This season the Fountain Hills High School girls soccer team is under the guidance of a new coach, a coach who is eager to help his team accomplish its goal of making a run at the state tournament.

The Lady Falcons’ season opener will be at home on Tuesday, Dec. 3, against Phoenix Country Day. The match will start at 4 p.m.

New head coach, Ken Waterbury, has been playing soccer most of his life. In high school he played at the 6A school, Mountain Ridge, where he was captain for two years before going on to play in college at the University of Dallas.

Waterbury said he now wants to be a part of the game in a different capacity.

“After ending a six-year service in the Army National Guard, I made it my goal to continue my work in soccer no longer as a player, but as a coach who could develop players to go beyond any level I played at,” Waterbury explained. “After a couple seasons coaching youth soccer and doing individual training I was awarded the position to coach the girls team at FHHS, where I expect to be for many years.”

As a new coach, Waterbury wanted to listen to what each player’s goals for the year were – individually and as a team – and make it his goal to help them accomplish those goals.

“Based on what the girls hope to accomplish, as a team we will be looking to compete in the quarter-finals at a minimum,” Waterbury said. “I, personally, would like to see a growth in the program year over year, with more girls coming out to be a part of the program next season after hearing about our success and the amount of fun we have while achieving it.”

Waterbury said he is extremely happy with the diversity of the team this year.

“We have a very diverse group of girls competing this season with a wide range of soccer aptitude and experience,” Waterbury said. “Not only do we have a number of extremely talented upperclassmen, we have a strong base of younger players as well that I expect to play a large role over the next few years. The wide range of talent has been extremely beneficial thus far, as the girls are being regularly challenged and given the opportunity to help their teammates grow.”

Waterbury said he is excited to see how the players evolve as he introduces more changes.

“I'm looking forward to seeing the girls grow in their knowledge on the field,” Waterbury said. “We anticipate setting up in a new formation and the girls are already showing a great understanding of what we want to accomplish and how to go about it. I’m most looking forward to seeing the girls grow in their confidence in this set-up and see them performing at our peak level in it.”