The Spencer Van Etten / Candor Boys Soccer team (SVEC) brought home the Section IV Class C championship on Oct. 29.
SVEC defeated Trumansburg, 6-2, at the Wright National Soccer Complex in Oneonta.
The victory marks the seventh year that Jason Banks and Gary Holmes have been coaching together, and since the merger of the SVE and Candor programs in 2016.
Pictured is the SVEC Boys Soccer Class C championship team. Photo credit: Danielle Banks.
Going back to 2001, Spencer Van Etten was a co-state champion in Class C.
Coach Holmes commented, “This team has been committed since the first day of practice, and quite a few of these guys have been on the Varsity team for three years or more.”
Holmes explained that the teammates enjoy being around each other and playing together, while also pushing each other to be better.
Holmes said, “This creates an atmosphere of working hard for each other and all for the greater good of the team.”
Coach Banks added that team bonding really started years ago, since many of the players have been playing together since U6 youth soccer days, and many play on club level teams as well.
From left, SVEC coaches Gary Holmes, Jason Banks, and Adam Young pose with plaques acknowledging SVEC Boys Soccer as Class C champions and IAC Large School champions. Photo credit: Danielle Banks.
Some of the Candor youth played on the Hiawatha soccer team with Owego youth, and in different years coached by Jim Franz and Bob Tiddick and then Joe Higgins and Kwasi VanScoy.
Holmes continued, “Our success and maturation as a team is really due to them being a true team. Although we have players that have done a lot from a stats point of view, the focus of this group is working together and developing every player.”
Playing together for a long period of time has been a key piece in the overall teamwork concept, Holmes said, and remarked, “The player’s ability to communicate on the field has been much better this season, and they have a better understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Banks said he is extremely proud of the SVEC players’ performance during the Oct. 29 game, and added, “The guys were playing with high energy and feeding off the atmosphere on the fields. All of the team players have met or exceeded our expectations.”
The atmosphere Banks refers to is the adrenaline from their own game, along with the excitement that was building at the Owego game on a nearby field. After the games, the two teams gathered to celebrate with a duo photo op.
SVEC co-coaches Jason Banks and Gary Holmes were awarded with the ICA 2022 Chris Bond Coaches of the Year award. Photo credit: Danielle Banks.
In other good news out of SVEC soccer, Banks and Holmes were recently named the 2022 IAC Chris Bond Coaches of the year.
Next up for SVEC are State Regional’s on Nov. 5, and where they will take on Cooperstown at 4 p.m. at Fayetteville-Manlius High School.
When asked how they will prepare, Holmes replied, “We are going to keep building on what we have been looking to improve all season – communication, team defense and moving the ball quickly. Those three things have been our consistent goals, and have given us a lot of success.”
Banks explained that the SVEC team is comprised of a core group of seven seniors that are “Strong starters.”
“Next year will be a big transition, they will be missed,” stated Holmes.
He concluded, “This has been a heck of a journey so far. We have had teams that have been on the edge of doing this in the past, but this year’s team found a way as an entire group to take it to the next step. I am so happy for these guys. They have earned their way into this spot.”
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