The Brookhaven Lady Bears soccer team is ready to defend their title as national champions. It will not be easy, but head coach Jimmy Elder is ready for the challenge.

Brookhaven has won three national championships in the past four years. After losing 75% of the team since last season, they must rebuild and prove they are the best. However, Elder will not let the team change stop them. He said winning is not a one-time thing, but an all-time thing. And he wants to win all the time.

“It’s a lot of hard work but it’s all heading toward a direction and a goal that not very many athletes get a chance to achieve, which is [a] national championship,” Elder said. “And we know that we’re going to be in the top 10 in the country every year.”

With few returning players on the team, the sophomores must get the freshmen on board fast. “[We sophomores need to keep] preparing them not only for conference but for the championship as well and so everyone’s pretty fired up to get ready for this season,” Sophomore Captain Ivy Jimenez said. “And I think they’re doing really well so far with all the information they’re given in such a short time.”

Not only is on-field chemistry vital, but how they work together off the field is invaluable. “I think that’s one thing we kind of struggled [with] in the beginning of the season,” Jimenez said. “We kind of focused on ourselves.”

But it didn’t take long for things to click. “I think [we’re a] lot better and we’re all like friends and the chemistry on the field is really starting to show,” freshman Mia Perez said.

Jimenez also saw the change occur. “We’re gonna do everything as a team, but not only as a team but a family,” she said.

To be the best, work ethic and mindset are essential, and the team has those. “I really like how intense our practices are and how we’re always pushed to be champions; have a champion mindset,” Perez said.

Not only are the players on board, but the coaches also want it all. “[We want] to break every record possible to make sure that Brookhaven is the most successful junior college in the country,” assistant coach Robert Williams said.

Elder describes champions, including his players, as the Michael Jordans of their sport. They are super fierce and competitive in everything they do.

The coaches not only prepare their athletes for the season but their lives ahead of them. Elder always tells his athletes to be the best they can be and to not let any hurdle ever get in their way. “They definitely prepared me for what’s ahead,” Jimenez said.

The quest for another national championship is in full swing. There will be blood, sweat and tears that pour out of the Lady Bears. They are fierce and confident they can win a fourth national title. Jimenez said: “We’re ready. We’re coming.”