There hasn’t been much history on the soccer pitch in Eclectic, but that certainly changed in 2023.
The Elmore County boys soccer team, led by coach Josh Pack, wrapped up its best season in program history this month. The Panthers went 8-6-1, won the first area title since 2017, then won back-to-back playoff games to punch their ticket to the Final Four Tournament in Huntsville.
The Panthers had never won a playoff game in program history before their two wins this year. For those reasons, Pack has been named the 2023 Elmore County Soccer Coach of the Year.
“This year was obviously very special for us,” Pack said. “We had such an awesome group of seniors who gave it their all every single game. We found a way to fight and win when it mattered in our area games, and then in playoff games we really performed well in our gameplans and that’s why we ended up in Huntsville.”
Elmore County’s success certainly didn’t come without adversity. The Panthers were expecting to have a large senior class full of experienced players back on the pitch this year, but then multiple went down with injuries and missed time.
That started before the season when Bryant Duckett, a two-year starter who was captain of the team, was injured in a car accident and was unable to play the entire year. That was just the start of a slew of injuries.
Riley Swicord, another two-year starter, tore his ACL in the team’s first area game against Brewbaker Tech. Then Gabe Kelly, the team’s third two-year starter, was diagnosed with mononucleosis and had a swollen spleen. He had to sit on the sidelines up until the final game of the season.
The fourth senior injury came to Zak Campbell, who tore his ACL just 10 minutes into the team’s second round playoff game.
“Losing all of that experience and leadership was devastating to our team, but it really speaks volumes about what we were able to do with those kids who stepped up in places to keep us competitive and able to win games,” Pack said.
The biggest part of having younger and inexperienced kids step up in those roles was Pack not worrying about his win-loss record in the regular season. In any game that wasn’t a close area game, Pack was substituting his JV players in and letting them play sometimes over half the game.
He continued doing that the entire season, and even took it a step closer in an area game against Tallassee. With the area championship already locked up, Pack sent his JV out there to play the area game.
Even in the first round playoff game, a 4-0 win over Marbury, Pack sent his JV players out on the field and let them get quality minutes as the game dwindled down to the final buzzer.
“I think it’s critical to make sure that those younger kids are always ready to step in when they’re needed,” Pack said. “That experience from each game gets them ready to hit the field and be competitive.”
Pack credits a lot of his team’s postseason success to the support from the community. For a sport he says is largely not respected, enjoyed or understood by most people around, the community showed up and supported his team every round.
In the first round playoff game against Marbury, the fans packed the stadium and had the most fans ever at a ECHS soccer game.
When the Panthers punched their ticket to the Final Four, the community rallied behind them and helped get a charter bus to take the kids to Huntsville and back.
“It was really incredible for the kids to see and hear the same thing that the football team is seeing and hearing in the fall,” “It’s been incredible to see all their hard work, preparation, and sacrifices pay off. Getting to that Final Four was a once in a lifetime thing for these kids, but hopefully it’s the new normal going forward for Elmore County.”