While a first touch and Cruyff are things that can easily be taught, the Warrenton girls soccer team has something that cannot always be taught – tenacity. 

“The culture of the team is really good, we have a lot of positivity, a lot of upperclassmen that are really helping to build,” Coach Courtney Nenninger said. “They have a lot of grit and hustle. They are girls that are going to come out here and work hard every day. If we have that, everything else will come.” 

Junior Emma Duncan emphasized the importance of team chemistry, highlighting how the bond off the field translates to success on the field. 

“Everybody gets along and can have a good time with each other off the field, which comes into play when we’re on the field,” Duncan said. 

Senior Isabelle Morris also echoed Duncan’s sentiments about the team’s cohesiveness. 

“There’s a very different variety of girls and everyone’s on a different skill level but they’re able to work together,” Morris said. 

Both Morris and Duncan are hoping to return to the pitch more competitive this year. 

Last season, the Warriors finished with a 2-20-1 record. 

“I want the intensity to be higher and hopefully get some more wins and be more competitive this year, myself included,” Morris said. 

Nenninger also shares the vision to have a more competitive team this year. Throughout the season, she will want to see an improvement in fundamentals. 

“You know, first touch, having a good touch off of receiving the ball, knowing where to go next and being a step ahead of the play,” she said. “Hopefully, since we have that working hard piece, we can work on those technical things more in practice.” 

The Warriors will welcome a strong group of five seniors, including Kiera Daniel and Alana Adams, who are new to the team. Daniel will play goalkeeper. 

“We have a really solid group of seniors this year. Two of them have never played for us, but they are both athletes and should help us tremendously,” Nenninger said. “The other three are all really good leaders.” 

The team will comprise mostly of upperclassmen, but Nenninger recognized the importance of the underclassmen in shaping the team’s future success. The Warriors have three dual-sport athletes, and when those athletes are away for other sports, the underclassmen will be key to filling those roles.

“It sometimes hurts our numbers with our games when they are gone but it’ll be nice to have those younger ones fill in their spots,” Nenninger said. 

Tactically, the team will play a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 formation, with a zonal marking system. Though some defensive positions are still to be filled, Nenninger is confident in the team’s well-roundedness and versatility.

“We have girls that are willing to step up into different positions and they are the ones that can handle being moved around and being versatile, so that will help,” Nenninger said. 

Nenninger will enter her second season on the sidelines as head coach. Alongside her will be two new assistant coaches, Courtney Bayer and Grace Kaminski. 

“Collaboratively, we all work very well together,” Nenninger said. “We all have our strengths of positions and they all happen to be different from each other.” 

With varying expertise in different positions of the field, Nenninger noted the benefit of being able to split practices into position specific groups. 

“That’s going to help big time because we can get more individual training per position. I think that’ll make a big difference from last year,” she said. 

Warrenton will begin its season March 21-22 at the Blair Oaks Shootout in Jefferson City.