ROCHESTER — Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School soccer coach Paul Soucy said he is a “true believer” in learning life skills through sports. 

One life lesson he’s imparted to his team of mostly brand new players is timeliness.

“They're expected to be here 15 minutes before practice every day or [they’re] late,” he said.

Soucy, who is in his first year as Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School’s girls varsity soccer coach, said he’s spending this season “working on the fundamentals” of the sport with a “very young” team. 

He estimates that about half of his players are not only playing soccer for the first time, but are involved in athletics for the first time.

“I’m very happy with the fact that I’m throwing new things at this team and they’re absorbing a lot of things like a sponge,” he said. “They’re excited to learn. It’s been rewarding to be a part of this.”

However, according to Soucy, the team’s inexperience can manifest on the field. 

This season, the team has three wins, two ties and eight losses, with a 0-4 loss against Norfolk County Agricultural High School on Thursday, Oct. 12 and a 0-2 loss against Bristol Plymouth Regional Technical School on Friday, Oct. 13 being their most recent. 

“We lacked in the midfield,” said Soucy about Thursday’s game. “We couldn’t hold possession of the ball, they played a good strong defense … We played pretty well defensively — we just need to take care of our possessions afterwards.”

According to Soucy, this is the team’s “story of the season.”

“We need to definitely develop a more offensive side of our game — more shots on net [and more] touches around the box,” he said. “Something we’ve been working on at practice and will continue to do.”

Along with working on the fundamental skills of soccer, Soucy hopes to work on the team’s “game IQ.”  

But Soucy isn’t letting the team’s losses define them. 

“I’m very optimistic,” he said. “I hope we have a strong second half of our season.”

Old Colony will soon be facing Wareham High School in an away game on Monday, Oct. 16, Upper Cape Cod Reg Voc/Tech High School on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at home and Bristol County Agricultural High School in an away game on Thursday, Oct. 19.

“We’re developing a new brand of soccer for the program where it’s not so much kick and run, it’s simple fundamental soccer,” he said. “I’m optimistic we are going to get there.”