Coach Rico Bulaclac
As we know all fall sports are starting and the new freshmen should get involved. Soccer is one of the sports that is starting. During the last two years the soccer team has struggled but this year the school actually has a pretty good soccer team because the team has about eighteen players. The whole team was surprised because they won two of their scrimmage games. This year the soccer team got a new coach and this reporter got in contact with him and talked to him about his expectations for the team.
1) HI COACH. CAN YOU TELL US YOUR NAME AND A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF?
My name is Rico Bulaclac. I teach eighth grade science, and this is my fifth year at Noe Middle School. I was first introduced to soccer when a parent coach needed a faculty sponsor for the program during my first year at Noe. Ever since, every Noe soccer team of which I had been the head coach has been to the championship game at the end of the season. I hope to continue that streak here at Jeffersontown.
2) HOW DO YOU FEEL BEING THE JEFFERSONTOWN SOCCER TEAM’S COACH?
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with so much talent on this team. I like to win, and Jeffersontown gives me the best opportunity to succeed. Everyone’s expectation for us is so low based on the past three years that I feel we have an opportunity to shock the entire league (and probably the entire student body) by doing really well within such a short turnaround time. Usually, it takes a program at least two to three years to rebuild, but I feel that we can be a great team right away. Why not us? Why not now? We have the ingredients for having a very strong team for at least these next two years with Humberto Rosas being the only senior on the roster.
3) THE SCRIMMAGE GAMES WERE GOOD BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK THE TEAM NEEDS TO WORK ON?
Our front line is superb and will only get better as more returning players get their paperwork completed to join the team as soon as they can. Our only potential weakness may be on the wings of our defense. We have yet to be tested by extremely talented forwards down the sides of the field.
4) THE TEAM DID PRETTY WELL ON THE SCRIMMAGE GAMES, THEY WON 4-1 AGAINST FAIRDALE HIGH AND PRP. HOW DID YOU PREPARE THEM FOR THOSE GAMES BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING THEY HAVEN’T DONE IN TWO YEARS?
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect because those two scrimmage games were my first experiences coaching a high school soccer team. Most of my summer was spent just trying to find enough players to field a team. I told my players that we could be really good if we could just find enough players to fill our roster. Despite only having one sub for each of those scrimmages, we still defeated each team comfortably even though they had seven to ten times as many bench players as we had. Go figure. We definitely have the raw talent here.
5) HOW DO YOU THINK THEY ARE GOING TO DO THIS THE SEASON?
I don’t want to jinx anything by making a specific prediction, but I will say with confidence that we have a unique opportunity to make one of the greatest one-year turnarounds ever in the history of KHSAA soccer. Going just 1-20 from 2007-2008 and not even fielding a soccer team in 2006, we already doubled our total number of wins in the past three years without having even played a single regular season game.
6) YOU THINK THE SOCCER TEAM IS PREPARED FOR BIG GAMES LIKE CAL, EASTERN AND MALE??
I think as we build more and more confidence after racking up more wins, we could make a legitimate run for the district championship in October. For some reason, Male is the preseason #1 soccer team in the state. Physically, I think we are prepared to compete against a team like Male, but mentally at this point, not quite yet. But we’ll get there.
7) THE TEAM IS HAPPY ABOUT HAVING A NEW COACH. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
Players play better together when they are satisfied about a situation. There was a noticeable change in team morale on the bus ride home from the PRP win (the first 2-game winning streak since 2005). If my team is happy, it just makes my job that much easier.
WHAT DID YOU DO TO GET MORE THAN TWELVE PLAYERS ON THE TEAM, BECAUSE LAST YEAR THEY BARELY ENDED THE SEASON WITH NINE PLAYERS?
I definitely give most of the credit to Coach Farman who compiled the list of interest before the summer. Without that list, I probably would not have fielded a team until after the first week of scheduled games. The rest of the credit goes to just being lucky to have players who can network well. We started the first summer practice with only six players, but word of mouth spread like wildfire.
9) HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE CAN YOU ALLOW ON THE TEAM BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO JOIN?
As of today, I am expecting to take five more players who have already spoken to me. This would give us eighteen players on the roster — my “magic” number. I would consider accepting anyone else who is interested in participating, but playing time would understandably be limited.
10) IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY?
I highly encourage the student body to come check out your much-improved varsity boy’s soccer team this season. We have a new look with brand new jerseys, a brand new logo, and a brand new winning attitude. At each home game, you will receive a “Bowl 1 Get 1 Free” coupon courtesy of Kingpin Lanes upon admission. We will especially need your support for the first two district games against KCD and Christian Academy later this month. We look forward to seeing you there!
Coach Bulaclac seems to care a lot about the team because even though this is his first year coaching at J-town, he got new uniforms for the team. He thinks his team is physically ready for big game like Male and Eastern. Good luck to coach Bulaclac and his team. GO CHARGERS.
Soccer team getting ready for the game against Atherton
The cross country team kicked off their season on September 12th. Their first meet was called Rumble through the Jungle. After the meet, I interviewed team member Tabitha Haist. Tabitha came to J-Town last year after attending South Oldham High, where she also ran cross country her freshman and sophomore years.
