By Nolan Epstein/For OzarksSportsZone.com
As the spring season quickly approaches, the Waynesville Lady Tigers are preparing for some changes on the pitch as the program welcomes in a coach that has a history of breeding success.
John Box, an Indiana native who compiled an impressive record of 128-23-5 over eight seasons while coaching at New Palestine (boys) and Heritage Christian (girls) in the Hoosier state, takes over after an eight-year tenure by former Waynesville coach Mike Gow. Gow took over the boys’ soccer program at Camdenton.
While Gow managed to rack up 83 wins and lead the Lady Tigers to its first-ever district title in 2012, there’s no shortage of optimism surrounding Box and his potential to lead Waynesville to bigger and better things.
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“I’m very excited about the opportunity to start a season with a new team,” Box said.
A coaching change won’t be the only wrinkle when it comes to Waynesville girls soccer this year as the varsity roster will have a bit of a different look as well.
Waynesville will be missing the dangerous scoring duo of Katelyn Sieber (10 goals, 3 assists) and Nina Rodriguez (7 goals, 3 assists). Both Rodriguez and Sieber were bright spots for a Lady Tigers squad that went 9-13-2 a season ago.
Those two key losses certainly leave some question marks for the club in 2017, but a new core is set to begin a winning trend – starting with senior Krystina Zabek.
Zabek, who tallied 2 goals and 3 assists during her junior campaign, earned 2nd Team All-Conference honors as a midfielder.
Joining Zabek in the middle will be fellow junior Emma Kersten, a 1st Team All-District honoree who only saw limited action on the pitch.
This season, a healthy Kersten is poised to make a significant impact for both her team and her brand new coach.
“Kersten is a returning player who possesses a tremendous amount of potential,” said Box. “During this last season, she was sidelined with an injury and did not see much playing time.”
The Lady Tigers will be tested right off the bat as four of their first five matches will come against teams who won their respective district championships in 2016 (Hickman, Helias Catholic, Lebanon and Nixa).
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Waynesville will also be partaking in the Zizzer Classic (April 21-22) and Laker Invitational (April 28-29). To make things even tougher, the Lady Tigers end the regular season slate by hosting traditional Class 2 power Springfield Catholic (May 19).
Despite the obstacles the Lady Tigers face this spring, the new coach is calmly taking it all in stride.
“With any team, there will always be challenges and hurdles to overcome,” Box added. “Only time will tell what challenges we may face.”
The regular season kicks off on March 18 when Waynesville travels to Columbia to take on Hickman.
