Just a start: Huskies play a junior high soccer game

RIVERSIDE

Just weeks after Dylan Stewart, the head soccer coach at Highland High School, pleaded with the district’s school board for permission to start a junior high program, the magical day arrived Monday (April 6).

Playing in new red Highland Husky uniforms with new shorts and new shin guards, the Junior High Huskies took on Danville in a first-ever junior high soccer game held at Highland.

A crowd gathered in the bleachers and along the fences at Highland’s stadium.

The sun popped out from clouds on a typical early spring day that featured lots of cold winds.

Oh, the Huskies lost this historical game 3-0 to Danville.

No matter.

Just being there was a victory.

Seventeen kids from grades 7 and 8 signed up for the team, which means the junior high program has more players over two grades than the Huskies varsity team does this spring over four grades.

And leading them are Louis Horak and Ayden Havel, both 2025 Highland High graduates who played for Stewart.

“It’s great to see junior high students who are interested,” Stewart said. “It’s really kind of what I’ve been stressing is, there’s a lot of kids in the Highland community that have played soccer and want to play soccer. We need to allow for that and create more opportunities for those kids. It’s really exciting to see. I’m excited to see what those kids can do in the future.”

Until Stewart approached the Highland School Board, there was no junior high soccer program. Track? Yes. Basketball. Football. Baseball. Volleyball.

Stewart’s passionate presentation to the board included pulling out a cell phone and playing recorded audio pleas from the kids themselves.

“Please. I want to play soccer.”

After that, the board voted unanimously on the spot to crank up a junior high soccer program. Done.

And right there to step up were Horak and Havel, who helped lead the Huskies varsity to a seven-win season last year, which was Highland’s best soccer season since 2015.

Now they’re the teachers.

“It’s huge to have this junior high program because it’s giving them an early head start on fundamentals,” Horak said. “We’re preparing them for high school. We’re preparing the basics. We’re making sure they have a fundamental set of soccer skills. That way, we can start off with our feet running in high school.”

Stewart, who runs his high school practice alongside the junior high team most afternoons, couldn’t be prouder.

“Seeing those kids come back,” Stewart said of Horak and Havel. “You talk about culture and building a culture, a part of it is that. How many of those kids who came through your program are still interested in your program and are coming back wanting to give their time back to it? I think it speaks a lot to their character. I’m excited to have them. I’m excited to keep them around for a couple more years.

“Who knows? Someday maybe they’ll be running the high school program.”

There was no junior high program for Horak and Havel. Up the street in Iowa City, there is the Kickers soccer club program. It costs money. As a result, a three- or four-sport Highland athlete may show up at his or her first high school soccer practice not knowing the difference between a goal kick and a penalty kick.

Now they will know.

“It makes a huge impact,” Horak said. “Right now, high school is working a lot on basics because they didn’t play in junior high. So, we’re working on basics. Taking the simple steps first. If we work on stuff with them in junior high right now, then high school they can start out doing a lot more extensive drills.”

It is a start.

After Monday’s game was over, these new Huskies, all with smiles, assembled for a team photo.

The FIRST team photo. Ever.

And that’s a big win.

News columnist Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @bowkerpaul