There are few labels in sports more disheartening than "rebuilding year." Arlington Martin is not and never will be OK with carrying such a label. Not as long as Ruth Knight remains its coach.
If there ever were a time to slap the label's adhesive on a program's identity, this would be the year for the Lady Warriors. Martin will enter the upcoming season without its all-time leading goal scorer, Amanda Burgardt, the 2010 Star-Telegram Super Team Player of the Year who scored 31 goals her senior season to finish with 100 on her career. She now plays for SMU.
The Lady Warriors will also be without Natasha Anasi, an All-America selection who recently trained with the U18 USA National Team, and who is at Duke. They'll also be without the passing abilities of Anna Lavis, who recorded 13 assists and is at Texas Tech.
Other than that, Martin's roster is intact from a team that lost to state runnerup McKinney Boyd in the Class 5A regional semifinals. Well, sort of. Two other players are injured and might miss most of the season.
"It's time for somebody else to step up," Knight said. "Part of what our system does is it allows the players to train each other in certain situations, especially in games. So those kids have left a legacy behind of working with the ones that have come up next."
It's a legacy that Knight doesn't have to preach. She's as much a fixture on campus as the buildings themselves, entering her 28th year at the helm, which includes 445 victories and a district unbeaten streak that started in 2005 (45 wins, 4 ties).
"Coach Knight teaches us competing, winning and always doing your best," junior Katy Reamer said. "We love to compete. We want to win state. It does come with the territory because Martin is very well known for its success in soccer."
Knight said she is in a "wait-and-see" process with this team, which will begin the season at 6 pm Friday against Dallas Hockaday in the first round of the Nolan Showcase. So is Reamer, who is anxious but optimistic that a group with five returning starters can find a way to live up to the program's lofty expectations.
"Yeah, we did lose some key players on our roster," Reamer said. "We also lost some key players to injuries recently that will hurt us, but people are just going to have to step up."
That includes seniors Clare Newman, Jessi Barbre and Stephanie Anasi, Natasha's younger sister. Then there's Kennedale transfer Jazmyne Simmons, whom Knight is especially excited to see in action.
"I feel like they are going to try as hard as they can to maintain the reputation of what has gone on of playing good soccer," Knight said. "They have learned a lot. What those [graduated seniors] were able to do has motivated the others to keep those expectations."
Now it's just a matter of meeting them.