Ben van der Staay returns as assistant coach of undefeated Jr. Hoyas soccer team

The Huntsville Hoyas Senior Boys soccer team is hoping for a return to the OFSAA championships and the Junior Hoyas want to be right there with them.

The Sr. Hoyas hit a bump in the road Thursday when they lost to the Parry Sound Panthers 3-2 in the final regular season game. It was their first loss in four years and, as coach John Cowan said, a bit of a wake up call.

“The players had an hour-long trip returning from Parry Sound to reflect on the day’s efforts and begin the process of examining strategies and steps required to have success at next week’s Muskoka Parry Sound championships,” he said.

The Jr. Hoyas meanwhile finished their season Thursday with a 3-1 win over Almaguin and 2-0 win over Parry Sound. That gave Huntsville a perfect 6-0 win-loss record for the regular season and lots of optimism going into their playoff next Friday in the Muskoka Parry Sound championship.

Coach Jennifer Cooper says her team is used to winning. Several members also played on the Huntsville Soccer Club’s U14 team that went undefeated in 14 games this year.

They have played together for a long time, some since they were eight years old, so they have that advantage of playing with each other, and they have so much fun. They’re known for being really good students and respectful of each other.Jr. Hoyas Soccer coach Jennifer Cooper

Another key to their success has been the addition of coach Ben van der Staay, who has brought a lot of valuable playing experience to the team. van der Staay played soccer at Huntsville High school as well as some varsity games at University of Guelph and with the city of Guelph and London City. He was quick to get involved after returning to Huntsville to teach physics and biology at the high school.

“Ben has brought in some really good skills training,” said Cooper, “and he played here so it’s kind of cool to have that kind of mentor for the kids.”

Assistant Coach Ben van der Staay with the Hoyas Jr. Boys soccer team

Second-year player Kyler Campbell says a good part of the team’s success is team play with no selfish players. “Ben not only teaches us skills,” said Campbell, “but how to be a great student athlete, and work hard and reach your goals.”

Cam Aben, also a second year player, agrees. “Everyone works together to get stuff done and so far it’s been working for us,” he said. “We can go really far if we keep this attitude.”

Eric Bertelsen says the team loves working with Ben. “He’s great,” he said. “He brings motivation, teaches skills and agility, makes us go for long runs and he’s funny too.”

Goaltender Seth Cooper also thinks the Jr. Hoyas will do well in the upcoming playoffs and is excited about his role in making it happen. “You always have to stay up, stay ready, stay warm,” he said. “You have to have your head in the game, all the time and not get distracted. Ben has given me a lot of confidence especially when I’m up against bigger guys and taking the ball on a breakaway.”

Ben van der Staay is a familiar face on the soccer pitches of Huntsville, having coached several teams in the Huntsville Soccer Club program.

Because these kids are just getting into their really competitive years in soccer I’ve been able to perfect some of the things they’ve been taught. We’ve been getting into the more technical parts of the game. It’s not just the throw-in but what do you do with the throw-in in a certain spot. Because we have such a skilled team and the league has only three teams, we’ve been able to work a lot of these things. I’ve pushed them to try more advanced plays.Assistant coach Ben van der Staay

Huntsville High School soccer teams have only made it to OFSAA playoffs on two previous occasions. Last year John Cowan’s senior team made it to Kingsville for the tournament and in 2014 his team also made it to North Bay. This year both the Senior and Junior boys teams feel they belong there and they start that playoff run Friday, October 21 in Parry Sound for the Muskoka Parry Sound playoffs. It’s a journey Ben van der Staay wants to be a part of.

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