It’s more than half way through the boys soccer season in Elk Grove High School, and head coach Alex Stavropoulos has seen much more mental growth and improvement in his squad this year.

For Stavropoulos, that is made obvious by how he speaks regarding the team’s performance on the field this year. At the start of the season, the Grenadiers had started off with a 3-0 record, but the team started to struggle getting winning results over the last few weeks.

“In every game, we fight until the very end,” Mr. Stavropoulos said.

But with that fight, the team at times has encountered a few unlucky finishes. During some games over the past

three weeks, the Grenadiers managed to lose at the last minute or during overtime over the course of season.

But with those ups and downs, Stavropoulos has relied on a few strong senior leaders. They include Paul Jonas (defense), Alex Pillath (defense), Brandon Lazcano- Llanos (midfielder) and Nazar Peron (forward).

Compared to last year’s finish, the team has grown in its ability to play defense. According to Stavropoulos, the entire Grenadiers roster has transformed into a “collective” unit to make it difficult for other teams to break down.

One thing Stavropoulos wants to highlight for this year is that there has been a lot of team building exercises, plus a few team trips.

“We’ve worked with Battle Tested [team training group in Illinois], who’ve really helped our boys develop physically and mentally,” Stavropoulos says.

In addition to games this season, the team has taken weekend visits to Lake Forest College and Carthage College. These trips resulted in team bonding opportunities that has solidified the soccer team as a collective unit.

Through the last part of the 2018 season, Stavropoulos remains optimistic for his Grenadiers squad.

“We’ve made a much stronger team, and we’re trending in the right direction,” he said.

The team faces Wheaton-Warrenville South High School at home on Saturday, Oct. 13. By publishing date, the lower level teams played in various tournaments.