Franklin getting the ball rolling at Hall
Harlan Franklin has a couple of goals in mind.
The man charged with getting the Hall girls’ soccer program off the ground and kicking this season off is looking to teach his 23 recruits the ropes of game, as the team prepares to make its program debut March 25 at home against Plano.
“It’s been a challenge coming to a new program and starting it, getting the ball rolling,” said Franklin, who currently doesn’t have any assistant coaches at his disposal. “But it’s been going pretty good. There’s girls with varying degrees of experience with it (soccer) and skill, I just need to combine them together, and make them competitive, give them the desire to win.”
What’s been the toughest part of starting the program so far?
“Just getting them acclimated,” Franklin said. “We practice every day, we practice skills, skills, skills. Some of them have never played before, and a lot of the girls haven’t played in years, since they were little.”
Franklin, a Princeton resident, whose daughter Kelsey, a sophomore, plays for PHS, doesn’t have to look far for the blueprint to build a successful soccer program.
He said he would like to follow the same path as the Princeton girls’ soccer program, which started in 2001 and has developed into one of Northern Illinois’ premiere programs under the direction of coach Ed Young and his staff.
He said his young charges should strive for the level of success of the Tigresses, who have amassed a 90-50 record and pair of state tournament appearances in their history.
“When they face teams like Princeton, their goal should be to excel to that level,” said Franklin, who cut his coaching teeth as an assistant on the PHS boys’ soccer squad under head coach Jason Bird.
“When they play against them they should say ‘this is where we want to be,’ that’s a pretty heavy team over there. That’s the level I want to be at, that’s where they need to strive to be.
He said working with Bird has taught him a lot about what it takes to be successful on the pitch.
“A lot about skill sets and temperament,” Franklin said of the lessons he learned from Bird. “Really a drive to compete and be successful and win; and to always play up to your competition — never take any team or player lightly. Always prepare for the best.”
Franklin said that Bird has been very supportive and helpful, and that he calls upon Bird for advice whenever the situation arises as he builds the Hall girls’ program from scratch.
Franklin said the main goal of this inaugural season is to field a competitive squad.
“Definitely to be competitive, we want to be competitive with the teams we face,” said Franklin, whose team will play a junior varsity schedule this season, with the hopes of moving up to varsity next year.
Along with being competitive, Franklin wants to instill a sense of importance to the newly formed program.
“I want to encourage them to play harder, that practice doesn’t end when I blow the whistle at the end. It’s something you need to carry through the summer, through the seasons you’re not playing in.”
“I want them to take it serious, just as serious as when they go play basketball or softball or any other sport they play,” Franklin said.
Getting their first game in next Thursday at home against Plano, “the program opener”, as Franklin described it, will go a long way towards giving his team the desire to compete Franklin said.
“These girls have never seen competition, and that’s going to be the best thing for them,” Franklin said. “They can play themselves all they want, but they need see those other teams and go ‘wow, we need to do this and this.”
Chris Yucus is a sports writer for the BCR. He can be contacted at cyucus@bcrnews.com.
