Meet the new soccer coaches

by Julia Lee, Sports Editor

photos contributed by Angie Sutherland and Ari Kenyon

This year, South introduced the new varsity and junior varsity soccer coaches Angie Sutherland and Ari Kenyon, respectively.

Sutherland:

From: Tyngsborough, MA
Position: Center midfield
College: Worcester State University

Kenyon:

From: Hanover, MA
Position: Center midfield
College: Dartmouth College

Q: Why did you choose to coach at South?

Sutherland: Growing up, I always wanted to be a coach. A girl I played with said to me in college: “You’d be a great coach one day”, and I never forgot that. When I saw an opening at __ coaching lacrosse I took the chance and ended up loving coaching. Then I saw the opening at Newton South and took another chance. I’m excited to change it up. I’ve been coaching lacrosse since 2018.

Kenyon: I wanted to coach soccer and track at the same time as being an educator. When I arrived to South in 2019, there was an opening for the assistant cross country coach, but none for soccer. I had been coaching cross country, so I went for it. Soccer has always been my first love and I haven’t had a chance to give back to this next generation of young female athletes.

Q: What is your goal for the team this season?

Sutherland: My goal is for everyone to enjoy themselves. I want us to create a strong team chemistry that everyone looks back on with fond memories.

Kenyon: As the JV coach, my goal is to ensure that we are a strong community in terms of supporting each other on and off the field. This is going to be the next generation of varsity athletes and I take it as my responsibility to develop them as players, technically and tactically. My goal for any athlete is for them to feel confident. I want them to feel strong, and my goal is for this to be a love that they can carry on into their life beyond high school.

Q: Do you have any coaching principles that are especially important to you?

Sutherland: I believe hard work, effort and a positive attitude is gonna get you so much farther than anything else.

Kenyon: My coaching is based in an equity lens. Not everyone will get the same exact thing from me, but will get what they need. At the end of the day this has to be a safe space where people can be themselves. When you have that, players are more willing to try new things. This should be an environment where people feel safe to make mistakes and have fun.

Q: What was your favorite part of college soccer?

Sutherland: My favorite part of college soccer was when we won our league twice. We got to go to the NCAA Tournament and compete with teams that we would never normally play. It exposed us to a lot of different styles of soccer.

Q: Favorite soccer player?

Sutherland: Julie Ertz