ANDERSON — Madison County girls soccer coaches are always encouraged to see new players participating each fall, but as area programs promoting youth soccer decline, so too has the interest in the sport. As a result, many newcomers learn the game in high school, and county coaches have often relied on their most experienced players to aid in the learning process.

Anderson High School coach Randy Harrison said the sport is at a loss locally without feeder programs like Anderson Blitz bringing girls into soccer at a younger age.

“That’s the problem we’re running into with our team as far as finding girls who have played year-round, or at least sometime in the offseason,” Harrison said.

Pendleton Heights High School has fared better in its recreation programs, and girls soccer coach Brian Simpson said the results have shown by the Arabians’ success, falling just short at last year’s sectional final. Still, even he admits Pendleton has faced similar fluctuations in numbers from year to year — featuring just two seniors on this year’s team.

But without Blitz, Simpson said he sympathizes for Harrison and other Madison County coaches.

“It’s almost like it’s going to get worse for them unless they can get the kids into the club,” Simpson said. “I feel awful. That’s not what we want — we want soccer to grow.”

Both Harrison and first-year Highland High School coach Kyle Davey said they will rely on key veterans to serve as both captains and field generals. Where experience lacks, both coaches agreed their less-tenured soccer players make up in heart.

“We seem to be very athletic,” Davey said after watching his team practice for the first time this week. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to surprise some teams this year and get a couple wins under our belt.”

Harrison said the Indians will feature four members who have played together most their lives, dating back to 7 and 8 years old. Now the leaders of their team, Ashley Graveley, Marissa Woschitz, Kalie Harrison and goalkeeper Hannah Harrison have also been asked to take on a larger duty this preseason.

“I rely on those girls a lot to be instructors as well,” Harrison said. “It’s not only because they’re seniors, it’s because they’re good leaders and we have such limited time to teach.”

According to Davey, the Scots return a large portion of last year’s team, and even gained some transfers from other schools and sports. Still with plenty of newcomers to the game, he said it is vital improvement be measured on the field and not by wins and losses.

“With teaching the game to new girls, you want to be able to see that progress as the season goes along,” Davey said. “In years’ past when I’ve coached club, I have seen them in practice be able to do that and they go out and do it in the game.”

Davey not only will coach his former high school, but he will also have the opportunity to coach against Simpson, his one-time Anderson University teammate.

Simpson has seen the Arabians’ numbers rise overall, although his freshman class is down from 15 to six this season. He said many girls in Pendleton do get involved at soccer at a young age, only to eventually dedicate more time to softball — an area favorite.

Despite fielding a fairly young squad, Simpson said expectations are as high as ever. Both the Hoosier Heritage Conference championship and sectional final are among the goals he has outlined for his team.