Trinity senior captain led team in multiple ways

November 22, 2018

Sidney Hoene began playing soccer at an early age, and it quickly became her favorite sport.

After playing up until the fourth grade and one year of club soccer, she took some time off from the pitch.

She then picked up the sport her freshman year at Trinity Lutheran High School.

She played a wing position her freshman and sophomore seasons before moving into a scoring role.

“Once I began progressing more and I began kicking the ball into the goal, that is when (coach Jeff Nolting) put me as a forward,” Hoene said.

Hoene excelled at that position, as she led the Cougars in goals this season with 16, including four against Rising Sun.

“Scoring was my favorite part, and it will definitely be my most memorable,” the Cougars’ 2018 most valuable player said.

She said she liked playing on the right side of the field at the beginning of the season.

“But by the end, I was pretty comfortable with both of my feet,” she said.

Hoene said most of her goals came off of good communication.

“Communication is key for me,” she said. “When I see through balls and I see how someone from the midfield can place it perfectly to where I can shoot, you’ve got to yell so they hear you. Eye contact is a big part of it, too. I always show them where they can lead me.”

Hoene said teamwork and working hard in practice are important.

“Without teamwork, you would not be able to do any of it,” she said. “From the goalie on forward, every position matters. The goalie sees the whole field, the defense is stopping everything and the midfield basically works up so us forwards can score. Everyone works hard. Every single position works hard.

“If you go 100 percent at practice, then you can see what it will be like in a game, basically. What you do at practice is how you perform in a game. I believe the harder you work, the harder you will play. You have to play hard the whole game. You can’t give up.”

The senior enjoyed being selected a team captain the past two years and filling that leadership role.

She also liked playing at Trinity, including being on the field with her sister, Kirstin, for two years.

“The home matches were my favorite because we’d have larger crowds and the boys team would always come to support us at the home games, and it just gave you a good feeling,” Hoene said. “The evening matches were definitely cooler matches because the sun would be going down, but the Saturday matches were fun because there would be a lot of people here.”

Hoene also had a good experience being a student at Trinity.

“I enjoy how it’s a small environment,” she said. “I like knowing everybody at the school, and it’s kind of like one big family. We worship together, we pray together and we win and lose together. The teachers do the best they can to get us prepared for college.”

She said soccer will be one of the main things she remembers.

“Just because of all the bus rides and all of the laughs, how we won and lost together,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade soccer for the world. It was probably my best experience here. We were still always there for each other.

“Probably my second-best memorable thing I do here is FFA because we’re really close and we have a lot of fun together,” said Hoene, who is president of the FFA chapter this school year.

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Name: Sidney Hoene

High school: Trinity Lutheran

Parents: Eric and Johnni Hoene

Sibling: Kirstin

Sports: Soccer, four years; tennis, two years

Athletic highlights: 2018 most valuable player award, 2016 most improved award and three-time all-county team in soccer

Organizations: Student ambassador, FFA (president), Culture Club, musical, 4-H

Plans after high school: Attend Purdue University and study elementary education

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