One month before her senior season, Durango High School girls soccer captain Charlotte Hale still did not know who her head coach was going to be. When she found out it was going to be Fort Lewis College compliance coordinator Jonathan Berzins, the first thing she did was check out his coaching resumé. She was impressed.
“It was difficult, but I think we were all open to the change and were ready to go” Hale said. “No matter who our coach is, we knew we were still going to compete and play hard. His college and girls high school record were really impressive, so we definitely knew that we were getting into something big. I think that you just have to be open to it.”
Berzins has coached state champion-winning teams at the high school level as well as a successful junior college program in Arizona. He won the 2011-12 Arizona Division I state championship at Highland High School, and also coached the Chandler-Gilbert Community College men’s and women’s soccer programs. He also has served as the director of soccer operations for the Arizona Arsenal Soccer Club since 2004.
“It’s something that’s pretty much has been my entire adult life, and it was something I missed,” Berzins said about coaching. “The biggest aspect to me was getting involved in the community, and obviously working at Fort Lewis gives me that opportunity, but working with DHS allows to do it even more. I want to make sure that I’m embedded in this community as much as possible and make a positive impact.
“Any time that anyone new comes in, there’s always going to be a transition period. I know that I run a tight ship, but the girls have responded phenomenally. I can’t say enough about the high-quality leaders and group we’ve got, and they’re ready to go hard every day, and to respond in a time of transition like this, it’s exciting to see moving forward.”
At Thursday’s practice, two days before the home-opener against The Academy at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Berzins was all-business with the Demons (1-2), asking his new team what it was going to take for DHS to return to the state playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.
Fellow co-captain Caroline Knight thought that Berzins has been testing the team in a new way, including a new 4-4-3 formation.
“The biggest thing is that we are in a new formation, which is big, because we’ve been in a 4-4-2 for both club and school level, so it was a bit of an adjustment,” Knight said. “We’ve been going up against really good teams to start the season, and it was a great learning experience. With this new formation, we have been creating a lot more scoring opportunities, which is something we’ve struggled with for a long time, so that was really exciting.”
Hale said the difference was they weren’t relying on the wingers as much and have been playing through the center of the pitch and said it makes a huge difference.
The proof was in the pudding, after the Demons scored 10 seconds into the match against Skyline and would go on to score three more times in the game.
“The fact that we scored right off of the bat and then scoring four times, it was really eye-opening to see it in action, and I think it’s working really well,” Knight said. “We definitely have a lot to learn still, but we’ve been picking it up fast, I think.”
The youngest co-captain, junior Hannah Coster, said that Berzins is challenging his team to pick up the intensity in both games and practices.
“He definitely expects a lot out of us,” Coster said. “After the initial few practices, it became clear. I think all of us are now very aware of what he expects and what we need to bring to the table every day, and I think with that it comes with all of this positive change and the successfulness that’s going to be brought to the team this year. As a group, I think we all respect this coach and I think he’s going to lead us to big things in the future.”
Berzins also brought in another change, as FLC men’s soccer assistant head coach Keane Hamilton was brought in as a DHS girls assistant, as well as FLC women’s soccer assistant coach Hope Frederick. Regardless of who is on the sidelines, Hale said this season could be a stepping stone for DHS for years to come.
“Having (Hamilton) and (Frederick), both of them are beyond qualified to be in this position themselves,” Berzins said. “They bring in specific aspects to the field with expertise that they have and it’s a really balanced staff, and we wouldn’t be where we are without those two, and they’re such a major part in creating the culture and habits we want to create.”
“It’s my senior year, I want to go out with a bang, so I’m digging all of these new changes,” Hale said. “I think the program is just in a different spot overall. I think this year is the start to something really big, I really do. I think that the iffy coaching in the past is over, and Jonathan brings something really refreshing and he’s going to kick start seasons and seasons to build up players through the years to go and win a lot of games and make deep postseason runs.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
