As football season and the rest of our fall sports are coming to a close, everyone is turning their attention to the winter sports seasons that have just begun. Sunlake’s Varsity Boys’ soccer team managed to tie against Berkeley Prep with a score of 1-1 and are just starting to get revved up for the upcoming season.

Allister Boostrom, senior, serves as the goalkeeper, or goalie, for the team. He feels like some of the upcoming games will be ,”challenging games, especially in our Champions League group,” which includes teams from schools such as, “River Ridge and Jesuit who are respectable teams.” Despite the challenges the team will most likely run into, Allister believes the team is “up to their level, especially with new additions to the team this season with a couple of new players, along with a highly and experienced and credited coach,” which will only help the team this season, and while the whole team must work as a unit, each individual player impacts how the unit functions. To be at the top of his own game, Allister prepares physically by, “improving his footwork with the ball,” along with his, “reaction time and decision-making,” which benefits him in his role as goalkeeper. More times than not, a player’s actions can be affected by their mentality and the headspace they fall into while playing. Mentally, Allister “visualizes game-like situations” and “stays composed overall” as well as “building trust and chemistry” with his teammates for “a strong overall team.”

Routines have to change in order to become a stronger player both mentally and physically. Allister has taken to “washing [my] gloves after using them three times, whether it’s for practice or games” which helps to “keep them fresh and ready to use” so he can go out and put his best foot forward on the field. Our school has had the opportunity to participate in the Tampa Bay Champions’ League, which combines the best teams in the Tampa Bay area and allows them to battle it out for the top spot. Allister says he likes, “the concept of building a league where the best teams can play matches against each other,” even if the league has made some questionable moves and decisions, which has resulted in the Girls’ team to be eliminated from their playoffs. Regardless, we can’t wait to watch the teams soar this season.