Senior Josh Petty, the captain of the boys varsity soccer team, has been on the JC team for four years. Josh has been playing soccer since he was about six or seven years old.
Josh took on the role of captain because he likes to be a leader and inspire the team to do better and work harder. While growing up, he would always lead his younger brothers.
Josh said, “To me, the role of team captain means to always do your best and put forth 100% of effort and inspire the team to do the same.”
As team captain, this season he is looking forward to improving how they did and, hopefully, winning an MIAA championship for JC.
The championship is one of many ways that keeps Josh motivated because it is his last year at JC. Wanting to win and the hate of losing help him even more. Some advice he would give to his fellow teammates would be “always try your hardest and never give up. Don’t worry about making mistakes everyone does. Just put forward 100% effort.”
He just recently started playing for the club team Pipeline.
Not only did his father help him through his athletic career by being his coach since he was little, but he also helped by cheering for him in the stands. Even after the games, his father would talk about what happened throughout the game and help him improve on what he needed to excel in.
Josh’s encouragement comes from his family because they are always at all of his games, and he wants to make them proud.
Josh’s teammates are always there for him, and they never let him put his head down. They are constantly picking him up if he makes a mistake.
Josh’s favorite soccer memory was the Homecoming Game during his sophomore year when they played Loyola and beat them 5-2. This helped his team lock third place and made Homecoming “ten times better.”
Josh is not currently committed anywhere, but he is looking at Winthrop and UMBC.
Josh’s most significant challenge would be playing over 20 games in less than three months and having about two to three games a week.
The things that have kept Josh motivated would have to be winning, the hate of losing, and knowing it’s his last year to win a championship for ways he would resolve this issue would include taking rest days when they are provided, constantly hydrating, and getting plenty of sleep.
Josh has tried to never get down on himself and has learned not to try control the uncontrollable. He always does the best he can and gives everything he has to the table.
Soccer has taught Josh to never give up when things get hard and to always put forward 100% effort even when it does get hard.