Mark of consistency: Casperson has built Bloom-Carroll girls soccer into a powerhouse
CARROLL – Mark Casperson bleeds purple and gold, and when he took over as the head coach of the Bloom-Carroll girls’ soccer program 14 years ago, he not only had a plan and a vision, but he had a passion for coaching at his high school alma mater and change the narrative.
That passion has resulted in nine Mid-State League-Buckeye Division championships, and the Bulldogs are on the cusp of making 10 league titles during Casperson’s 14-year tenure.
As soon as he took the job, he wanted to raise the expectations of the program and to do that, he knew he had to change the culture, which meant he demanded more out of his players. Once the culture started to change, the wins began to pile up year after year.
“I went to Bloom-Carroll, so I had a passion when I came here to coach,” Casperson said. “I knew they had never won a league title or went far in the tournament, so I set high expectations when I got here and let our players know that’s what we are going to do. I want the girls to know they can have fun, but there is a time to be serious. I have two great assistant coaches (Dave Anders and Brooke Hull) that the girls can talk to and goof around with, but they know that I do care about winning, I care about them, but I also care about representing our school.
“There are different ways we can do that on and off the field, and overall, they hold themselves to those high expectations. I have had opportunities to coach at other places, but I am a Bulldog for life. It is a great school district. It is a special place and that’s why I love coaching here.”
A year ago, the Bulldogs finished the regular season unbeaten and entered the district final game with a 19-0 record before falling short against Granville. This year, Bloom-Carroll has a sparkling 11-1-2 record and is unbeaten in league play.
Building a culture of excellence
The players understand what they are getting into when they join the team. Casperson isn’t a screamer or yelling type coach by any means, but the players know he expects them to be focused when they step between the lines.
“He is a hard coach, and he expects a lot from us, junior Savannah Wilde said. “He puts us through a lot during training and he has high expectations for us, and he expects us to hold up to those expectations. It’s simply that. We have good players who keep coming in year after year, but at the end of the day, we put the work in, and it shows. He has taught us to be resilient. We lose good players every year, but he does a great job of building us back up each year.”
Year in and year out, the Bulldogs are ranked as one of the top Division II teams in the state. Their consistency of winning has been remarkable, but it all starts with Casperson and the expectations he puts on his team.
The Bulldogs play one of the toughest non-conference schedules around. Casperson is not afraid to play bigger and more talented schools. Earlier this week, the Bulldogs traveled to Pickerington Central, a Division I school. Bloom-Carroll trailed 2-1 at halftime but rallied for a 4-3 victory. Wilde scored all four goals and was assisted on all four by sophomore Lilly Friestat.
“Every year is different. We have different players every year, but the biggest thing is you are a team above everything,” said Bloom-Carrol senior Madeline Jackson. “We’ve had our ups and downs and our wins and losses, but no matter how we look at the beginning of the season, we always figure out a way to develop a good chemistry. Our mentality is to go out there and play as a team, not as individuals.
“If you saw us at the beginning of the season, we had arguments, we had cliques. We came out against Pickerington Central, and we were down at the half. We had people crying on the field, but we turned it around and picked each other up and told each other we were better than the way we were playing, and we went out there and took care of business. We push each other to make each other better. It is Bulldog soccer, and we have that mentality that we expect to win. We play together win or lose.”
To be the best, you have to play the best
Casperson loves playing against top-notch opponents like Pickerington Central. Win or lose, he understands it will make his team better in the long run.
“We schedule these types of games to get us ready for our league and the tournament,” Casperson said. “There have been times in past years where we didn’t face a lot of adversity because maybe our schedule wasn’t as tough as it needed to be, but I get excited when we are challenged.”
Jackson one of only five seniors on the team, said it’s too easy to lose focus when you are playing against lesser opponents and not being challenged. She said the Bulldogs embrace playing against tougher opponents.
“This season has been a lot different,” Jackson said. “We were undefeated before losing the district final tournament game last year. There is something different when you don’t win every game, and I mean that in a good way. We want to be challenged because it only makes us better. It has allowed us to feel pressure. I don’t like to lose, but I love to learn and that’s what we have done with each loss, and we have been able to fix it.”
Another thing that has helped the Bulldogs sustain their success is the fact that Casperson is not afraid to play younger players.
“I think it is one of those things where we don’t find it as a rebuild, but we want to reload,” Casperson said. “We lost a good senior class last year, but we are also not afraid to play younger players. Our biggest class is our junior class they all started as sophomores last year, so if we are willing to continue incorporating younger players into the program right away, I believe it leads to longer success and not ups and downs and it allows us to stay at a high level for a long time.”
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Mark of consistency: Casperson has built Bloom-Carroll into a dynasty
