UMF Women’s Soccer coaches Molly Wilkie ’06 and Bethany Lebel ’14 reflect on the making and meaning of this year’s team picture.
By Marc Glass, September 2019
The 2019 UMF Women’s Soccer team.* (Photo by Bethany Lebel ’14.)
Take a good, long look at the photo above and ask yourself what you see.
A) A phalanx of powerful, self-assured student-athletes?
B) A team that’s ready to defend its 2018 North Atlantic Conference Championship title?
C) A group of veterans and eight first-year players that forged an unbreakable bond over 10 grueling days of preseason practice?
This is one time when D) All of the Above is a safe bet.
UMF Head Women’s Soccer Coach Molly Wilkie ’06 and her Assistant Coach (and former goalie) Bethany Lebel ’14 organized the arresting photo of the 2019 squad late in the afternoon on September 3, the first day of classes.
That Tuesday was also the last day of preseason practice, a milestone for any college athletic team, and a natural point of reflection — for the coaches as well as the players.
“As coaches, we spend a lot of preseason learning about the women, asking ourselves, Are they gelling as a team? Who is this team?” says Wilkie. “It’s important to gain that insight in those 10 days because we won’t see them nearly as much once classes begin.”
UMF Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach Bethany Lebel ’14 (left) and Head Coach Molly Wilkie ’06. (Photo by Marc Glass.)
Lebel says the image was taken after the final preseason “shoutouts,” a team ritual in which individuals verbally acknowledge each other for exemplifying their shared values: accountability, communication, growth, grit, passion, and respect.
Having heaped praise on each other for demonstrating the standards of behavior that are integral to achieving their goals, they were ready to strike the power pose — for Instagram, yes, but also to convey something to themselves and the world.
“I think the photo says they’re united and ready to compete as such,” says Lebel. “They didn’t care who the opponent was. They just wanted to play the game.”
“When you are a member of our team, you belong to a special group. That’s what I want people to see in the photo,” says Wilkie. “All of these women will have your back, on and off the field — and long after graduation. It never goes away.”
When asked what they want their student-athletes to see in the photo, Wilkie and Lebel were unified in their response.
“I want them to see themselves as worthy of what they are working toward,” says Lebel.
“I think young women too often think they have to be something other than themselves to have value and worth for other people. There are so many opportunities in sports and life not to feel worthy,” Wilkie says. “I want them to see themselves as always worthy, regardless of their circumstances and struggles. That’s what I want them to take with them into the world.”
*Here are the members of the 2019 UMF Women’s Soccer Team (left to right): Justice Merrill, Mikayla Cameron, Emily Boyle, Heather Kinee, Eden LeBlanc, Elena Guarino, Fern Calkins, Emily Larochelle, Libby Ouellette, Callie Hammer, McKenna Brodeur, Morgann Tortorella, Destiny Clough, Mia Gale, Simone Martin, Adriana Novella, Haley Fletcher, Paige Ring, Chelsea Davis, Abriana Deslauriers, Emily Kelley, and Leah Stevens.