Constant Improvement: 2018 JV soccer coach Cole Wilson battles for the ball during a game his 2016 senior year at Clarke Central High School. Wilson hopes he can help his players mature over the 2018 season. “I really like watching players get better and watching players who aren’t necessarily superstars but watching them work hard and become very key components of the team. I also like being able to be out and watch soccer and think about soccer and analyze soccer because I just think it’s a beautiful game,” Wilson said. Photo by Hannah Gale
Clarke Central High School alumnus and University of Georgia sophomore Cole Wilson returns to CCHS to coach the boys JV soccer team.
Two years after reaching the Elite Eight in the State playoffs with the Clarke Central High School boys varsity soccer team, Cole Wilson is returning to coach the boys JV team this spring.
During his time at CCHS, Wilson played two years on the JV team and two on varsity. During his senior year, Wilson led his team in goals, scoring 23, contributing to an Elite Eight run at the state playoffs. According to Wilson, the team’s success was made possible due to the coaching of CCHS varsity head boys soccer coach Christopher Aiken and a strong work ethic.
“We had a lot of key senior players who were leaders, we were able to take practices and offseason seriously hold each other accountable push each other, I also just think that coach Aiken is an incredible coach,” Wilson said.
CCHS senior Muhammad De Lane was on the Elite Eight team with Wilson, and has seen Wilson’s ability to lead firsthand, which, according to De Lane, will make Wilson a strong coach.
“I think he will do really good, I would say he showed me a lot of his coaching ability while he was on the team, leading the team through a lot, and being able to pick everyone up. Even if we were playing bad he could pick us up and get us refocused,” De Lane said.
Wilson was a coach for the Clarke Middle School team with longtime friend, teammate and 2016 CCHS alumnus Scholl Wright. Many players from CMS are now players under Wilson again. According to Wilson this relationship will have a positive impact on the team’s upcoming season.
“It definitely makes things a lot easier because I feel more comfortable. I don’t have to introduce myself to everyone and know a lot of the guys by name right away and know their capabilities. It helps narrow what I have to look at as a coach, but it also helps them feel more comfortable with me and it helps those guys trust me as a coach,” Wilson said.
After seeing Wilson coach at CMS, Aiken believes Wilson to be a good fit.
“He’s always on time, he’s very professional, he treats all the kids fairly regardless of their ability,” Aiken said, “He’s a great motivator at practice, all the kids like him but they also respect him.”
Wilson is looking forward to the rest of the season and is hoping to help his players improve as much as he can. Using methods he learned from Aiken, Wilson believes he can make a positive impact and help his players mature.
“Anything (Aiken) asked us to do, he would do himself, whether it’s footwork drills or dribbling drills or conditioning even, he would always do stuff with the players and that something that was very respectable,” Wilson said. “He would never ask you to do something that he wasn’t willing to do or didn’t think you could do and that’s something that I’m set on doing with this team, just letting them know that I’m not gonna ask them to do more than they’re capable, but I am still gonna ask a lot and I’ll be doing it along there with them.”
