Chrissy Taylor said that while “it’s hard” replacing Doug Kidd as girls’ soccer coach at Swansboro, the process has been aided by a group of players she has enjoyed being around with this spring.
“Coach Kidd did so much for soccer in North Carolina and throughout, and that’s where the stress and pressures come in,” Taylor said. “But the girls I have are really good and are fun to work with. They want to do fun things like have pasta parties to try to build team chemistry ...so it’s been a fun season.”
Taylor took over the helm of the girls’ program once Kidd retired after the end of the last spring season, ending a tenure at Swansboro that started in 2008. He coached the Pirates to three state girls’ soccer championships.
Taylor has been an assistant under Kidd since 2011 before becoming head coach. This marks her second varsity head coaching job as she coached at Northside for one year before coming to Swansboro.
In the fall, Taylor also continued being an assistant coach for the boys’ team under new coach Ricky Cook, who returns the favor and assists her during spring.
Herk DeGraw, an NCHSAA Hall of Famer, and Hope Ruff are also on the coaching staff.
“Coach Kidd always made sure he got my opinion and the opinion of all of the staff before making a decision,” Taylor said. “That helped me in a big way.”
Still, Taylor added that it was an adjustment moving from assistant coach to head coach. She recalled reality arriving when she had to schedule the annual early season Battle at the Beach showcase and also when she had to go from being the “good cop” to the “bad cop” with her players.
“Coach Kidd and I share the same philosophies ...we want to be organized, things start with defense first and then we can make adjustments,” Taylor said. “But I was used to being the good cop all of the time. I feel like I am learning to be the bad cop, but in a good way.”
Swansboro Principal, Dr., Hellen Gross, added that Taylor brings dedication, strategy and leadership to the Pirates.
“Her approach clearly resonates with the team, enhancing both performance and morale,” Gross said. The results we’ve already seen are a testament to her hard work and vision. We look forward to continued success under her guidance.”
Swansboro (6-2-4, 3-1) enters Tuesday’s Coastal 3-A Conference fixture at Richlands (9-6-1, 3-1) with three shutout victories in four games as part of a six-game stretch where the Pirates are 4-1-1.
Three of the Pirates’ top four scorers are either sophomores or freshmen while there are only four seniors on the roster.
Sophomore Kenadie Bennett leads the club with nine goals and seven assists while freshman Addison Davis (three goals, four assists), senior Kyleigh David (three goals) and freshman Chloe Johnson have also found the net multiple times.
The defense has been led by senior goalkeeper Kendall Hackworth, who has allowed just six goals and sports a 0.575 goals against average.
“We’ve had some injuries, and we only have two subs right now, so we are having to play ironman soccer,” Taylor said. “We’ve had some underclassmen have to fill in some roles, but they have taken on the challenge. It has been tough, but the girls have shown some grit to get through the games. I commend them for always working hard and for always trying to do the right thing.”
The Pirates look to keep progressing Tuesday at Richlands and then Friday at home against Dixon, which topped Swansboro 3-0 on March 28. Swansboro then won’t return to the pitch until April 22 at Southwest.
“We need to continue to work on our offensive tactics to try to find ways to break down defenses. We need to find ways to score goals late in games,” Taylor said. “I do feel like we are heading in the right direction and that the future is bright.”