Rays' Coach Looks for Better Team Finish

Judging by the laughter at the end of their final home game Thursday night, January 16, you would have thought the Marco Island Academy soccer team were the winners, not the losers. For the record, the Rays dropped a hard-fought 4-2 decision to Mason Classical Academy in a chilly rain that had soccer fans popping open umbrellas and scrambling for cover at the Jane Watt Sports Complex. 

Coach Jax Wantlin was waiting for her bowed but not broken soccer team with a big bag of gummy bears as they returned to the sideline as time expired. She and her assistant coach - sister Alex Wantlin - are proud of the way their team has played all season. They’re equally proud of their players for who they are. 

"I think they just are a good team and they know how to work together,” Jax said. “Sometimes it doesn't always end up the way we want it to. But they hold each other accountable, and they love each other. So, it works. They support each other.” 

“I think the growth we've seen since the beginning of the season is what we are mostly so proud of,” Alex said. “This team has such a sister bond. There's been no drama at all. All of them have grown up together. I think they're just happy to experience a year like this with each other.” 

The Rays traveled to St. John Neumann Friday and dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to a good Celtics team to end the regular season. 

"I feel really good,” Jax said. "I know that the rankings don’t look the best, but I think the way we played this year is amazing. We have had a little hard time finishing. We've really dominated out there. We’re in the other team's half most of every game we've played. I think we just need to learn how to finish.” 

When she says finish, she means put the ball in the goal. The Rays have had trouble scoring this season. The result is a 2-9-1 regular season record heading into the Paradise Coast Athletic Conference tournament and the district tournament. 

“Our big thing that we wanted to make sure we did as coaches,” Jax said, "was just to make sure that they had a great year, played for each other and for themselves. So, I think that was one thing that they really accomplished. And their technical skills, I would say, have definitely improved. They took what we said and practiced and put it into play.” 

Alex said the Rays are challenged because they are a team without club players. 

“When we only have three months out of the whole year,” Alex said, “it's hard. None of the girls play club, so they only get these three months to actually play soccer. I think to be able to see any growth at all shows that they want to put in the work and they want to get better." 

“Players improve over the years,” Jax said. “We have some freshmen who came in last year who really didn't know how to touch the ball that well, but just seeing their improvement—especially how they played tonight—it just puts it into play how excited we are for them to improve every year now." 

Coaching a team without club players is something new for the young Wantlin sisters. They grew up in a competitive soccer environment. Jax went on to be a two-year captain on the Florida Southern soccer team. Alex played college rugby after playing soccer through high school. 

“It’s very unusual,” Jax said, “for a team to not have any club players. Especially the way Alex and I grew up. We grew up in a town that had a lot of clubs. So, we played with a lot of club players. So, coaching a team without club players, you have to just help them. Show them what to do and how to do it. It’s something that we didn't grow up with. I think it's kind of cool just to see how we can teach fundamentals. It's cool that we can see so much improvement even though they've never played club together. The improvement has been dramatic." 

The Rays competed in the PCAC tournament on January 21-22. The district tournament takes place on January 23, 27,  and 30.