Hawks soccer team rides team approach into 2025

Waltham High School head coach Cristiano Casalini stakes his team’s reputation on operating as one unit.

This philosophy has the Hawks primed for some success this fall.

“We have been spending a lot of time on the field together and it is going to be exciting,” Casalini said. “The environment is thriving. In my eyes, the players are the same. We can go well together, or we can go bad together. But, I am pretty sure from what I am seeing that we have a solid team and a solid spirit.”

The Hawks finished off their preseason by scrimmaging Catholic Memorial and experiencing some highlights. It will be a driven, hardworking bunch taking the pitch at WHS this year.

“These kids are committed and they are positive with one another,” Casalini said. “I feel like we can go far.”

The Hawks are seeking to establish an enjoyable mentality when playing the game. This is something that can get lost in the grand scheme of high school sports.

“The first thing we want to do is to have fun on the field,” said Casalini, who became the head coach at Waltham before last season. “Soccer is a game, right? If you don’t go on the pitch with joy, there is nothing good that comes out of it. We can be competitive, but the competition comes after the idea that we have fun playing soccer.”

The mindset applies to the coaching staff, as well.

“I need to have fun when we go to the field, also,” said Casalini, a  native of Italy  who moved to the United States seven years ago to coach soccer. “This leads to us having good sessions. This is something that we have been working on, but it is very easy with this group of good kids. The chemistry is going to be created by having fun with sessions that are meaningful.”

In any sport, the last thing a player wants from their coaching staff is to spend the entire practice running wind sprints rather than working on skills and scrimmaging. That won’t be a problem under Casalini’s leadership.

“We are going to have sessions with the ball,” Casalini said. “Sessions that run fast with great intensity. The sign that the practice is good is when players are wondering if two hours have already passed by the time we are done. This is happening and it’s what we want to see. The chemistry will be built upon this spirit. Obviously, we have rules. The most important rule is to be positive with your teammates and respect the coaches and referees.”

This enthusiastic energy will be the guiding light for the Hawks as they look to build on last season’s 4-10-2 campaign.