When Sean Henry took over the Greenville High School boys soccer program five years ago, this was the vision he had.
Coach Henry’s Hornets are in the midst of their best season ever. They have an 8-3-2 record and have already won the Region 3-5A title. The Hornets will have a first round bye when the MHSAA soccer state playoffs begin in a few weeks.
“This is surreal how much we have improved over these last few years. We first started to achieve minor goals and now we are achieving big goals,” Coach Henry said.
Coach Henry is a native of the small soccer-loving Caribbean nation of Trinidad. He came to the United States on a track scholarship that he received from Alcorn State University. His specialty was the 400-meter hurdles.
After graduation, Coach Henry stayed to be an educator in the Delta, spending his first 14 years in the Leland School District. He currently teaches seventh grade science at TL Weston Middle School, where this year he was named the Teacher of the Year at the School.
While he is far from home, Coach Henry has never lost his passion for the sport of the soccer. One of his biggest joys, he said, is that his players now share the same passion for the game as he does.
During their 6-1 home victory over Vicksburg on Tuesday night, the Hornets love for ‘the beautiful game’ was on full display. The Greenville boys started the game by high-fiving the players on the Greenville girls soccer team, who had just completed their game. Then, once the game started, the players were constantly communicating with each other and encouraging each other.
“These players all saw how much fun we were having playing soccer. The one thing that I made sure of is that they have all had fun playing the sport. Since they love playing the game so much, they always try their best,” he said.
One of the biggest keys to the Hornets’ success this season is that the players on the team are usually in better shape than their opponents. This, said their coach, is because many of the players also compete in cross country and track and field.
Some of the key players on the Hornets this season include sophomore center midfielder Benjamin Davenport, senior striker Sher’Mon Young, freshman attacking forward Willie Wilson Jr., sophomore sweeper Jacob
Turner and eighth grader Brycen Davenport, who is the leading goal scorer on the team.
