Blue Valley West enters the boys soccer season looking to build on an 18-3 campaign while navigating a roster that features plenty of young talent and several options for coach Kyle Conley.
The Jaguars return a deep group, but Conley said finding the right combination of players will be one of the team’s biggest tasks early in the season.
“We are bringing a lot of depth with a lot of young talented young guys,” Conley said. “We will have a good team, but will need to figure out a lineup that gives us the best team with our pieces we have.”
One of the key pieces of that group is senior Tristan Coates, the team’s MVP nominee. Coates enters the season as a three-year varsity player who has already taken on a leadership role within the program.
Coates was voted a team captain as a junior by his teammates and earned honorable mention all-league honors last season. This season, he is expected to move back to center back, a position Conley believes will allow Coates to make an even greater impact.
“Tristan is an incredible player,” Conley said. “He has been a three-year varsity player who has done an incredible job.”
Coates has spent his first three varsity seasons playing out of position, but his return to center back should give the Jaguars another steady presence in the back.
“He is a very smart player, who reads the game very well and plays with a lot of technical ability,” Conley said.
Blue Valley West also will look to sophomore David Font as one of its emerging young players. Font made an impact as a freshman last season, earning significant playing time while contributing four goals and one assist as an outside midfielder.
Font’s technical ability and production as a freshman have made him one of the players to watch as the Jaguars begin a new season.
“David was a player who got a lot of minutes and provided a great uplift for our squad,” Conley said. “He is a very technical and talented young man.”
With a strong record from a year ago, a deep roster and several young players ready for larger roles, Blue Valley West enters the season with plenty of potential. The challenge will be turning that collection of talent into the lineup that gives the Jaguars their best chance to succeed.
For Conley, the early part of the season will be about finding the right pieces and establishing how the team’s depth can work together.
“We will have a good team,” Conley said, “but will need to figure out a lineup that gives us the best team with our pieces we have.”
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