Increase in participation and success

The changes in the success of the girls programs, particularly the cross country and soccer teams, did not happen overnight and can be attributed to a variety of factors.

According to MacVeagh, soccer culture has grown over time in Brookline as the girls program has developed. In the early years, the community was insular and made up of a few die-hard participants with ties to the broader soccer community. Gradually, the program grew because of the availability of playing opportunities. In 2011, when the girls program made the playoffs after a two decade drought, the soccer community expanded and transformed into its current form.

Cross country also experienced a growth in popularity in Brookline, especially in the late 1990s. The boys team began to dominate the Bay State League, winning meet after meet, and became ingrained within Brookline’s sports culture. The boys team has continued to be highly successful and the girls team is following in the larger program’s footsteps.

One of the reasons for the expansion of the soccer program is the growth of recreation and town soccer teams. When MacVeagh began coaching in 2001, the tryout structure didn’t select for the best players or give everyone a fair chance of making the top teams As a result, he worked with other coaches to change the format of the tryout.

“In 2001, if you were on the first team, you didn’t need to try out next year. You were just automatically on the first team again. And so even if they’re good second team players, they couldn’t get on to the first team,” MacVeagh said. “The tryouts discovered who the fastest person was, and who could throw or kick the ball the farthest, which doesn’t actually help you identify soccer players. So we changed that right at the beginning to actually have them play soccer.”

The restructuring not only allowed for mobility between different levels, but it increased the overall competitiveness of the program. According to MacVeagh, the athletes who are now good enough for varsity and junior varsity positions are a larger percentage of the program than in 2003. MacVeagh also said this higher caliber of athletes in competition for varsity spots allows for a constant cycle of evolution that improves the quality of the team.

“There’s no one who makes varsity who isn’t in shape and isn’t playing and doesn’t have all the good technique down,” MacVeagh said. “I don’t know if it’s gonna last forever, but it’s been five or six years now where they’re consistently one of the top four or five teams in the state.”

The next step to increasing the competitiveness of the girls soccer program was to provide players opportunities to practice in the off-season. MacVeagh and Sprague began a soccer club, called Chestnut Hill Club, for athletes to play in the months of March through June. Over the summer, MacVeagh also has an intense summer workout program that girls participate in.

“Chan camp is very word of mouth. Basically, everyone in the high school knows about it. And I actually send an email out every year saying, you shouldn’t do this, this is too hard. No one wants to get up at 6:45 a.m. all summer long, five days a week, and it’s 95 degrees and humid,” MacVeagh said. “Forty people come anyway and, weirdly, they seem to enjoy it.”

Like girls soccer, the cross country team has also done outreach to young athletes in elementary schools. Students through grades four to eight have the opportunity to compete in a mile-long race at Larz Anderson Park. Three years ago, eighth-grade students also had the chance to meet with spring sports teams and coaches at an open-night event. All of these efforts are meant to spread word of mouth and interest in young athletes, according to DeYoung.

The success of the girls cross country program has also been due to the culture and coaching, according to junior Camille Jordan.

“I definitely think it’s a combination of both the coaches and the teammates that’s made the team more popular over the years. Because the team is becoming more popular, it’s attracting more people. And, when you have more people, there’s going to be more competitive people in that group,” Jordan said.

Programs like the Chestnut Hill Club and Chan Camp, as well as the robust youth programs, have created a strong sense of community within soccer players. Zoey Fagnan, senior and co-captain of the girls varsity soccer team, said the ingrained community helped with athlete retention and continued participation.

“I think it’s definitely a community and there’s lots of love and lots of support within that community. That can be a huge attraction or reason for people to stay in the game and continue playing,” Fagnan said. “We get to see JV on the bus and it’s always fun to ask how their game went. There’s definitely a lot of unity and that’s a huge reason why people stick with the sport throughout their high school career.”

Fagnan also said coaches like MacVeagh have supported girls teams and encouraged them to participate in soccer, which further helped develop the program.

“Brookline soccer puts a lot of support and emphasis on the girls teams, and I think our coaches all watch players as they grow up and really encourage them to come to the high school,” Fagnan said. “Girls soccer in Brookline has gotten progressively better and better, and I think that can be one reason why we’ve had higher numbers in recent years.”