The Grayslake Central girls varsity soccer team has kicked off their season. They have shown incredible dedication to making their season as great as possible and hope to make it to State. The girls and their coaches all share similar goals of team building and success The team’s goalkeeper, Piper Gallaher, shared her personal goal of becoming the best keeper in Illinois. “My personal goal is to be named all-state, which means I’m like the top goalkeeper in the state. So we’ll see how that goes,” said Gallaher. Natalie Thorson shared similar goals for the season. “My personal goals are winning conference/ sectionals, hopefully winning state and just overall improving my soccer skills.” In order to achieve their goals, the girls needed to differ from other soccer programs. “All of the dedication and coaching is just really above par. Compared to other schools, our coaches really want the best for us on and off the field, and I feel like you can’t find that very often. And they also care for our bodies to where we aren’t getting overworked, but yet, we are getting enough in our playing time to figure out the game,” said Gallaher. The girls have shown a significant appreciation for coach Keith Andersson, and in return he spends his time planning diverse activities to improve their soccer skills. “Each practice is different and is based on the previous game and our upcoming opponent. My assistant, Coach Nieder, watches all the video footage of our opponents and breaks it down for a pregame report for the girls to review. I break down our game footage, and we have video sessions with the girls so they case what we can improve on,” said Andersson.

Andersson also highlighted the desire to be “…the top program in the area and the state, so the
incoming freshmen are excited about trying out for soccer.” The girls shared some advice for underclassmen wanting to be a future soccer player at Central. Thorson’s advice is to “make sure to put in the work early,” she continues, “I definitely didn’t get that opportunity since I didn’t get a sophomore season, but really take advantage of your freshman and sophomore seasons.” Most importantly, “come in fit and ready to play at a speed that they are not used to. They are playing against girls one, two, three years older than they are… and don’t be afraid, believe in your abilities,” said Andersson. Although soccer involves a lot of skills, the girls also had fun making unforgettable memories. Thorson shared a favorite memory from soccer. She said, “My favorite memory from soccer was the Liberty Bowl game this year when we all came together as a team to hold them off. Or over the summer when I helped out with
the kids soccer camp with some of teammates.

It was really fun to see the kids learning from us and chasing us around with the balls. Coaches have a lot of fun as well; Andersson said that his favorite memories were “…going to state with the varsity boys, and the bus rides with the girls.” Overall the girls varsity soccer team has continued to improve and they have no sign of stopping. One of their biggest accomplishments this year involves the game against Libertyville High School. Coach Anderson said “despite the loss, it showed me that the girls can compete and play at the same level with a team that was ranked #1 in state.