Tom Velek has faced plenty of challenges in 12 years of coaching soccer in the state of Mississippi.
Velek’s decision last month to accept the job as girls soccer coach at Heritage Academy created an opportunity to face a new challenge: coaching the game in the summer heat of Mississippi.
Despite dealing with record temperatures and heat indexes in training his new team in the past last month, Velek is excited about his first chance to coach soccer at the high school level in the state. He is the program’s third coach in three seasons, and takes the place of Don Whitman. Jonathan Tuggle, another coach with experience in Columbus United, the competitive soccer club that is part of the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority (CLRA), will work with Velek as an assistant coach.
“There are two big challenges,” Velek said. “The first is to come in and bring your coaching philosophy and style of the game in and have them buy in. There might be questions with that because the players might think, ‘The guy last year and the guy before that said the same thing.’ … I think that is a big challenge. I hope I will be able to be there for a period of years and be able to do those things.
“The second thing is establishing a culture. In any high school program, the coach establishes the culture. You want to go in and establish a culture quickly of playing well, expecting to win, and that is hard to do when you’re their third marriage.”
Velek and his players will take their first steps together at 6 tonight when they play a scrimmage against a team from the Starkville Home School Association League at the Starkville Sportsplex. Heritage Academy will play its first regular-season match Friday, July 29. It will play Indianola Academy in its home opener Friday, Aug. 12.
Velek hopes to build support for the program by moving the start time for its matches back an hour or two. In the past several years, Heritage Academy has played home games at 3 or 4 p.m., which he admitted made it difficult for students and family members — even fans — to attend the matches. But he feels the new start times and a new sense of energy surrounding the program at the school will help create a better atmosphere for home matches at the downtown Columbus Soccer facility.
Velek credits his players for working hard in training. He said the practices in June and July have been new to him because his club teams usually are done with their seasons in May and they don’t get back together until September. He said the girls have done a two-mile run in an attempt to build their endurance. Velek feels the team’s depth will be a key as the players develop a better of understanding of how much running it will take in a typical 80-minute match to be competitive.
“There are some very, very talented players, but the mental game is not there,” Velek said. “There is very little confidence. There is very little of what in the sporting world we call swagger, just the feeling we can go on the field and beat anybody. That is missing. … We’re trying to change that mind-set.”
Velek has a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) National D License and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Goal Keeper Coaching Diploma. In 2013, he was named the U.S. Soccer National Coach of the Year. In 2012, he was named the Southeastern Regional Coach of the Year and the Mississippi Soccer Association Coach of the Year.
In 12 years of coaching girls and boys, Velek has been a part of four state championship teams (three as head coach) with Columbus United. Velek also was the head coach for two Columbus United teams that advanced to the state finals (2013, 2015) and three teams that were regional qualifiers (2012, 2013, 2014).
Heritage Academy has 21 players on its roster. Velek said the program also will have a junior varsity team, which he said will give the younger players a chance to grow. He said that will be crucial considering the program has only three seniors and more than half of the players are middle schoolers.
Velek said the team has good depth at goalkeeper with returning senior Kat Sykes, junior Haley Marie Fisackerly, and eighth-grader Haven Tuggle. Fisackerly also will play on the field, and Velek said he anticipates her seeing plenty of time as a back or as a midfielder. Fisackerly played club ball with the Columbus Crew last year.
Velek said he will look for leadership from the team’s other seniors, Hannah Britt and Gracie Plant, and juniors Nicole Dishongh and Mallory Amos. He said Britt likely will play as a midfielder.
“I think the biggest challenge in training has been some disparities in terms of experience,” Velek said. “We have three or four players who have never played soccer. We have several players who have played at the club level.”
First-year player Sara Sheward, a sophomore, and classmates Anna Acker and Haley Barker will add potential, maturity, and experience. Barker is another player who has played with Columbus United.
Freshmen Lizzy Howard, Anna Claire Cooper, and Taylor Phillips, eighth-graders Carly Rogers, Sarah Curtis, Haven Tuggle, Collier Hardy, Emma Hardy, Hannah Hardy, Ashley Mangus, and Kendall Kelly, and seventh-grader Lily Linton will provide solid contributions.
Velek hopes to blend the levels of experience in a fun training environment. He said he wants his players to have fun, to play fast, and to play with a physical presence.
“They have a great support system in terms of parents. The school and the new AD (Sean Harrison) have been supportive, and the coaches have been supportive, but they need to build confidence and believe in themselves and believe they can succeed,” Velek said. “If they do those things, I think they can.
“I think this is a team that can defy some expectations this year. I think this is a team that has a lot of room for growth in the next couple of years. I think there are some juniors and seniors on the team that can step up and lead and provide some good examples for everybody else. … I think we can do some great things this year, but Jonathan and I also are saying, ‘Where do we want to be and what do we have to do to make sure that two or three years down the road we are competing for a district title?’ ”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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