The Denair High girls soccer team is launching a comeback season under a new head coach.
The Coyotes are coming off a struggling year where they won just a single game. They have already bettered last year’s record with three pre-league wins over Calaveras, Bret Harte and Stone Ridge Christian.
Helping the Coyotes find their groove is Denair native and Turlock High alumna Kishauna Mavis, who is the new varsity head coach for girls soccer at Denair High.
Mavis was a four-year varsity player at Turlock High and saw major success with the Bulldogs from 2014-2018. During that span, Turlock’s league record was 34-10-10 while they notched three of four league titles during that four-season span.
“We get along even though we are rather close in age,” said Mavis about her relationship with the team. “We want to expand on the skills and they are taking in what we are feeding them. It is different when compared to where I played in high school, at Turlock High. It is good; it is a lot of fun for us and for the girls. I feel like they are learning a lot more than before.”
The Coyotes lost two seniors from last year’s team, and also having trouble fielding three teams.
“They are toughing it out, we have girls that are sick and can’t play and so the numbers are a little jumpy, but I feel overall they are doing great,” said Mavis.
Due to the limited numbers, there the Coyotes won’t have freshman or junior varsity teams, which has forced Mavis to move up numerous freshmen.
The squad is made up of seniors, juniors, sophomores and over half a dozen freshmen.
“The girls have been improving since we first came out and for a lot of girls it is their first year ever playing soccer,” said Mavis. “… Our main goal is for the girls to see better improvement in themselves, and gain confidence in themselves playing soccer, and being comfortable with the ball and stuff like that. I am not very worried about winning or losing games. I want them to feel like they are improving, that is the mindset — help them expand their knowledge in soccer.”
Heading into their fourth pre-league game they are 3-0 after facing Calaveras, Bret Harte and Stone Ridge Christian.
“We are figuring it out and learning on the go,” said Mavis.
Denair’s next game will be on the road at Orestimba at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
