Attention to detail, versatility spur Vandegrift’s run to state
Jonathan Winship hopes the sleeping giant has awakened.
Winship, who is in his third year as coach of the Vandegrift boys soccer team, long thought the Vipers program had enormous potential when he viewed it from afar earlier in his coaching career. After a successful stint at Northeast, he took over the program in 2022. The Vipers had won only one district title and one playoff game since opening in 2009.
Fast forward to now, and Vandegrift (22-2-2) will play in the Class 6A state semifinals Friday against Lewisville Flower Mound (22-2-2) at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown.
“It’s always been a marquee location — at least that’s how I viewed it as a budding soccer coach,” Winship said. “Their past success wasn’t sustained. Having the background of what we did at Northeast to grind to get success, combining that with what was already in place, I thought the possibilities here were limitless.”
Winship is quick to point out that he isn’t the key to what Vandegrift has done this spring; it’s the commitment of the players to detail and their abilities. What’s spurred the Vipers came more than a year ago when they lost to Lake
Travis in the first round of the playoffs.
Though there was no shame in losing to a good Cavaliers team that was the defending state champion and shared the District 26-6A title, it put a strong desire into Vandegrift’s players for a lengthy playoff run.
“We have a really good senior class, and I really do believe that our failure last year when they were juniors was really impactful on them,” Winship said. “The seniors that returned looked in the mirror and said, ‘What do we need to fix?’ The bottom line was the culture. We grinded in the offseason in the nonsoccer things, and that created a culture and bond within the players.”
The Vipers are loaded with future college players who have the ability to change soccer tactics on the fly. Whether it’s a conservative formation with most players farther back on the field or an aggressive, wide-open method, the Vipers are comfortable.
“We have a certain style of play that what we want to do, but if it’s not working, we can change,” Winship said. “The team is very adaptable based on various styles of the opposition.”
Senior midfielder Emmy Aranda noted that the players are special with the ball.
“We like to move it around quickly, and if we can’t do that we’ll go over them,” he said. “We like to have possession, and even if we can’t, we have a really good backline and defense. It’s creating chances and our ability on the ball that’s a strong point.”