With five consecutive state championships under its belt, the Bromfield boys varsity soccer team naturally hopes to continue the streak for the 2023 season. To do so, the Trojans are working to regroup and redefine roles. More than relying on any single player, however, the Trojans agree that the biggest contributors to the team’s success will be their cohesiveness and motivation.
Ethan Russo takes part in a conditioning drill during soccer practice, Aug. 22. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Having lost 13 graduating seniors, Bromfield will now adapt to new captains and a goalie, both yet to be chosen. But while the roster is being shuffled around, coach Alex Horne is not too worried, expressing confidence in a core group of returning players. This includes last year’s lead scorer, Brendan Listzwan, who is coming back as a junior and will be centering the team’s offense.
Over the summer, Listzwan and many others have continued cultivating their chemistry and skills by holding pickup games two or three times a week. “We find time to play together, to get better in the preseason. That’s for sure,” he said.
Horne trusts his players to work hard over the summer and fight for certain positions, but he values the team’s unity over all else: “You can’t have one outlier; everyone needs to be on the same page, so we work really hard to start the season by building on that chemistry and cohesiveness. We feel that is the single strongest component to make a run to the championship.”
Hand in hand with cohesion, Horne expects to work on the team’s motivation. He said that because of their past success, last year’s Trojans had trouble maintaining the energy to want a district or state title. “It’s difficult to want it as bad as someone that’s never gotten it,” said Horne. “So we talked a lot last year about playing teams that have never won one in school history … with players going to bed at night and dreaming of winning a state title.”
To get the team dreaming of that again, Horne encourages players to identify their own goals. Whether it be not giving up any goals, or a personal achievement, he believes communicating their aspirations puts everyone on the same page.
For Listzwan, this means making more assists: “I’m trying to involve the other players to score more goals because, if I’m being honest, it was just me scoring the goals last year, which was fun, but I really want to get other people on the team to score more.”
Horne’s own goal is less about winning titles, and more focused on individual player improvement. “Every coach loves to see the kids grow and understand that they can impact the betterment of the team based on their effort and their work ethic,” he said. “Those are the types of goals and those are the types of success stories that we love.”
The team started the preseason Monday, Aug. 21, with three-hour practices followed by scheduled scrimmages. The official season then opens Thursday, Sept. 7, with the Trojans’ first league match of the season against Oakmont Regional High School.
