Gracie Plant, Kat Sykes, and Haley Marie Fisackerly can’t help but smile when asked about the changes Tom Velek has brought to the Heritage Academy girls soccer program.
Whether it’s the amount of running, the skill work, or the changing practice plans, there have been plenty of adjustments the players have had to make for their new coach.
But Fisackerly’s smile is most revealing because the junior has played for Velek as a member of one of his Columbus United teams. As one of two girls on co-ed team, Fisackerly saw action against teams from Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana, and Mississippi and watched Velek put his plans into action.
Fisackerly’s club experience is a primary reason why she is confident Velek will be able to help the Heritage Academy program improve.
“I think it is going to be good for Heritage,” Fisackerly said. “We need a change and a fresh start for our soccer program.”
Heritage Academy will get its first chance to show what it has learned in the last month at 4:30 p.m. today when it takes on Lamar School in Meridian in its first match of the season. The team will play Indianola Academy on Tuesday and Kirk Academy on Monday, Aug. 8, before playing its first home match Aug. 12 against Indianola Academy.
Fisackerly, one of three juniors on the team, said she is used to Velek’s idiosyncrasies from her time on the club team. She said her team has embraced Velek’s new ways of doing things. The adjustment has been crucial because Velek, who replaces Don Whitman, is the team’s third coach in as many years.
“I have noticed a lot of growth in them,” Fisackerly said. “It is a young team, but I think we can make the playoffs.”
Plant and Sykes, whose brother, Matt, played soccer at heritage Academy and is now the soccer coach at Starkville Academy, will provide additional leadership with the team’s third senior, Hannah Britt. Both players have been playing soccer since they were little, but they admitted getting used to Velek’s ways has been tough.
“With a bunch of new kids, it has been better for them because they actually learn how to play soccer,” Sykes said.
Said Plant, “We have gotten a lot better this year a lot quicker. We have done fewer practices, but we seem better, so he is definitely doing something right.”
Fisackerly’s familiarity with Velek might have been one reason she talked about the team’s confidence and potential. Earlier this month, Velek said confidence would be a key to the Lady Patriots’ season because he felt the team didn’t see the potential it had to have success. Fisackerly agreed and said sometimes she knows her teammates can do things but they just don’t want to. She hopes a change in attitude and a new way of doing things will help the program forge a new path.
“He has just said it every practice, get it in your head guys, confidence is the key,” Fisackerly said. “He said, ‘That is how you’re going to grow together. You have to have confidence in everybody and that they’re going to be there for you.”
Fisackerly said she has seen some changes, but she feels there can be an even bigger transformation. She said the team has to lose its anxiety and trust in everyone to make things happen. She hopes to use her voice to push the program forward.
“I think coming in with a new start is going to be good for the team,” Fisackerly said.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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