CV soccer team bleaches hair for unity

The Central Valley boys soccer team will make it to state this year – or dye trying.

In a recent senior class moment, Bears midfielders Alex Renz and Luc Torres scratched their heads and came up with a colorful idea for team togetherness.

“We were hanging out one weekend, and we said to each other, ‘Let’s go bleach our hair,’ and then we thought we should do that for the soccer team,” Renz said.

Renz and fellow seniors Chris Stokesbary and Lucas Schneidmiller don’t hesitate to say why: “Bonding,” they said in unison before practice Monday afternoon at CV.

They bonded at the hairstylists – “a couple of us, it was fun,” Renz said.

That was a bit expensive, so they did some research.

“Good Housekeeping has a lot more stuff than you think,” Schneidmiller said.

They’ve taken it even further, with color codes by class: a simple bleach job for seniors, blue for juniors and green for sophomores.

The lone freshman, defender Braden Corigliano, wakes up every morning with pink hair.

“They look good, and it’s a good example of how they think of themselves as a team,” said head coach Andres Monrroy, who was less surprised by the bleach jobs than the fact that his Bears are the consensus favorite to win the Greater Spokane League.

Central Valley finished fifth last year with a 7-6 record and was eliminated at district, but returns six starters in a year where much of the league is rebuilding.

“Honestly, I was surprised,” Monrroy said. “How we finished last year was disappointing to us. We have a lot of returnees, but we are losing most defenders, and that makes me nervous.”

The nerves will be tested early this year. After opening the season Wednesday with a 1-0 victory against Shadle Park, the Bears travel Friday to Mead, a perennial power that’s picked second by most coaches.

“I’m glad it’s early, because we have everyone healthy,” Monrroy said.

“We’re a blue-collar team that works hard,” said Monrroy, who has won two GSL titles. “They have great attitudes and work their butts off.”

Stokesbary will be the lone senior in the Bears’ flat-four defense.

“We definitely need to communicate,” Stokesbary said.

Renz and Schneidmiller will anchor the midfield.