Kelly Howiszak leads Daniel Boone girls’ soccer team through tough times

With a sub-.500 record in the Berks League and in the overall standings (4-6, 5-10-2 respectively), one could say that the Daniel Boone girls’ soccer team didn’t performing up to par in the 2012 season. While that might be true, it can be said, however, that the girlsgave it their maximum effort when they were out there on the field. Most of all, they were still having fun while doing it.

Kelly Howiszak was a senior on the team and said that the team didn’t quite play up to their potential.

“Some games we showed up, energized and ready to go, and those are the games we came out for,” said Howiszak. “Rarely, though we all came out for the game, and when we did, we came out slow, so we didn’t do that well and our record showed it.

The number one goal for the team this season, according to Howiszak, was to have fun, and the senior says the team accomplishedthat feat even though their performance wasn’t that stellar this year.

“Even when we lost, it’s was little frustrating because we should have played better,” said Howiszak. But we were still having fun and not just going through the motions.

The senior said that it’s kind of hard to come out every game and give it a full 100% when the team has performed as they have, but Howiszak said she tried to view every game as a fresh start.

For herself this year, Howiszak said her main goal this season was just to improve her own play and become a better player. “I’ve tried to work as hard as I can on the field, even if anyone else wasn’t up to my speed. I still try to do everything I can to improve myself.”

Howiszak tied for the team lead in scoring with eight points (three goals and two assists). Even though it’s an individual statistic, the senior says it definitely helps the team because the squad doesn’t have a pre-determined person that regularly scores the ball.

Leadership sometimes comes at a premium. depending on the team, but with this squad, Howiszak proved to be a huge asset. She noted that she pushed players when they need to be pushed, and she tried to lead the team the best she could. Howiszak said, “I perform as well as I want them to. If we’re getting down in a game, I’m not afraid to tell them what they should be doing. Sometimes they don’t handle that kind of news the way they should, but they need to know.”

Howiszak considers herself more of a physical leader, saying that what she does should in some way be followed. But in another way, she has grown as a vocal leader as well. She said, “With the team being so young and inexperienced, we needed someone to communicate with them, and I feel as if I was one of those people to fit that role.”

With all the leadership qualities she displayed, Howiszak said, “I think the younger players responded quite well to what I was trying to instill in them. Especially the freshmen, they took the advice and knew that I had the experience, and they respected what I had to say to them. Most tried to improve upon the things I pointd to.”

Howiszak also noted that her leadership style was rubbing off, especially with the juniors on the squad. She noted, “They were definitely fitting into their roles more. They were kind of quiet before, but by the end of the season they were stepping up.”

Heading into next season, Howiszak said that the team will definitely be in good hands going forward. She noted, “We have a good coach, there are good players coming through our system, and I think our freshmen are evolving into those high school athletes. The transformation has been slow so far, but I think next year they’ll step it up, and as long as we keep developing players from the middle school on up, we should have a solid program for years to come.”