If there is one thing the Ignacio High School boys basketball team has proved, it’s that success starts at the youth level.
Oscar Cosio wants to see his IHS girls soccer team build success, and that is why he is trying to build up the youth programs in town.
“We play against tough teams who have players participating in club soccer. To be at the level some of these schools in our league are, it is all about starting them young. That’s what I’ve been doing here in the community since I took over the team.”
The Bobcats went 0-12 in 2013 and 1-10 in 2012. The team hasn’t recorded multiple wins in a season since 2009 when they went 2-8.
But Cosio is encouraged by the numbers turning out to play youth soccer. He said 75 Ignacio girls participated in Bayfield’s league in the fall.
“It is starting now more than ever. The only way we are going to get this going is to have girls coming in who have played many years before they get here,” Cosio said. “There are 200 kids in our youth basketball programs at the rec center, and you can see how that has made the basketball program strong year in and out. We want to do the same thing.”
This year’s Bobcats will be led by seniors Cheyenne Cook, Gabriela Garcia and Shannon Mestas. Cosio said a few other seniors will play important roles, too.
“We have a few strong seniors coming back. Some of them are just getting back with basketball just wrapping up,” Cosio said.
In their first game, the Bobcats fell to Telluride 6-0 while starting six freshman or sophomores. In their second game, they lost 9-0 to Pagosa Springs. Center beat Ignacio 10-0 on Friday.
Cosio’s main focus for this year’s team is to see improvement every game while setting a trend upward for the young girls on the team who will return for years to come.
“Each practice and each game, we want to get better. We are fairly young, and these girls will play a lot the next few years,” he said. “Everyone in our league is very tough. We will try to get some wins and be relevant in games. We want to be competitive, score some goals and let teams know Ignacio is up and coming.”
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
Center centers up Ignacio
Outmanned and outshot, the Ignacio Bobcats lost 4-0 at home to Center on Friday.
Bobcats goalkeeper Kristen Velasquez made 20 to 25 saves Friday, head coach Oscar Cosio estimated, but it wasn’t enough to keep Center from scoring. “Our goalie was getting pelted with shots all day, and she did really well for us,” Cosio said.
The Bobcats (0-3, 0-3 Intermountain League) were without six players against Center (2-1, 2-0 IML) on Friday, leaving just three substitutes for Cosio to plug in. Cosio said the six players were missing due to prior commitments and some of them being dual-sport athletes.
“We were shorthanded, but the girls we had played tough and awesome,” he said. “My defensive players, especially Jasmine Red, played really well. Red had a couple of direct shots at their goalie, but she made some really good saves.”
The Bobcats won’t play again until next Friday at home against Bayfield.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
