A turnaround season for Monroe’s varsity soccer boys

The sting of the Orange Hornets on May 15 dashed William Monroe’s hopes of becoming Jefferson District Tournament champions, but the loss hardly reflects what came to be a stellar season for head coach Roy Farner and his varsity soccer boys.
Farner literally reversed the team’s dismal 4-7-1 performance last year into a 7-4-1 district record and an overall finish of 9-4-1 for the season - all done with a smaller pool of players and a grueling schedule plagued by rain delays. 
For the first time ever, Monroe’s soccer team climbed to third in the Jefferson District, with just Fluvanna and Monticello above it in the heap. That means Monroe’s regular season outranked Western Albemarle, Charlottesville, Louisa and Orange, which all have larger school enrollments than Greene.
Just 14 varsity players (and 20 junior varsity members) comprised this season’s soccer roll, leaving Farner with only two substitutes to work with during the 16-game schedule.
What’s more, two of his players were hurt toward the end of the schedule, leaving Farner down at least two bodies for the last 5 games. Despite these obstacles, “the team scored 37 goals for the season, an all-time high,“ boasts Farner. “Our goalie, Mark Weisenborn, had an 89 percent save ratio, allowing only 16 goals this season.“
Farner credits much of the team’s achievements to a nucleus of 10 seniors who “were all very focused in achieving a great outcome this year.“
For the majority of the season, a consistent group of 11 players stayed on the field for almost 80 minutes, says Farner. “These guys played continuously and none of these 11 was injured.“
He continues: “One Saturday, with a 12 o’clock start, 90-degree heat, and no substitutes, these guys beat first place Fluvanna in Fluvanna, 4-1. That was a defining moment. Then on Monday, playing at UVA, these same 11 players came back and beat them 1-0. It’s truly something as a coach when you say, ‘my gosh.‘ We went on a seven-game win streak, with a one-day rest between each game. In all of my 23 years of soccer, I have never witnessed that kind of phenomenon as a coach.“
For their efforts this season, the boys earned six Jefferson District honors, the most the soccer program has ever had.  “Coach of the Year” accolades went to Farner, who began coaching soccer at William Monroe in 2004.
A certified coach and referee, Farner has been involved with the sport since 1986.  Farner and his family moved to Charlottesville from Maryland in 1999. He became involved as an assistant trainer with WMHS in 2000.  Besides soccer, he has also coached junior varsity football and middle school football.
Asked to describe his coaching style, Farner quickly says:  “Demanding, dominating, with high expectations and an intense coaching style.“
This year, “we got the fruits of an effort that began five years ago,“ he says. That’s when Farner began to focus attention on building skills in eighth graders and junior players with the hopes of moving these conditioned players eventually to the varsity ranks. 
  “We put a heavy effort into eight grade and junior players, and now you’re seeing the evolution of that (with our varsity boys),“ says Farner. “Five years ago, we were competitive, but we weren’t getting the full maximum output … all of a sudden I had players in much better condition to use their abilities.“
  Farner said he began to see real progress last year when “all of our scores were within a 1or 2 goal deficit.“ This year, of the four losses the team had, “three of them were all lost by just one score.“
Farner credits much of the turnaround to his emphasis on fundamentals, conditioning and team spirit.
They learn the concept of ‘Team first, max effort, how far, all the way and then some,‘“ says Farner. “If something becomes very challenging, there’s a mental toughness that comes through. And team spirit gives them a place to draw strength from.“
No question, Farner places a high stress on physical training. “The boys know it as ladders, poles, hurdles and cones. They get a heavy dose of this, based on the concept of ‘plyometrics.‘“
And apparently his methods pay off.
“Conditioning becomes a factor in the last 20 minutes of the game, and that’s where we won a lot of our games.“
The soccer program’s successes have reached beyond the soccer field, says Kirk Dewyea, whose sons Mark and Ryan play under Farner.
“Farner and his coaching staff (Isaac Hutchison, Jeff Shifflett) should be recognized for taking a program where 13-0 losses and seasons with no wins were the norm,“ says Dewyea.
Dewyea explains that the soccer program has been supported by and collaborated with the Greene County Parks and Recreation program.
“ In fact, the WMHS Boy’s soccer team hosts a clinic each summer that draws more than 50 five-to-fourteen year olds,“ Dewyea explains. “The Greene Futbol Club (a local travel soccer club) also supports the program by providing travel soccer in the Skyline Travel soccer division.  The soccer coaching staff also hosts an indoor soccer league for high school and adult players in the off season.  The entire community has come together in magnificent ways to produce a positive program.  They should be recognized for such an accomplishment.“