Timberland Expects To Establish Consistency With Addition Of New Girls Soccer Coach

When varsity girls soccer team takes the field for its first game against Hazelwood West High School on Friday there will be a new coach on the sidelines for the Wolves.

The presence of a new coach is something the team has grown accustomed to over the past several years, as a new person has headed up the squad each of the past four seasons.

Timberland intends to change this trend, however, with the promotion of former junior varsity coach, Heidi Kleekamp, to the take over the reins of the varsity lineup.

“It is a change, but I worked closely with former coach (Abe) Raziq on developing the training program for both JV and varsity last season, and I intend to keep several things in place, so there’s a lot of consistency for the girls,” Kleekamp said.

Even before the cleats go on, time trials measuring running speed are one thing Kleekamp carried over as a preseason drill from 2010. The majority of team members can compare their results this season to those from last season, and measure progress.

One thing Kleekamp intends to change is the number of victories attained by the Wolves over the past couple of seasons (eight total).

In order to accomplish this, Timberland will employ a different midfield formation in 2011, with an attacking player supporting a pair of strikers up front, and a holding player anchoring the middle.

This formation is a design adopted from Kleekamp’s successful years at the University of Central Missouri, where she played for four years. This followed four years as a varsity starter for Lafayette High School.

"Heidi was in excellent player at Lafayette, but had to fight the injury bug," Tim Walters, her Lafayette High School coach, said. "She will bring a wealth of knowledge to Timberland. She learned a lot from me on what not to do—she is a great person and will be an excellent role model for the players."

Kleekamp’s recent success as a player on the local scene should inspire her team to ramp up their performance this season. The Timberland girls soccer tradition is no stranger to success, as the team made trips to the final four of the state tournament a couple of times in the past decade.

In order to re-establish a winning attitude for Timberland, Kleekamp is pointing the team toward the Gateway Athletic Conference South matches against , and Troy, as key games for the Wolves.

“Those are natural rivalries for us, and we’ll also look forward to our games against the Zumwalt schools, in order to establish ourselves in our conference,” Kleekamp said.

Reluctant to single out any individual players this early in the season, Kleekamp simply pointed to her seniors to provide leadership for the team, and said naming a captain will only come when the team matures.

“The team has dealt with a lot of things unknown, given the many coaching changes, and I’ve talked with the seniors to help them connect with what we are going to build here and their role in that process,” Kleekamp said.

Looking ahead, several players who return this year as sophomores, following a tough freshman season, will form the foundation of a healthy, long-term program, perhaps eventually contributing as four-year varsity members, down the road.

But for now, Hazelwood West visits Timberland on Friday, and the Wolves will take the field to usher in the Kleekamp coaching era, hoping it will be a long and successful one.