Davis High welcomes new soccer coach

By Anna Sturla,

Editor-in-Chief–

“Push, Push! Keep backing it up!”

Soccer players sweat as they sprint, their coach’s yells pushing them to be further, faster, better.

At a signal, they’re done, and they collapse into a brief rest.

“In five minutes, do the same thing again!” Coach Alex Park yells.

Park is the interim coach for the rest of the season, after the longtime men’s soccer coach, Ashley Yudin, retired.

Park is no newcomer to the Davis High soccer program. He was the head coach of the JV team for ten years. Before that he was assistant coach for Yudin.

“He’s been helping me transition into this position,” Park said, referring to Yudin. “Without his help, I think I’d be lost.”

Park also has had to deal with the problems that a head coach must face alone. Park was forced to cut 27 kids to get down to his 22-man squad.

“Having so much talent out there, it’s hard to pick the right 22 kids,” Park said.

Park has been pushing his team to excel at the Bay City Tournament in Santa Rosa, which takes place this weekend. They play two games today and one Saturday, with hopes of qualifying for more.

“I feel pretty confident, but we haven’t been tested,” Park said.

Park plans on applying for the permanent coaching position at the end of the season.