High school soccer is back. The Smith County High School Owls begin their 2024 Campaign with a third less players and a new Head Coach. The Owls find themselves in a rebuilding year having graduated quite a bit of talent over the last couple of years. This season the Owls have 19 players, three of which are Seniors: Abimelec Martinez, Blake Baird and Diego Cruz Vanegas. There is some solid leadership throughout the team and a hunger to move forward.
The Owls have also seen Head Coach Kit Jenkins leave his position to take another as Assistant Principal at SCHS. After a near decade as Head Coach for the men’s side and assistant coach for the women’s side, Coach Kit has brought so much to the programs.
The Owls new Head Coach is Wesley Kemp. Coach Kemp graduated from Smith County High School in 2018. He then signed on scholarship to play soccer at Bethel University. He is now back home in Smith County, teaching Chemistry at SCHS and assuming the Head Coach slot for the Owls Soccer. He is also recently engaged to his high school sweetheart, Lady Owls Assistant Coach Shyenne Newton.
We recently spoke to Coach Kemp about coming full circle and he seems happy and excited about the future. We asked about his impression of the program. Coach Kemp said the biggest change is in the players. When he played here most of the players played soccer as a second or third sport, now the players are majority dedicated soccer players, which is exciting. When asked if there was a big shift from playing in college to coaching high school players Kemp explained that there is not that much difference. The high school boys have the ability and skill it just takes a big more patience when asking them to learn new skills or positions. Then we discussed expectations he has for his team this season. He brings a realistic winning mentality to the position, understanding it is a smaller team. He points out that a smaller squad can have a stronger sense of ownership and more motivation to show what they are capable of. Coach Kemp is leading his team with the belief that yes they may not be the best team yet, they have growth ahead, but they team goal is set pretty high. The Owls soccer faithful believe they can accomplish big things and will be very happy with the Coach’s style and mentality. We encourage everyone to come out and support this team. If you do not know soccer yet, you will be very pleasantly surprised at the competitiveness, the skill, the athleticism and how exciting the game is. If you do know soccer, come give these young men the support that propels them forward. Ending with a final statement from Coach Kemp, “When you see it, you will know. So come watch our games.”
Articles & Photos submitted by Vivian Schaffers
