As the winter season approaches, the Cape Coral High School soccer department is facing some changes. Most notably, the department will be getting a new head coach, Bruno Franco.
Franco was the commissioner of the Cape Coral Soccer Association for several years, additionally being involved with the recreational program. Franco has been playing soccer for most of his life, both recreationally and at a higher level.
“Yeah, so I played in Brazil for three years. And I played here, of course, in high school, when I was growing up as well. It was a great experience. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pursue it at a pro level but I played at the highest level that I was able to play at that time,” explained Franco.
Franco played soccer in Brazil for three years in 2017 before moving back to the US after suffering an injury. Franco has previous experience as the JV coach of the soccer team here at Cape High in 2021. This year, Scott Widor, a teacher from Mariner High School will be the new JV coach.
Franco has also been involved in soccer teams through Cape Coral in the past 12 years, coaching from U8 up to U17. As a result, he already knows most of the soccer players through prior interactions.
“What helps me is that now I know a lot of the kids from the past since they were four or five, six years old,” explained Franco. “I coached them at some point or was around them at some point.”
Senior Henry Word has been playing soccer since he was four. Franco was the coach for the Cyclone team when Word was in 6th grade, and he’s known him since then.
“He’s Brazilian so there’s definitely a lot of flair but he is really a great coach, a lot of flair is kind of a joke,” said Word. “He’s very down to earth, talks to the players a lot, communicates with us, has a strong game plan, and makes sure everyone is happy with the team and knows their role.
Junior Nazayer Franco, Bruno Franco’s son and soccer player, agreed saying, “He encourages you by pushing you to your limits; he also knows when you need a rest. His experience is really good. He’s been coaching for 10 almost 12 years now. He’s played soccer before for almost his whole entire life.”
In the span of three years, the boys soccer coach has changed three times. Consequently, the players have struggled to get used to the frequent changes.
“We had Gross and then we had a new coach. He had to leave this season, but he made the district finals last year. Sadly, we lost but that’s just how the game is and it’s tough. But I’m really happy with Bruno now coming as coach and I couldn’t be more comfortable.”
Cross Country Coach Robert Berkey agreed saying, “I think in terms of what the boys soccer team here at the school needs, he’ll be a good fit. I’m hoping that he can be tough on them to pull out of them what they’re actually capable of, but I know in terms of mentality and pushing them he’s going to do a great job.”
As the new coach, Franco is hoping to not make any major changes to the soccer department and instead wants to build upon the strengths demonstrated by the team. However, a small addition he’s made is weight training as part of conditioning.
“I want him to implement a new playing style which he probably will, and he’s also doing weights practice so that’s a new thing that we have been doing,” said Junior Alexander Murillo, a varsity soccer player who has been playing soccer since the age of seven.
In addition to getting past districts and regionals as champions, Franco has a few more objectives to tackle in his first season as head coach. He wants to focus on rebuilding the JV program and making sure JV players are prepared to join varsity soccer in the future.
Franco is also prioritizing mitigating injuries, considering already four key players are unable to play for at least four weeks due to injuries.
“So the challenge is having healthy players and keeping the players healthy,” said Franco. “Because throughout the high school season, you lose a lot of key players to injuries. So I want to focus on preventing injuries during the season because these kids just don’t stretch enough.”
The tryouts for boys soccer were held on October 17th and approximately 29 players were already cleared by the athletics department, a record compared to last year’s enrollment. The season started on October 30th, and their first game is on November 17th.
The soccer team as a whole is looking forward to a new season with Coach Franco at the helm. “He’s very open, all the players are very comfortable with and we can joke around with him,” said Word. “It’s just a very good environment. I know Bruno is a great coach, and he’s gonna bring a lot of tactics to the team. And I think we have all the talent that can make it that far.
