NTL GIRLS SOCCER: MENNIG FACING NUMBERS CRUNCH FOR FIRST TIME IN 11 SEASONS AT SAYRE (16 PHOTOS) (2019-08-20)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportSAYRE "” Tracy Mennig is entering her 11th year as Sayre girls soccer coach, and for the first time she is facing a numbers crunch.
"We've never struggled with numbers. Ten years ago, we had 26 girls and had a JV team, then it kind of flattened out around 20," said Mennig. "Last year, we had 16 girls and five of those were seniors.
"This year, the numbers are pretty low, but the girls are in great spirits," she noted. "We have 13 girls, but two of them are playing volleyball, too. They will only be available for seven of our 18 games."
The numbers crunch may not ease next year either.
"We have six or seven 7th- and 8th-graders on the junior high team, and we'll need them all next year," said Mennig. "We have three seniors graduating."
The Lady Redskins girls basketball program could not field enough players for a JV team last winter, but Mennig doesn't believe this is just a Sayre problem.
"The more people I talk to, it's not something that is happening just in the Valley - most schools are not getting the numbers out overall like they use to.
"The graduation numbers haven't really gone down, but the participation numbers have," said Mennig. "I don't know ... I wish I had the answer."
With the thin numbers, conditioning is a priority for Mennig, but she laments it's a double-edged sword.
"As always conditioning is at the forefront. They've been working hard, and doing a lot of running in double sessions," said Mennig. "They know we won't have any subs, and they're going to need to be in shape.
"There's a line I don't want to cross, though, because I don't want anyone to quit, and I don't want anyone to get injured," she noted. "It's tough.
"We're working on our endurance and our touches on the ball," added Mennig. "Getting (the feeling) back because a lot of the girls haven't played this summer."
Mennig says the 2019 Lady Redskins are a work in progress.
"My biggest challenge is trying to figure out what we're going to do position-wise when we don't have those two players," she said.
Sayre does not have a scrimmage on its schedule, and will open the regular season Sept. 3 at NEB.
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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
