“If you earn it, then it’s yours. That’s my philosophy,” said first-year girls’ varsity soccer coach and math teacher John Bowen.
Bowen came over to the Mill this year from McIntosh with a whole new approach to playing the game, and the girls were in for a great awakening.
“It’s been a huge step in the right direction to becoming a better team,” junior Molly Moroney said. “Bowen cares about us and wants us to get better each day.”
Bowen said his goal is to improve the team through each individual rather than to focus on winning and losing a single game.
“Everything we do is recorded. Sprints, scrimmages, and everything at practices,” Bowen said. “There isn’t very much we do that’s not measured in some way.” It’s slightly intimidating for the girls to see Bowen on the sidelines marking down every play and every move they make during practice. But he has his reasons.
“The girls are ranked in eight different categories throughout the season. If they do well, they’ll see more playing time. If they don’t do well, they’ll get less. It’s their input into team selection,” Bowen said. Competition isn’t only against rival teams, Bowen wants the girls to compete for their team rankings.
How does he do it? He grades their performances “just like any other class in school,” Bowen said. Their motivation? More playing time. “ The higher their average is the better their team ranking is.
Bowen always has his girls doing something at practices, which happen rain or shine. He’s never canceled a practice. On some rainy days they’ve taken a few tests based on their knowledge of how they’d work certain plays in different situations. Other times they’ve practiced in the gym doing drills or watching films of their past performances looking for ways to improve their strategies.
Many of the players like junior center defense Ariana Przybyszewski find the assignments useful. “They’re very helpful in making us a better team by showing us what we need to work on,” Przybyszewski said.
“I expect the girls to try hard and look to get better. If we do those things, everything will figure itself out,” Bowen said. “Some people tend to get lost in their team’s [region and state] rankings, so I try to stay away from doing that.”
This is Bowen’s first year at Starr’s Mill and has settled in with great ease. So far the team has won seven games and lost three.
“The girls have been great. Usually the first year at any school can be disruptive, but I’ve found this to be the best transition I’ve had anywhere,” Bowen said.
Last year, Bowen coached the girls’ junior varsity soccer team at McIntosh, and from 2008-2011, he was the varsity assistant coach for the girls’ team. He began his coaching career at Fayette County with the varsity swim team for two years. He moved on to Newnan High coaching varsity girls’ soccer and teaching business education from 1998-2005. During his seven years, his team made the top 10 in state his last five years.
Having his wife, English teacher Jillian Bowen, teaching there with him was certainly a plus, and they said they are lucky to be teaching together once again here.
“It’s really nice getting to spend time on the way to school together, especially during soccer season when he’s so busy,” Jillian Bowen said. “It’s easier to coordinate our calendars now since we’re both rooting for the same team.”
In fall of 2005, Bowen transferred to Sandy Creek where he taught for two years and coached junior varsity boys’ soccer in his second year. Bowen later became certified to teach math and moved on to teach at McIntosh. He’s been teaching math and coaching soccer in some way ever since. He also continues to enjoy playing soccer, a sport he’s been active in since his high school days. You may catch him playing in an indoor tournament at Score Indoor in Fairburn.