Tracy High's Grant Bessette (No. 8) kicks his way past a Bear Creek defender on Oct. 4. Tracy won 3-0. - Photo Courtesy Stu Jossey Returners have soccer team setting goal of reaching playoffs Tuesday, October 04, 2011 By Anthony Blake Advertising By Anthony Blake Staff Reporter Seven returning players have the Tracy High boys’ soccer team feeling confident about returning to the playoffs. The team finished their last season with an 8-6-3 record. The returning players are all key players and bring something big to the table. Coach Kalis selected these players because of the skill and experience that they bring to the table. “I want to keep the players healthy,” Kalis said. “If we stay healthy, we can be competitive.” At the head of the team’s scoring players is Cameron Divoky, with three goals this season. Divoky is another returning player this year. One player, Eric Smith is returning from rehabilitation of two torn anterior cruciate ligaments. Smith is a senior, and brings experience to a team of young players. Smith said he had a lot of difficulty recovering from the injury. Smith had to play through his injury, as he could not get the surgery to fix it. Smith says that his intense love for the game is what drove him to play through his injury. Kalis said that Smith, while his injuries were severe, has not shown any difficulty performing on the team. “He has shown no difficulty,” Kalis said. “He’s doing a great job working through it.”             The team’s outside defender and outside midfielder, Austin Shankel, is particularly proud of how well his team works together. “We don’t let anything get to us,” Shankel said. “Even when we’re losing, we keep our heads up.”             The team is looking forward to their upcoming game against Chavez at the West High Field on Oct. 6. The players have good hopes, but are expecting a tough game.

Back to the articles list