Tumwater’s soccer players, sidelined by pandemic restrictions, still found ways to connect

It would be hard to dispute the abilities of Tumwater High School boys soccer coach Brett Bartlett and his staff.

The T-Birds have won championships and sent players on to college soccer programs.

Bartlett, who also coaches the Tumwater girls, is 17-1 during the 2020-21 academic year. Combined the T-Birds have outscored their foes 59-5 as the girls went 11-1 and claimed the runner-up spot in the Class 2A Southwest District playoffs, while the boys are off to a 6-0 start through Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over Centralia.

But sometimes coaching isn’t about brilliant strategy or precise skill breakdown drills.

Tumwater’s boys, scored upon so far only by W.F. West in a heart-pounding 3-2 victory on the Bearcats’ outlier of a small-dimensioned grass field last week, have built upon a framework of long-established bonds and free-wheeling offseason sessions.

Most of Tumwater’s players have a history with one another, going back surprising chunks of time.

“Myles Leneker lived in my neighborhood,” said junior forward Zack Schmidt, whose soccer-playing parents signed him up for the first possible team he could play on. “We started playing together at age 3.”

Others have been connected through school and club teams for anywhere from four to nine years.

So when, during the two-year gap since the 2019 season ended with a 2A Evergreen Conference championship, teams were allowed uncoached field time by the WIAA, Bartlett encouraged players to experiment and stretch their limits.

“We opened it up to everyone a couple of nights a week and just let the kids play. The girls and boys played together, younger kids from the area came out,” Bartlett said. “Sometimes we’d have 9-v-9 and we’d shorten the field. Other times, we’d have three full teams.”

But, always, stretching the envelope was encouraged.

“We told them to be creative,” Bartlett said. “Make it look like soccer, but try crazy things. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. When you make a mistake do it going 100 miles per hour. Play fast, play free and have fun.”

The result? Tumwater has recorded five shutouts in its six games. They’ve beaten every 2A EvCo team, with rematches against Shelton and Aberdeen remaining as well as a nonleague match at Timberline.

Prior to coming back together as a group, Tumwater’s players had a variety of experiences trying to stay ready for the resumption of their sport.

Some, including senior captain Jack Armour, played club soccer. Others, like Schmidt, didn’t and settled for running and kicking a ball against a wall or curb. Still, those long-term bonds have held up.

“We’re all out there working hard for each other,” said Armour, who will attend Western Washington University and is considering trying to join the Vikings’ soccer team as a walk-on. “We want to make each other proud as teammates.”

Schmidt pointed out the practical knowledge that comes with a cohesive team.

“We know which guys are fast enough to get passes ahead to,” he said. “We know which guys are good passers who’ll get the ball back to you.”

Bartlett says Armour has a blend of vocal and by-example leadership skills.

“He holds everyone accountable,” Bartlett said. “He does it the right way. It’s not just about making friends. We have things we want to get done to be better. He also works hard and is a smart player.”

Armour says his teammates make leadership easy on this season’s Tumwater team.

“It’s actually pretty simple,” he said. “We haven’t had any scraps. I just need to make sure I’m some one the team can look up to and that we’re all in the same head space.”

Bartlett says the sink or swim nature of a short season opened his eyes to how much responsibility players can take for a team’s success.

“We’ve tried to give them more ownership in the past,” he said. “But this year we really had to cut loose. They’re taking hold of things and thriving. They’re learning how to think and grow in life situations through the game.”

Staying together and focused helped the T-Birds win their most challenging game of the year, over W.F. West. A 1-1 tie suddenly swung in the Bearcats favor in the 75th minute on a goal by Elvis Leal.

But Tumwater scored twice in two minutes after the ensuing kickoff — one goal coming on a pass from Schmidt to his teammate since preschool, Leneker.

“You could see our kids come alive,” said Bartlett. “They stopped thinking and just played.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 5:00 AM.