By Sara Page, Midlothian Exchange
spage@midlothianexchange.com

To call the Kickers U15 Elite girls’ soccer team a melting pot of the microcosm that is the local soccer scene is no stretch of the imagination.

The team welcomes representatives from nine Richmond area high schools on both sides of the river. Though one would think playing against each other during the high school season might prove harmful, the team is no less unified when they’re back on the same side of the ball for the travel/club fall and summer seasons.

“We all get along really well, and when we all play each other in high school it’s really fun,” co-captain Alyson Brown said.

“We always go the hardest against each other,” co-captain Katie Venck added.

High school teams represented when the team plays together include James River, Cosby, Midlothian, Manchester, Deep Run, Hanover, Atlee, Colonial Forge and Maggie Walker Governor’s School. These girls, mighty as they may be individually on their high school teams, lift a beckoning torch for soccer fans to see some great soccer when they’re together.

The core of this team has been intact since the U12 level where they won the state cup final. The next year they were in the top four. The year after that they went to the finals again. Last year, they were still in the top four club travel teams in the state. Together they have also won the Virginia Club Champions League in their division during each of the last three years.

“It’s a very, very good team,” head coach Ihor Dotsenko said. “All the girls get along really well with each other, and I think they all love to be part of this team; and they have a great attitude.”

The team plays together during the fall and summer seasons and say that they are so close, it’s like playing with family.

“Over Thanksgiving [two years ago] we went to Disney World for a tournament. That was probably one of the most fun times we’ve had together,” Brown said. “All of our tournaments are always so much fun, just staying in the hotel together.”

That they have fun when they’re together is no question. Giggles permeate the air along with shouts of encouragement and the awarding of nicknames. Individual handshakes mark the team’s closeness when they take the field.

“We all have handshakes with each other,” Brown explained. “There’s a lot of different ones. At the beginning of every half, when we go on the field, you can just see everybody doing handshakes.”

“I do the Spiderman with Jayden Metzger, and we have our midfield triangle,” Venck added by way of example.

According to their coach, the players represent a good blend of strengths, which allows them to mesh very well on the travel team.

“I think, on the girls’ side, this is one of the best teams that we’ve ever had in the club. They definitely play very good soccer and … they seem to make the transition [from high school soccer] in a flawless way,” Dotsenko said.

So with all the evidence pointing more toward the club team being the central part of the girls’ soccer lives, it flips the question to how do they then mesh with their respective high school teams?

“It took us a little while to get back,” Brown admitted, adding that, largely, they just go out and play and have fun. No matter what team they’re on.