By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Aging, at a certain point in life, is viewed as a negative. Toddlers are so cute until they become teenagers. Young people own the world until they grow old. So many want the process to slow down, they look for multiple ways to cheat it.
Bedford North Lawrence coach Ryan Otis, starting his fourth season at the helm of the program, is just the opposite this season. He needs the Stars to mature rapidly. Ready or not, here comes the real life of high-speed varsity soccer. With 10 freshmen on the roster, with only four seniors to mentor them, BNL expects some growing pains in 2025.
The Stars have a lot of holes to fill. They lost nine seniors from a year ago, which accounted for 75 percent of their goals and assists. Graduation also decimated the defensive back line. New names, new faces will mean a proverbial baptism by fire.
“It will be a transition year,” Otis said. “We’ll have to get old quick. We’re a very young team, with 10 freshmen, which is promising for the future. The returning experience is very limited. Hopefully the kids will be able to pick it up.”
BNL finished 8-7-2 last season, and seven of the wins were by shutout. That means the Stars gave up 26 goals in the other 10 games. Otis will start his retooling on the defensive end.
“The first question for me is defense,” he said. “We lost three of the four on the back line. We’ve been lucky in the past with center-backs who had experience. That’s where I build the team from, then go forward from there. We have to figure things out pretty quick.“
The offense will feature junior Noah Childers, who scored five goals a year ago. Senior Austin Harms will play a key role, and goalie Parker Beeson has been moved away from the net to the midfield for additional firepower.
“We will have to pick it up as a team,” Harms said. “We have a lot of young guys. We will have to learn how to play together. We have better chemistry. We can work together. We will have to do that. We have to teach fundamentals. The varsity is a different league, with the physicality and speed of the game.”
BNL will unveil its new $1.5 million turf field this season, an investment that will pay dividends in the future.
“It will be awesome,” Otis said. “Getting kids out here, getting fans out here, it’s a beautiful field.”
BNL will open the season at Silver Creek on Saturday.
