Spending hours on the bus to an away game in Jonesboro, junior Callie Craig bonds with her teammates by making funny Tiktoks and having long conversations. Regardless of the outcome of their upcoming game, Craig values the time spent with her team.

The girls soccer team currently has a 2-10 record and is 8th in the 6A conference. Though the performance of the team has not been as successful as years prior, Craig has found that she still values the camaraderie that has formed among her current team members.

“This is my fourth month playing soccer, so Central soccer is the only experience I’ve had so far,” Craig said. “It’s definitely a big adjustment because every sport I’ve played, I’ve had to use my hands. So this is like having to have foot and eye coordination. So it’s been a little difficult, but I’m starting to get to hang of it”

Craig is part of a cohort of brand new soccer players that joined the team this year. Though she’s had to make several adjustments to accommodate this new sport, Craig’s experience offered her a new perspective.

“I think it’s kind of different because so many of us are different and a lot of us are in so many different groups,” she said. “But I would say we’ve come together a lot and have found our balance.”

Senior captain Lily McAteer offered a similar view on how the team has come together this year.

“I think a lot of people join to have fun, which is a good thing. So we might not have as much skill, but we have a lot of different personalities on the team,” Mcateer said. “I think that’s good to bring in new people wherever you can.”

McAteer has been a member of the soccer team since her freshman year, witnessing firsthand the successes and defeats throughout that time. Now, as captain, she noted some important changes made in the team’s goals.

“We’ve had to come to terms with the fact that we just don’t have the ability to compete in the conference,” McAteer said. “So we’ve been trying to make fun out of it and hang out with our teammates and stuff and focus on having fun rather than being super zoned in on winning.”

In a new position of leadership, McAteer strives to be the type of leader that her teammates can reach out to, no matter the outcome of their games.

“It’s also been nice knowing that I don’t have a ton of pressure on me. I like the idea of captains not being so scary because I would say in the past, I’ve had captains who were hard to approach, and it was just hard to be around them,” McAteer said. “So, being a captain is just kind of being a leader on the team, but not in an aggressive way.”

The countless hours spent together during practices and bus rides have resulted in a camaraderie that extends far beyond the soccer field. Craig recalled a notable memory of a road trip with her teammates.

“We literally left class at like 10 o’clock, and we’re with each other till like one in the morning. So I would definitely say we all bonded very well,” she said. “We had many conversations, and got so much closer with each other. It was a very fun experience overall.”

Craig reflected on the lesson she has learned from branching out of her comfort zone in joining the soccer team, and she advises others to do the same.

“I think everyone should try something new before they get out of high school because never in my life or anyone that knows me would think that I would ever play soccer. It’s definitely been such a cool and fun experience and I’m happy and grateful that I got to experience it,” said Craig.