“It Can Be Done Here.” – Robert F. Munroe grows soccer program, chases down a winning season

The 2021-2022 school year marked a beginning of sorts for Gadsden County athletics.

During the 2020-2021 school year, Robert F. Munroe Day School introduced soccer as an athletic opportunity for high school and middle school students; but the team was not able to engage in competitions.

Instead, Coach Danny Cruz used the first year as a practice and growth period for his teams (boys and girls), and when the school was able to begin entering into competitive play in 2021-2022, the two teams hit the ground running.

Athletic Director Jeremy Barlow says that the team has made a ‘night and day’ shift in morale since becoming a competitive team.

“I’ve really seen a change in morale,” Barlow said. “They’ve had more success and, in my opinion, they are playing at a much higher level.”

As the teams’ first seasons drew close to the end, Coach Cruz voiced his praise for the athletes.

“The season has been going very well. Every girl has been putting in a lot of effort,” said Cruz, for the girl’s team. “The girls have been working together in every aspect of the game.”

According to Cruz, he has seen the girls perform at a ‘high peak’ in their gameplay intensity throughout the year, which included a lot of hard work and dedication put in by the athletes.

The Robert F. Munroe Bobcats girls soccer team has seen a season of wins and losses, an impressive record for a first-year competitive season for the newly-introduced sport at the private school.

One of which is Lawre Bradley.

“Our most outstanding player right now has been Bradley,” said Cruz, adding that despite this being the first year the Bobcats have competitively flown their athletic colors over the soccer field, he already has several nationally-ranking athletes on both the boys and girls teams.

Bradley is one of those.

A 10th grader at the school, Bradley has scored 46 points, made 20 goals, and issued 28 shots throughout the season - bringing her into an above-average on the national scale.

In addition to soccer, Bradley also plays tennis and is on the school’s cheerleading team.

“It’s been really awesome getting to grow with the team,” said Bradley. “From last year, seeing how much we’ve improved, it’s been insane. We have improved so much in just one year.”

Bradley says she wants to see the whole team succeed, and believes in the care the coaches extend to their athletes.

“Everyone is really hard working. We all get along as a team,” said Bradley. “The coaches, they really care about all the players and that’s really been beneficial for the players on the team.”

While the boys team had a bit of a ‘rough start’ according to Cruz, he’s since since his athletes make great leaps at improving their gameplay.

“With the effort they put in, with their intensity, their discipline, they stood their ground,” said Cruz. “As a team, they worked hard and now we are really seeing the results. We went from losing, to tying games, to making scores and putting us closer to a win.”

Currently, the girls team has 15 athletes and the boys team has 18.

Coach Cruz says that’s a ‘decent’ team size, and believes that next year will see even more students coming to join the teams.

“Since it’s our first season, I would say we’ve had a good amount of interest,” said Cruz. “Next season, we’ll have a lot more.”

In addition to high schoolers, the teams’ roster is also composed of middle school students, of whom Cruz is particularly proud.

“They’ve done extraordinarily,” said Cruz. “Everything the older athletes have done, they’ve kept up. I’m seeing a bright future with them all.”

Currently, every team the Bobcats soccer team has played has been filled with high school athletes.

The Robert F. Munroe boys soccer team is composed of 18 athletes, both high schoolers and middle schoolers.

Cruz says that aside from finishing out with a win, he has one goal for his team: continue to advance.

“I want to finish out with a winning season and keep our team, as a whole, getting better,” said Cruz. “I want each individual player to continue building themselves mentally and physically.”

“You don’t have to go to a bigger school in order to succeed,” Cruz added. “Here at Munroe, we are trying to grow the program and show that it can be done here.”

The next game for the Bobcat girls soccer team will be tomorrow night, January 21, at the St. John Paul II field.

This away game will be a tie-breaker in the girls’ season; currently, the girls have a 6-6 win/loss record.

The game will take place at 5 p.m.

The Bobcat boys soccer team will also play St. John Paul tomorrow; so far the team has held a seasonal record of losses, but this game gives the athletes one final chance at a win before the close of the season.

Ashley Hunter - editor@gadsdencountytimes.com

“It Can Be Done Here.” – Robert F. Munroe grows soccer program, chases down a winning season

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“It Can Be Done Here.” – Robert F. Munroe grows soccer program, chases down a winning season

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