and Josh Lee are going to be extremely important as well.”
But rather than view the squad’s lack of older players as a disadvantage, Bushman expects it to give his team an edge.
“I think we are going to try and use the experience of some young players and hopefully that year of experience will help us be a little more solid,” he said.
Since their first day of practice, Bushman said he has seen improvement in the team. “We have a better first touch, better ball control and awareness of assignments and responsibilities,” he said.
Bushman says his focus is on beating Boulder City and Virgin Valley this season. With six teams in the division and four of them reaching the playoffs, if the Pirates can do just that alone, it would grant them a playoff berth.
When it comes to facing other teams in the division that have an much larger school population, Bushman said, “We want to shock them. We always want this to be the year we surprise them. It’s kind of like David and Goliath.”
It may be against all odds, but the Pirates are intent that they can make leaps and bounds in a positive direction in 2016.
And it all starts now.
Boys Soccer 2016 Season Schedule
JV Varsity
Aug 26 4:00 The Meadows
Aug 31 4:30 The Meadows
Sep 01 4:30 3:00 Basic
Sep 06 4:30 3:00 Pahrump
Sep 08 3:00 4:30 Basic
Sep 13 3:00 4:30 Cheyenne
Sep 15 4:30 Adelson
Sep 20 4:30 3:00 Chaparral
Sep 22 3:00 4:30 Del Sol
Sep 26 3:00 4:30 Virgin Valley
Sept 28 3:00 4:30 Boulder City
Oct 05 4:30 3:00 SECTA
Oct 10 4:30 Adelson
Oct 13 3:00 4:30 Chaparral
Oct 18 5:00 3:30 Del Sol
Oct 20 3:00 4:30 Virgin Valley
Oct 24 4:30 3:00 Boulder City
Oct 26 3:00 4:30 SECTA
Nov 1-5 TBA Regionals
Nov 11-12 South TBA State
All Home games in bold
