Boys soccer players create community atmosphere

Soccer is a social sport. For a soccer team to be successful, it needs to focus on teamwork and friendship.  

“My favorite part of the soccer team was the enjoyment and energy with the team. No one was in a bad mood and even after a loss we kept our heads up,” said Nathan Quezada, freshman.

Being part of a team that is able to uplift each other creates a supportive environment where student-athletes come together to succeed. 

While the Hoffman boys soccer team had many successes, it is not safe to say that they didn’t have their difficulties as well.

“The hardest challenge is definitely keeping everyone on the team engaged and making sure everyone understood what our coach said to us,” said Daniel Nabielec, junior.

An informed team is a connected team. When Hoffman struggles to keep their players in the loop of what their coaches are saying, it can raise difficulty in the unification of their game plans. 

Hoffman is the most diverse high school in Illinois. Having a diverse school can mean having students who are learning English as a second language. Whether students are in the process of learning the language or they have just started, it can create a language barrier. While having a language barrier can be difficult, it can also create learning opportunities.

“Half of our squad didn’t speak English. Most of our teammates were from different South American countries and it was really unique trying to understand one another when there is a language barrier between us,” said Nabielec. “I think it was great to have to learn how to communicate with each other without words, ” said Nabielec.

The main goal for the team this year “was to finish at the top of our conference,” said Jan Stenfanczyk, junior. “It did not happen, but we tried our best.”