- December 16, 2024
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It’s a cool December evening at the Out-of-Door Academy and the sunset stretches blood-orange over the football field.
The girls varsity soccer team is hosting Braden River and the setting is tranquil, idyllic. All seems right in the world.
Except for one thing. The Thunder players are losing badly.
Braden River led ODA 3-0 at the half and the Pirates would go on to shut out ODA 5-0.
This was unfamiliar territory for an ODA team that was 5-1 leading to its matchup with Braden River Dec. 5. ODA, under third year Head Coach Wayne Ramsey, is not used to losing. In 2023-24, the Thunder went undefeated in the regular season with a 12-0-1 record en route to capturing the Sunshine State Athletic Association tournament for the second year in a row.
ODA has found its legs under Ramsey, making a name for itself as a hard-nosed, gutsy soccer program. Leading into the matchup, ODA was averaging 4.5 goals a game. But ODA was against a wall as it was missing some key players due to illness. ODA was helpless against Braden River’s powerful offensive attack and unable to get its own offense in any kind of rhythm. They were, at least for one game, out matched.
Ramsey’s players walked off the field at the half visibly frustrated. They haven't been used to losing.
The coach wasn’t panicked, however. In some ways, the loss was beneficial.
In the past couple years of Ramsey’s tenure, ODA has functioned like an orca in one of the very small lakes that surrounds the upper-school’s campus. The Thunder have beaten up on the teams in their immediate weight class — the two SSAA state titles are evidence of that. They have been very good, winning 12 regular season games last season is nothing to scoff at, but Ramsey wants his players to be great.
In 2023, ODA lost 3-0 to Cambridge Christian in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament (ODA competes at the state level in both the SSAA and in the Class 2A tournament). Last season, ODA the 1-seed in its district, lost to Imagine School at North Port in the first round of the 2A district tournament and fell to Naples First Baptist Academy in the opening round of the 2A regional tournament.
Success in the district and regional 2A tournaments are the next steps that Ramsey wants the program to take. Getting there, he realizes, will take some growing pains.
“At this time in the year, our focus is not necessarily to win games,” said Ramsey. “It’s more directed toward being the best version of us and playing the highest level of competition that we can play.”
It’s why Ramsey has scheduled matches with teams like 5A Braden River, 6A Palmetto and Riverview, a 7A powerhouse. He wants his players to be uncomfortable. He wants them to experience adversity, so that when push comes to shove at the district tournaments in later January, ODA is the team doing the shoving.
Ramsey wants his players to put the team first in every sense of the phrase. In some cases it means abandoning all for the greater good.
Senior Ellie Hierholzer, who was the MVP of the team last season as a defender and is the captain this year, has switched to goalkeeper this season for the first time in her career.
Why? Because the team needed her.
“She made a sacrifice for the team and has become very capable in goal,” said Ramsey. “It was a statement from a captain to say, ‘All right, I’ll play a position I’ve never played before’ for the good of the team.'”
Hierholzer, who plays on ODA’s volleyball and lacrosse teams, possesses both the athleticism and the instincts to be a strong goalkeeper. At 5-foot-8, Hierholzer is long and limber, yet explosive enough to react quickly to oncoming attacks and cover large swaths of the net. Her best skill, however, said Ramsey, is her ability to function as a conductor of sorts while in goal, directing the players upfield.
“Because she has great feet, we’re able to drop a lot of balls back to her,” said Ramsey. “That allows her to distribute the ball around and switch the point of attack for us,” said Ramsey.
The team has had to do more roster manipulation this season after graduating two of its leading scorers, Abbey Burwood and Charlie Hugill, last season. Burwood, who Ramsey said might’ve set the ODA record for goals scored had he not moved her to defense in 2023, and Hugill are "irreplaceable."
Sophomore Maggie Yull switches between outside back and forward depending on the matchup. Eighth grader Elle Rice, who was a forward last year, has spent time as a defensive midfielder this season. The speedy freshman Avery Rice has been moved from holding midfielder to outside back this year.
So far, that fluidity has paid dividends. The Thunder players are not dominated by one or two scorers, but instead are a cohesive unit. Yull, who scored 5 goals in 13 games last season, has matched her season total in six games in 2024. Senior Katherine Triola is second on the team with four goals and four other players, including Elle and Avery Rice, have three apiece.
It’s a pattern that’s reflective of the culture Ramsey is trying to build. It’s a culture of winning and sacrifice, of teammates that are willing to go the extra mile to see one another succeed. It’s a culture that for ODA, is necessary for it to compete with bigger programs.
