Slow start for BHC soccer team

Christina Garza

Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: Sports

DoubleClick Any Word

Page 1 of 2 next >

Media Credit: Jack Pausman

(Above) Full back Yuridia Carrasco mounts attack from the defense, Lady Bears won their preseason game 7-0 against Mountain View College Sept. 18.

After several years in hiatus, the Brookhaven College Lady Bears soccer team is back.
Thanks to the efforts of faculty, students and Title IX, the Lady Bears are back on their way to success. Led by head coach Carlton Cooper and assistant coach Amy Cloutier, the Lady Bears have already made progress on the field.
"We both have the same goals; we worked together so much that we have the same teaching style," Cloutier said. "Coach Cooper is completely comfortable leaving me with the ladies; he knows I would teach them what he would."
Cooper said the reason Brookhaven brought a women's and not a men's soccer team was not his decision, but was the decision of the Athletic Director Lynne Levesque and Title IX. Title IX is a law passed in 1972, which is also known as the Equal Opportunity in Education Act.
According to the Title IX Web site, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."
Cooper comes to Brookhaven with 25 years of coaching experience. He said he has coached club soccer leagues, high school and college soccer leagues.
Cloutier said she has 14 years of experience working with club and college soccer leagues.
They said they have worked together before and know each other's coaching style.
Cooper said when he got the call that Brookhaven wanted to start a lady's soccer team he immediately started recruiting with Cloutier. They went to local high school games and contacted local club soccer leagues to recruit most of their players.
Some of the ladies took it into their own hands and found out by looking on the college's Web site.
Berenice Hernandez, transfer student from Collin County Community College, said she did exactly that.
"I had heard there was going to be a women's soccer team at Brookhaven so I went to the Web site and checked it out," Hernandez said.
Cloutier said she recruited Madeline Balkus who was also looking for a collegiate soccer team.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >