When first-year Fulton head coach Joel Henley took the boys' soccer team job, he knew he would have a major rebuild on his hands.
The Hornets were just 4-19-1 last year and at the end of the season, Fulton only had 16 active players on the roster. The team struggled with depth as underclassmen were forced into roles they may not have been ready for.
The dire results of last season did, however, produce a positive - experience. Most of last year's starters are back, including a strong group of seniors and an influx of newcomers that Henley will rely upon to change the culture.
"We've got a group of seniors - we have eight in total and a good crop of nine freshmen," Henley said. "So we have senior leadership mixed with some good, young guys. The seniors have really taken the younger guys under their wings this week."
The Hornets are now up to 25 players and have gained some much-needed depth, which should help the team improve. The increased numbers could be attributed to the rise in expectations set by Henley.
After accepting the position, Henley quickly challenged his team to think big, and so far his players have responded.
"We believe we have a team that should be at the .500 mark this year," Henley said. "We said from the beginning - in our first meeting with them we told them we expected to be at a .500 level and to contend for a district title. I really feel like that's a possibility and my guys do as well."
Getting the players to buy into the program was just the first thing Henley needed to accomplish in his rebuild plan. The next? Putting the Hornets through a rigorous summer schedule.
The team alternated between the weight room and open-field workouts throughout every week. Henley also mixed in 7-on-7 scrimmages and the Hornets went through five days of camp before the dead period at the end of July. The coaching staff was more than pleased with the development of the team and it's already seeing the fruits of its labor paying off in fall practice.
"Well, we certainly had a busy summer," Henley said. "Boy, they've come a long way too. From where we were at the beginning of the summer to where we are today has been a huge difference. I'm excited about their progress."
The Hornets began fall practice last Monday and Henley has seen massive strides in the team's ball-handling and passing skills. The first week of practice concluded with an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday.
With an offseason and a week's worth of practice in the books, the early returns on the Hornets has Henley feeling even more optimistic than when he accepted the job.
"Obviously it's still very early in the season, but we did some things really well," Henley said. "We still have some things we need to work on, but overall we were very pleased with how they did and how they came out. They're working very hard and as a coaching staff we're satisfied with where they are now after one week of practice."
The Hornets will scrimmage one more time at Meet the Hornets night Thursday at the high school athletic complex. Fulton will then travel to Sedalia for jamboree scrimmages at Sacred Heart next Saturday. Fulton will square off against Knob Noster, Fatima and Sacred Heart.
Fulton will kick off the regular season at home against Father Tolton at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18.