COVINGTON, Ga. — The Newton boys and girls soccer teams have been preparing for their seasons to begin on Feb. 3. 

The season begins with a home matchup with Cedar Grove followed by a matchup with cross-town foe in Alcovy on Friday, Feb. 4. Friday’s match will also be at home. 

Both teams have approached the season preparations in different ways. 

Lady Rams

Entering her second year as head coach of the Lady Rams, Amy Boldin has hosted workouts all throughout the offseason. She feels like conditioning and other means of preparation have been very helpful to set her team up for success in 2022. 

“I told [the team], you’ll see a difference in the girls who have come,” Boldin explained. “Even if they come once a week all the way leading up to the season versus the girls who haven’t come.” 

By holding so many workouts the past few weeks, Boldin has noticed a few players who have stepped up and taken ownership of this team. 

Seniors Eva Fuhrey and Julia Anderson in addition to junior Savannah Massey were highlighted by Boldin who’s helped this program in a big way. 

Boldin didn’t stop there, though, as a few underclassmen have caught the attention of their head coach, too. 

Arriana and Amber Gresham, a set of twins on this year’s squad, both have shown great strides in their progression, according to Boldin. Eris Sellers, a freshman, hasn’t been outdone either. 

Now, with the season upon the Lady Rams, each member of the team will look to put the pieces together in 2022 to start building the program. 

Boldin stressed how each player’s contributions will be crucial to the success of the Lady Rams both this season and beyond.

“We want to become a family,” Boldin said. “That’s what we’re trying to build is a family and a community. We want to be one together and grow that this year.” 

Rams

On the boys side for Newton, head coach Duane Williams described the offseason as “challenging.” He said it was difficult to get players out to participate due to COVID-19 concerns and other factors. 

As a result of the challenges, the Rams’ team will feature a lot of new faces this year. With that, Williams has prioritized each player to buy-in and develop a team comradery in 2022. 

“We’re just trying to build our teamwork,” Williams said. “We’re a totally new team. We do have a few returners, but it’ll mostly be a brand new team.” 

Having a new team presents a lot of difficulties all in itself. However, Williams has primarily focused on the benefit of having new people running around the soccer field at Newton. 

“I got a bunch of newcomers,” Williams said. “So, our future looks promising.” 

Now, the Rams are ready to go for the 2022 season that kicks off very soon. 

As the season’s start approaches, Williams stressed that there have been many players who have really put their best foot forward to assist the Rams this year. 

Even so, in this current stage with their non-region schedule up first, Williams just wants to keep it simple for his new team. 

“Early on, I want to see the commitment of the players,” Williams said. “And I want to see that drive to start working together so they can build a rapport with each other.”