Calabasas girls’ soccer team puts past failures in rearview mirror
Coyotes playing with renewed sense of pride
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers GETTING BETTER—Calabasas’ Jaclyn Gersh, left, dribbles past her teammate, Jodi Nelson, during Tuesday’s practice session at CHS. The Coyotes are positive they can bounce back and be competitive following a tough 2005-06 campaign.

After a winless season a year ago, Calabasas High’s girls’ soccer team is hoping that a new head coach and positive attitude can lead to a winning campaign.

Calabasas has brought in Katie Maxwell to help guide the Lady Coyotes this year.

Maxwell had previously coached at Northern Arizona University as an assistant. She played at NAU and later graduated with a master’s degree in secondary education.

So far, her expertise of the game has paid off for CHS, as the Coyotes recently beat Channel Islands 3-0 for their first win since 2004.

“Already I have seen huge improvements with this team and getting a win early was huge,” Maxwell said.

“It was a well-deserved win by us coming on top. After the game, the team was very excited, but what I was impressed with was the attitude the next day in practice. The team was very tense because they realized they still had weaknesses they had to improve on. They were happy, but not satisfied.”

Senior co-captain Miriam Yegenah said the feeling of getting a win took a while to set in.

“It didn’t really hit me until we got back to campus later that night,” Yegenah said. “It was really cool telling people at school the next day that we won the game. The students were kind of surprised when we told them.”

Coyote players are hoping to surprise more than just their fellow students this season; they’re hoping to shock a few teams in the Marmonte League as well.

“This season will be very fun, and one thing we have this year is the element of surprise,” senior cocaptain Emma Harris said. “Other teams don’t expect much from us, and it will be nice to come in and play very hard against them. We can’t really go down from last year; we can only improve.”

Calabasas has shown improvement in practice, and much of that has to do with a new, winning attitude, Maxwell said.

“For me, when I came here, I thought I would have to do a lot more,” Maxwell said. “But the work ethic has been unbelievable with these girls. A change is coming to this program, but it’s coming from the girls.”

A few of the Coyote players sensed that the change has also come from their coach.

“Maxwell has been a big part of our turnaround and new attitude,” Harris said. “It’s been a complete turnaround.

“Last year I think many people thought of our program as some kind of joke and didn’t care if we won or not. This year, Maxwell has been great for us. She always has input and seems to know what we need to do better in order to win. And we learn from it; we don’t make the same mistake twice,” Harris said.

Maxwell has spent a lot of time working with the CHS goalkeepers, a position she once played.

The coach said she spends the first half hour of practice working specifically with her two goalies, junior Mazelle Dadon and freshmen Gabby Kaufman.

“Our two goalies have been very positive and encouraging with each other,” Maxwell said. “I’ve been very impressed with them and would go as far to say that no team in the league has two goalies as good as ours.”

The Coyotes also need players like senior Michelle Weize to continue to step up. Weize has already scored three goals this season. Other players Maxwell said would contribute include junior Brooke Stephens, senior Meredith Doyle and freshmen Meghan Kahane.

“Meredith is very strong in the middle and controls the flow of the game,” Maxwell said. “She is very strong on the ball and good at distributing it. Like Meredith, Meghan is a very dangerous player as well. Her game is very similar to Meredith’s game.”

Brooke “is a very feisty player and scrappy with a spark of energy,” the coach said. “This season she has turned out to be more than just an energetic player; she creates many offensive opportunities for us.”

With many players on CHS finally coming into their own, Maxwell couldn’t be happier to be coaching the Coyotes.

“Not only did I get a good coaching position, but I’m also teaching AP history, which is something I always wanted to do,” she said. “It’s been a dream job so far, and I’m hoping this team can get back to .500 this year.”