Photo by Kyle Parmley.
From left: Hewitt-Trussville boys soccer coach Daniel Decker, Parker Briggs and Parker Green attend the 2023 soccer media day at Thompson High School on Jan. 26.
Many schools were represented at Thompson High School over a two-day stretch, Jan. 25-26, taking part in a preseason media event to highlight local high school soccer programs.
It is the third consecutive year that local soccer teams have taken part in such an event, with it previously being held at Pelham and Oak Mountain.
The Hewitt-Trussville boys team took part in the preseason event, as second-year coach Daniel Decker was joined by seniors Parker Briggs and Parker Green.
Decker’s team posted an 8-12-3 record last spring but continually improved as the season progressed. The Huskies broke through to the state playoffs for the first time in several years, finishing second in the area.
There are nine seniors on this year’s roster who saw that steady progress a season ago, which gives hope that the Huskies can pick up where they left off.
“As a team, we understand each other a lot more,” Decker said. “We tried to get to know each other last year and develop the play style we wanted. So, we hit the ground running off the bat [this spring].”
Decker said things began to click last spring when Hewitt-Trussville adjusted back to a more familiar playing style for the returning players. That positive stretch culminated in the regular season finale, as the Huskies beat Spain Park 4-0 to get that playoff berth.
Hewitt-Trussville bowed out in the first round of the playoffs to eventual Class 7A runner-up Oak Mountain, but the Huskies hope to one day get to a level where they are competing with those top-tier teams, of which there are many in the Birmingham area.
Briggs and Green said the key in games against teams like Oak Mountain is keeping composure and remaining focused. They said it is a process learning how to compete in those big games.
Decker wants his players to play with that chip on their shoulder, but to also remain humble and focus on developing as players and as a team.
“We are in that upper echelon, we do belong,” he said. “We proved that last year, being able to make the playoffs. We had some close results that could’ve gone the other way.”
Along with Briggs and Green, seniors include Brooks Bilodeau, Anderson Branham, Legion Gaston, Max Medero, Seth Walker and Ethan Williamson.
This season, the Huskies will play in 7A, Area 6, with Oak Mountain, Spain Park and Chelsea. That certainly will not be an easy feat for them to get back to the playoffs, but coach and players are eager to get going.
Hewitt-Trussville’s girls will be looking to get back to the playoffs after a tough area road last season. Led by Lauren Wooten, the Lady Huskies went 13-6-2 in 2022.
Hewitt’s girls feature four seniors this season, with Ella Allen, Lily Burford, Katie Harbin and Anna Savage playing out their final seasons with the program.
