ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 18, 1996 TAG: 9604180023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RINER
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
Most teams coming off an 0-5 season would be inclined to call the present campaign a rebuilding year. At Auburn High School, the soccer team would prefer to call it a building year.
For Coach Matthew Reinhardt and the 17 players that comprise the Eagles JV soccer team, an 0-5 season is accepted as part of the growing pains that accompany the development of a new program. After all, 1996 marks only the third season Auburn has fielded a team in a sport largely unplayed in southwest Montgomery County.
"This team is a terrific opportunity for the kids at Auburn to become involved with soccer," Reinhardt said. "It's a great chance for the kids not involved with baseball or track to become involved with an exciting sport."
The 1994 formation of the JV team came through the perseverance of dedicated soccer fans within the student body, Reinhardt said.
"The idea of starting a team was initiated by a few Auburn students who went to a meeting of a southwest Virginia soccer association," Reinhardt said. "They wanted to find out what it would take to bring the sport to the school. I think that was what got the ball rolling, so to speak. From there it just gained momentum."
Once the decision to begin a soccer program was reached, another crucial choice had to be made - whether to field the traditional varsity and JV team, or just a JV squad. Because of the strong interest the student body had shown in the existing spring sports, Reinhardt said the decision was reached to form a JV team.
"We didn't want to take away, or try to compete with, baseball and track for players," Reinhardt said. "We wanted time to work on the basics and a chance to let the kids get better before we stepped it up to varsity status."
Despite the excitement created by the chance to represent their school on the field, Auburn soccer players felt an uneasiness about their situation.
"When the program first started the attitudes of the kids was kind of disappointing and their energy was low," Reinhardt said. "It was partially because they had the impression they were the low sport on the pole. They knew they were going to have to work hard to prove themselves. But once they realized they had the chance to succeed and win, they became more encouraged."
The Eagles '95 record may not have left their fans with much to cheer about, but Reinhardt was impressed with the way his fledgling program performed, especially down the stretch. After being shutout in its first four games, Auburn scored a pair of goals in the season finale against Three Rivers District powerhouse Radford in a 5-2 loss.
"I was really excited about the way we finished the season last year," Reinhardt said. "Then we came out our first game this year and beat Carroll County, 3-0. We can't wait to play the rest of our schedule now. We have Carroll County again, Radford and Christiansburg - and those games should tell us a lot about ourselves. We've got some kids that have come a long way and I would have on my varsity team. It just an exciting time."
With the improvement in the JV program, Reinhardt and his players are looking ahead to the day when they will compete on a varsity level. According to the coach, the change could occur as soon as next year.
"I'm hoping that next year there will be a varsity team at Auburn," Reinhardt said. "The chance to play varsity ball next year is one of the things that keeps these players working. For the sophomores and juniors out here, it is time to take the step up. It's realistic that Auburn could have a varsity program next year."
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALan Kim. Auburn JV soccer coach Matthew Reinhardt givesby CNBpointers to his players during after-school practice earlier this
week. color.