A new era has begun for the girls varsity soccer team as the team’s new coach, Megan Willette, has been given the reigns to the program. Willette, a former women’s college soccer player at NAIA Division I Lee University, is beginning her first season as the head coach of the girl’s team after a one year stint coaching for the junior varsity boys soccer team at CRLS.

While attending Lee University as a senior, Willette helped lead her team to the first National Championship of an eventual four-peat dynasty. Not only did Willette complete four years on the varsity soccer team, she also was a member of the Lee women’s basketball team, as a player for two years, and a graduate assistant for two more. 

She commented that a few of the things that she’ll bring from the college level are “the intensity of the training sessions, being organized [and] working hard the whole practice.” 

Andrew Millar ‘22, former Junior Varsity player under Willette, hammered home this point, saying Willette was an “inspiring person because she taught me how to be a good person and a good player [and] how to be responsible” and to “act like a professional.” 

As the new girls varsity coach, Willette said that “both programs, boys and girls, have been supportive and positive,” making the introduction to the coaching position both this year and last a relatively stress-free exchange. The main thing Willette has focused on this year is inserting her system and style of play into an already close-knit team. She has already begun to see progress in their implementation of the system. In addition, Willette is focused on getting her team and athletes to improve every day. Senior captain Margaux Harrington added “that one of the big things [Willette] does is that she asks us [every practice] if we’ve improved. Every practice we’re focusing on getting better, not just getting prepared for the next game.”

In a broader sense of the word progress, Willette is hoping to alter the fundamental structure of Cambridge girls soccer, including opening larger gateways at the youth level, as well as expanding offseason opportunities at the high school level, specifically summer training camps and conditioning programs. Harrington sees Willette as fostering a culture “having the players being more invested in the sport, and putting in more work.”

Willette explained that “I began volunteering when I was in high school as a coach, and when I was in college I used to coach for a girls U16 [Under 16] club team.” She continued, saying that she has “always loved mentoring youth.”

Willette moved to Cambridge in 2011, where she quickly became immersed in CRLS athletics, beginning as a girls basketball assistant, and later accepting the boys junior varsity head coach position.

While the girls’ season thus far has been plagued by injuries, Willette is striving to create a team that is a “space where girls are getting more than just soccer out of [the team], [including] friends and confidence.” To many, it seems she is doing just that.

This piece also appears in our September 2019 print edition.