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OCHS soccer coach Erich Forschler participates in a drill at practice last week. The Patriots will look to build on last season, when they advanced to the second round of the tournament. (Samuel Higgs/The Oglethorpe Echo) -
Erich Forschler grabs cones for soccer practice at the OCHS practice last week. (Samuel Higgs/The Oglethorpe Echo)
Elevated coaching style, new rotation of players and exciting gameday culture are focal points for the Oglethorpe County boys soccer team this season.
The environment surrounding the Patriots is something that coach Erich Forschler is passionate about.
He aims to implement a better “gameday culture,” where the school’s band is in attendance while partnered with the themed promotional nights to put fans in the stands.
“I would love to do things where we get more fans and we've got some great parents that support behind the scenes,” Forschler said.
Forschler will coach both the boys and girls teams this spring. The girls games will start two hours before the boys when they play on the same days.
The Patriots and Lady Patriots open the season at Madison County on Friday, Feb. 9.
“I want both teams (boys and girls), every player, to just get better every day,” Forschler said. “I want to finish every training session, every game and feel like I can look at the team as a whole and each individual player and see some type of growth, as well as seeing some growth in myself.”
The Patriots won the region with a 4-2 mark last season, but were 5-10 overall. They picked up their first playoff victory since 2017 with a 2-1 win over Galloway, but were eliminated by Armuchee in the second round of the Class A Division I tournament.
“We made the playoffs because there's only four teams in the region,” Forschler said. “So everything is about winning in the playoffs, everything that we do, we build to win in the playoffs.”
OCHS will rely on the experience that comes from a roster loaded with juniors and seniors. However, the team is counting on contributions from Sergio Rios, who is from Spain.
Rios is a “really talented, very technical player, smart player, very confident player,” Forschler said. “I think he’ll do well for us.”
Senior center back Michael Orlowsky, a captain, also is expected to make a major impact this year. He not only wants to improve his play on the field, but to be an extra line of motivation for those on the team.
“Get better at being a leader,” Orlowsky said. “Be more confident in my abilities and help my teammates be better than theirs.”