It’s mohawk season! The bright blond mohawks are sported by each member of the boys varsity soccer team as a way to celebrate their qualification for the playoffs this year.

Through teamwork, dedication and unity, the boys varsity soccer team has enjoyed tremendous success this season.

According to senior and team captain Matt Salzman, the mohawk hairstyles the team members sport serve as a form of bonding for the team and bring them closer together.

“We all get our mohawks together,” Salzman said. “We’re all together at school, looking the same. It’s fun.”

Kyle Beaulieu-Jones has been coaching the team for the past four years. According to Beaulieu-Jones, bonding activities like team dinners, captains’ practices and other events play a major role in the success of the team as they help the players build close relationships with one another, which ultimately helps them on the field.

“When they’re on the field they feel comfortable with each other and they feel confident to work hard for each other,” Beaulieu-Jones said. “I think that they see the impact of the off-field bonding. It helps them.”

For Beaulieu-Jones, the friendships the players build is the most important thing for them to take away from the season.

Salzman, who has been on the varsity team for the past four years, agrees that a team mindset is instrumental to their success.

“It’s definitely all about being close as a team,” Salzman said. “Last year we were really close, and it’s getting up to that level this year. But in the past years before that, when we haven’t really gone that far, we weren’t as close. So I think this year is definitely a lot better.”

According to sophomore Luka Sever-Walter, the team does not experience a divide across grades, despite the many seniors on the team. The amount of time the team spends together is one of the main methods by which the team cultivates their bond to one another.

“We spend a lot of time with each other,” Sever-Walter said. “On the field, obviously, but we also do [things] like team bonding. We all have dinner at someone’s house or we all go out to dinner after a game, so we really get to know each other really well.”

The bond is not limited to the players and many feel a close connection to their coach as well. Salzman has felt close with his coach throughout his many years on the team and knows that the bond has only grown over his time at the high school.

“I can talk to him about anything,” Salzman said. “I can tell him anything I feel and he can probably do the same, so we’re pretty close.”

Despite ultimately being eliminated from the tournament, the bond the players created and the friendships they built will last much longer.

“It’s like a brotherhood,” Sever-Walter said. “It’s like a family. We always look out for each other. We see each other in the hallways, we’re super excited to see each other. We’re really good friends and we tell each other everything.”