Athlete of the Week – Fletcher Pearce

PC sophomore and soccer player Fletcher Pearce has been named Jersey Mike’s Athlete of the Week. As captain of the high school boys team, Fletcher shares his answers to AD Lyslo’s Q+A below.

Fletcher, first off, congratulations on being named PC athlete of the week. What a new role you have this year for boys’ soccer. You go from playing with a senior dominated team last year where there was experience and less pressure for you, to a very young team where you are a captain and one of the  most experienced players. How have you handled the new role and are you enjoying it?

With my new role as captain I have focused on staying positive with my teammates during games and practice. And I am enjoying the challenge of filling in last year’s seniors’ footsteps.

Coming into the season, not a lot of people picked PC to do very well, but you guys have shown to have a solid defense so far against a really tough schedule. This should make your league games easier – do you feel like the best soccer lies ahead for this team and are you excited going into league play next week?

Because wee have done well against 3A competition, I have the confidence we will perform well in league games.

One of the big changes from years past is 2A now has their own state championship tournament. How exciting is this for you and the team knowing you can play for a state championship now?

Since we are such a young team right now, we are more focused on developing our identity as a team. But knowing that we have a chance for a championship gives us more motivation to play well.

You are being asked to do a lot more this year on the field. The goals have not been there yet, but you guys have some bad luck along the way in soccer terms with some incredible saves by some of these goalkeepers you have played. Do you feel the goals are coming and was there some relief to see two go in against Faith Bible last week?  

I think that those two goals going in against Faith Bible gave us some confidence knowing that we can score. Now if we get another goal, I think we will continue to score and get good outcomes.

Homecoming week is next week and you guys have the marquee game at 7 pm on Friday. That’s a big game against Columbia Christian. What do you think the atmosphere will be like and will you help prepare your freshman for the big stage?

The atmosphere should put some pressure on us in a good way that motivates us. I don’t think our freshmen will need much preparation for the fans because they have already felt a ton of pressure playing against upperclassmen in a higher division.

So if you had to look five weeks ahead from today, you are right there on the verge of competing for a playoff spot. What would be a perfect scenario for you and your team and what will it take to accomplish this?

A perfect scenario for me would be us having to work really hard for the playoff spot because it will make the feeling of making it there that much better than if we got it super easily. But for us to make it to the playoffs we need every player on our team to do their part whether it’s in defence or offence.