The opposing teams players passing the ball back and forth hoping to score as Bellevue East soccer team defends. Trying to get the ball back in hopes to score on the other side. The ball gets kicked out of bounds and Bellevue East gets the ball. Senior Liam Parker kicks it onto the field. As East now has the ball, they dribble and pass, dibble and pass.

Coaches come and go throughout the years, with varying years of experience. Boys soccer head coach Noah Bishop is new to being a head coach this year. 

“I have been coaching since I was 18, so just about nine years ago,” Bishop said. “I have had a couple different places I coached; Bellevue Soccer club, Papillon, most recently at Burke high school. I am glad to be back to where I went to school at East.”

From being around many coaches, assistants start to learn a thing or two from the other coaches. That they can later use for whenever they become head coaches.

“There has been a lot that I have learned from coaches in high school and the coaches that I have coached with at a higher level,” assistant boys soccer coach Karson Jeffrey said. “Especially us first year head coaches, just trying to establish ourselves here at Bellevue East. Bring us back to a position to compete at state titles.”

Players have seen this passion for state and an overall better future for the team. Senior Liam Parker is especially excited about this.

“I think they are very ambitious, I think they want to change the program so we can be a contender at state in the future,” Parker said. “They won’t settle for less than your absolute best. It’s been something I try to oppose on the team the past few years as well.”

Hard work that players possess is something that coaches are looking for in players. Specifically for the varsity team.

“Especially our teams here at East, the biggest thing is not how good the player is. The biggest thing is how they fit in what we are looking for and the culture we want this team to have going forward,” Bishop said. “So we want to look for someone who wants to work very hard, Has a positive attitude and is also positive within the school itself.”

Other than picking players for the teams, coaches have been through some challenges before the season has even started. From inside the classroom to out on the field.

“We have definitely had our fair share of challenges on and off the field,” Jeffrey said. “We have had a lot of opportunities in the last six months that we had at school to actually come together and realize that. What we do doesn’t just affect us, it affects everyone. We need to make sure we are taking care of business here so we can take care of business out there.”

Even throughout the challenges as being new coaches, it is a good thing to have new coaches every so often. They can implement a new game strategy for coaching style.

“Some positives would be, you can see the game played from another angle. I know when I played on a club team it was more of an offensive strategy,” Parker said. “When you get into high school level soccer, it can be difficult to adjust to a new coach and to a new style of coaching.”