CV soccer coach hopes to build program to one of the best in the state

When Andres Monrroy arrived at Central Valley High School to coach boys and girls soccer, he had some specific objectives.

Winning league titles weren’t necessarily among them. His were loftier.

They still are, and the undefeated Bears will take another step toward once again reaching them Friday at 3 p.m. at CV, weather permitting, where they will face their arch-rivals from University in the regional championship game.

“My goal as a coach is to build a program that is one of the best programs in the state of Washington with the commitment of the players wanting to become better and with the support of my coaching staff and the community,” he said. “We are undefeated. I am so proud of my girls and what they have accomplished this year. The Greater Spokane League is such a tough league and to go through it undefeated is an accomplishment.

“But we’re not satisfied by winning the GSL. We want something bigger than that.”

Monrroy has had those goals for both CV programs, boys and girls. And both have risen to meet them.

“The expectations are the same,” he said. “We want to compete. When we step on the field, we’re going to compete, and we’re going to strive to be one of the best teams in the state. Every year.”

Monrroy doesn’t choose to talk in terms of winning state titles as his goal, per se. Instead, he talks about reaching the state semifinal round and finishing the season with the chance to play for a state championship.

Once a Class 4A program reaches Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Washington for the chance to play for the title, anything can happen.

The boys reached the Final Four for the third straight year this past spring. The Bears have finished second, third and fourth.

The girls are back on the road to state for the first time since the Bears won back-to-back state titles in 2013 and 2014. This year’s seniors were part of the second of those two state titles, and winning a third state championship trophy is the prize they’ve had their eye on their whole career.

This year’s team is very much different than those two state championship teams, Monrroy is quick to point out. In fact, he will tell you, they are extraordinarily difficult to scout, difficult to game plan for, and definitely more dangerous on the field.

“Those two state title teams were built around one outstanding player,” he explains, referring to Kelsey Turnbull. “This year we are much more dangerous because we have so many more players capable of scoring at any time. That’s what makes us difficult to scout because the player who stars for us one game may not be the one who stars for us the next.

“You can’t build a plan to play us for that very same reason.”

Teams with an outstanding player play with an eye toward feeding her the ball. The Bears with Turnbull were an exception to the way the coach likes to structure his teams.

That first CV squad without Turnbull had its struggles, but the coach insists this year’s success was forged out of the way these seniors handled that adversity.

“I am coaching teenaged girls,” Monrroy said. “But teenaged girls do mature, and this year we are another year older.”

His teams characteristically play exceptionally tough defense with a speedy, fluid midfield.

In fact, the Bears led the GSL with the fewest goals allowed, Monrroy pointed out.

It is not out of character to see defenders flow out of the back line to join the attack if an opportunity presents itself.

“That’s what I like to see,” he said. “My midfielders can just as easily play forward and my forwards can just as easily play the midfield.

“We want to make it fun, and I think the kids like playing this style of soccer.”

For either program, he said, it’s not a difficult sell for him to ask players to prioritize the goals of the team over their individual goals.

“It’s easier than you would think,” he said. “These girls, especially, love representing CV. They love being Bears.”

This year’s squad dealt with a few injuries over the course of the regular season, but having depth at CV had never been a challenge.

“That’s the thing about CV – we have so much talent to work with and that’s true for every sport,” he said. “The soccer programs that feed into the school are so strong. Not only was our varsity this year undefeated, our JV was undefeated and our C Squad was undefeated as well.

“The hardest week of the season for me is that first week. I hate having to cut players – especially kids that I have in class and that I work with. It’s an incredibly stressful time for me because these are good kids who could make the varsity at another GSL school. I think you could make a competitive team out of the 20 or 30 kids we end up having to cut.”