Over 350 students try out for new soccer club

By Igor Mello
Editor-in-Chief

Sophomore Fazlin Miller, mass communications major, was walking down the hallways of Central Campus as she stumbled upon a bulletin board and sophomore Antonio Corbett, accounting major, had heard rumors so he logged on to the school website to see if it was true. The school was forming a soccer club and both students wanted to be involved.

They weren’t the only ones that wanted to participate.

The Broward College baseball complex was host to over 350 students for three days to see who had what it takes to make the men’s and women’s soccer team.

“Why not try this? It’s always interesting to discover new talent,” said newly appointed head coach of the men’s team Ernst “Nono” Jean-Baptiste. “You never know where you’re going to find the next Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaka.”

A legend in the Haitian and South Florida soccer community, Jean-Baptiste was looking for smart players that can play team ball. On the other hand Patti Barney, head coach of the women’s team, is looking for “technical skills” in her players.

One thing these two leaders do have in common is that they want to win.

“I’m looking to be in the championship of the Broward Women’s Soccer league at the end of the season. We have a lot of work to do to get the girls in shape…” said Barney, who has been coaching for 28 years.

Miller, who was trying out for the center midfield position, found that out the hard way.
“I thought it was going to be easy [for me] but that wasn’t the case,” said Miller, who felt she was being unrealistic because she was out of shape going into tryouts. “Now I actually feel like this is going to be a bit of a challenge.”

Corbett, who is trying out for the sweeper position, felt confident about his performance. Despite playing hurt, he felt like did the simple things, which was what Jean-Baptiste was looking for.
“I knew I had a sore ankle so I know I couldn’t give it my best, but I was hoping I could at least stand out [from] everybody else,” said Corbett.

As of Oct. 9 both players are still unaware if they have made the squad.

According to Neil Cohen, Associate Vice President of Student Programs and Development Services, both teams are hoping to have made their cuts by Oct. 25 so they can start practices.

“The most important thing is [for the guys] to enjoy this [experience] but I want to represent the school well everywhere we go and then we can see if we can have a winning program,” said Jean-Baptiste.

Although the inaugural season is set to start in January, both teams will scrimmage other opponents in the community to train for the winter.

Barney has hopes of soccer becoming one of the more popular sports here at the school.
“Hopefully if the talent is there maybe we can make it an intercollegiate sport the following year,” said Barney.