Soccer tryouts at Canyon Vista took place from March 25 – 27, with the girls tryout times occurring from 6:45 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and the boys taking place from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The head coach for the girls is Coach James Rogers and the boys head coach is Coach Eric Azios. Unlike football, volleyball, and basketball, Canyon Vista’s soccer teams are seventh and eighth graders combined with no division of A or B teams. 

“Tryouts are a 3 day long process and we look at all skills, like footwork and game play,” Coach Azois said. “We also see the need of the team. We can’t have too many defenders or too many midfielders.”

Only a maximum of 25 players are admitted into the teams. The coaches had to examine each player individually as well as noticing their chemistry with the other players trying out. The rosters for the teams were posted around 5 p.m. on March 27, with 20 students on the boys roster and 21 on the girls.

“Half of the tryouts were fairly judged,” Karson Koebel (7) said. “Some people don’t know how to play soccer but made it and some people who didn’t make it should’ve.”

After the teams were picked, practices started on April 1. The teams have been practicing and developing, getting used to playing with their teammates.  Captains for the girls team have already been chosen.

“I feel pretty confident in our team,” Antara Save (8) said after being elected as one of two team captains for the girls team.

The season lasts from April 10 to May 13. Canyon Vista has two games at home and three games away, playing Cedar Valley, Hopewell, and Grisham away and Ridgeview and Walsh home. The match against Grisham takes place at the Warrior Bowl, giving the Westwood coaches  a preview for the eighth graders they may possibly coach in the future. The opening match for both boys and girls was on April 10 at Cedar Valley. The boys began at 5:00 p.m. and the girls began at 6:15 p.m. The boys lost 2-0, and the girls won 3-1. 

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