Change can come in many forms. For sophomore Gabby Delaure and junior Maggie Cox, that change took the shape of a soccer ball. The two both were interested in soccer and wanted to try a new challenge.

“I wanted to try something new and stay active in spring,” Delaure said. “I enjoy that it’s an outside sport, I’ve never done an outside sport before. It’s pretty different from all the other sports I’ve done.”

Delaure has been playing basketball for eight years, making varsity as a freshman, and volleyball for four years. Having played a year of soccer with the St. Charles County Youth Soccer Association, Delaure was feeling rather anxious for the tryout.

“I was really nervous, I didn’t really know a lot or what to do but the girls were really comforting and accepting,” Delaure said. “I had watched a lot of Youtube videos of basic soccer skills and just practiced basic soccer skills before the tryout.”

Cox was able to find a way to involve her main sport, which is  volleyball, in this newfound game. Diving around and making the save enables Cox to enjoy the best of both worlds.

“I heard from other people that they were looking for goalies and I’ve always been interested in being a goalie so I thought it would be really fun,” Cox said. “I like being able to make the save or make a cool dive. It’s like volleyball a lot, because I like to dive around.”

Because the new goalies don’t know the position, they spend practices going over the basics and trying to get as much game-like experience as possible. They shoot at each other in order to perfect their reaction time and practiced with other teammates to better their skills and their footwork.

“They haven’t played soccer in a while, or at all, but they want to. I think that’s the first thing that they want to and they want to get better. They listen to what you’re saying and what you’re trying to and they’re trying to get better and they work hard at it,” varsity assistant coach Larry Scheller said.

Both new goalies are looking forward to what the season brings and the new friendships they will gain. They plan to work hard for the team and improve throughout the season by developing their skills and giving everything they can for the good of the team.

“I’m looking forward to learning more about the game and getting close to the team,” Cox said.