First Independent Bank in Aurora is the sponsor of our coach's column entitled 4 The Record. It's where we ask one of our Aurora coaches to answer 4 questions and then we simply place them on the website. It gives the reader an opportunity to learn a little more about our coaches, as well as the programs they coach. This time around we look at Carrie Stone, the first-ever girl's soccer coach at Aurora High School, as Aurora introduces the program this spring.

1) Tell us about yourself. Teaching? Coaching? Family?
I am the daughter of pastors. My father is also a computer programmer and carpenter. He coached and played soccer during my entire childhood and youth. My mother is an educational speech pathologist. I have three siblings, two of which are computer programmers and one who works in the educational field. My brother and I played soccer, in my hometown of Poplar Bluff Missouri, both together and separately, in club and community soccer programs, from ages 6 to 18. I have one child; Emma is an 8th grade 14 year old who plans to play soccer for ALHS during her high school years. I have 6 nieces and nephews, between the ages of 12 and 3, and while we enjoy other sports; we are definitely a soccer family.
I have been a teacher for 9 years. I spent the first 4 years in the Bootheel of Missouri teaching Special Education at the High School level. For the last 5 years, I have been in Southwest Missouri teaching high school math. This is my 3rd year with Aurora High School. I have coached both soccer and track during my time, at Aurora. During my first year, I spoke with Coach Curtis Bishop about assisting with soccer at AHS. He was receptive to the help, although there were no available funds. I worked the first year as a volunteer and the board offered me a position the next year assisting with, what was then a Co-ED team, and this year has become a boys' team. When coaching in the fall, my focuses are working mainly with the junior varsity team, drilling the basic skills and preparing them with strategies they will need for game play at the varsity level with Coach Bishop. This year I was also privileged to bring in new defensive technique and positioning for the varsity team.
During the Fall of 2012 there was some discussion about changing the soccer program from Co-ED to two separate teams. There was some resistance, by the girls especially, and mostly stemmed from the worry that there wouldn't be enough girls to have a separate team. Spring 2013 the board adopted the addition of the girls' team to the soccer program and at the recommendation of Coach Bishop and the AD Jean Singleton; hired me as the coach. This will be my first solo venture in coaching a high school level team. I have coached various city and club league teams over the past 18 years. I also have a uniquely qualifying history to be a perfect fit for the transition from Co-Ed to Girls' soccer. As an underclassmen, I played on a Co-ED high school soccer team and during my senior year transitioned to the first year of girls' high school soccer. I went from playing 20-40 minutes maximum on a boys junior varsity team to playing 80 minutes of each varsity game on the girls' team. I not only know and understand the girls' anxieties about the change, I also know the benefits of the change and how to use them to the team's advantage.

2) What goes in to starting a girl's soccer program?
Goodness, to be honest I'm still working on making sure I don't forget anything as we begin our season, this week. We are lucky to have the ability to share resources with the well-established boys' soccer team. This means that we have very little cost for starting the program. We have already received a donation from the Booster Club to purchase bags to share with the boys' team and warm-ups that are specific to the girls. Another donor found we had no small shorts and has offered to supplement the purchase of those. So we the needs we have seem to be filled awesome community members and boosters.
This particular program begins with 6 girls who have had Co-ED high school soccer experience. About 6 more girls have been working consistently for years in Co-ED club or community soccer programs. The rest of the girls coming out for soccer generally fit one of two categories: 1. high school level athletes, who have little to no soccer background, and 2. girls are out of practice, but who have played soccer during formative years.
To build a solid foundation for the program at the ground level, we will focus on going back to the basics. I will be using lots of practice time to run dribbling and passing drills, games, and plays. Over 90% of all soccer is the dribbling and passing part of the game, whichever team is better at those two things will dominate the field play. With those two basic building blocks, combined with sprint and running training, defensive training and attacking practice, stressing accuracy over power; I hope to build a strong program that will last for many years, and will be enjoyable to watch.

3) What excites you about the upcoming season?
I am excited about the upcoming season, because we bring some interesting depth that may not always be available in an inaugural season. The girls' game has a different speed than the boys' game at this level. With the girls who have spent their years of training and playing in Co-ED programs, we will see quick strategy and movement, birthed out of necessity (when playing against boys) that should make us highly competitive. I am also excited for the girls to get their own team. They won't even know or understand until we get into this season, how wonderful this opportunity will be for them.
This season you should expect to see a well developed, strong defense, led by junior, Leona Naylor. Senior, Alicia Lindeman will help us stabilize in the middle of the field and you should expect to see senior Shania Childress's name attached to many goals and assists as she will lead the play on our attacking line. I could go on about 10 players deep, speaking of who you should watch for, and what they will bring to the team. However, I will say instead…Come support AHS's first girls' soccer team. Come ready to get excited and cheer them to victory. Our motto this season is, Tradition Starts Today. We hope that we will begin a program that will not only show success in the team and individual stats, but will produce successful adults who understand that teamwork produces synergy that is worth the work and dedication it requires.

4) What are the goals for Aurora Lady Houn' Soccer in 2014?
The goals for ALHS in 2014, is to begin the girls' soccer program well. We would like to see more wins than losses, of course, when the season ends. Even more than that, my goal is that the team improve at every practice and that at every match players learn and come back better and stronger for each experience. In 2014, I would like to see a camaraderie built among the players that will span their lifetimes. I don't want the wins or losses to define my girls' but I hope that when the 2014 season is over that what defines them will be: a sense of pride in a job done to the best of their ability, a determination to fight until the last second to meet their goals, and knowledge that the intensity and purpose with which each individual practices ultimately produces skill and character not the wins or losses.