Smithsburg Leopards JV Girls Soccer

3/20/25

This is the place for information on Smithsburg JV Girls Soccer.  Incoming freshman should get on the group chat so they can stay informed.  I will be starting to add things to this site to prepare you for the upcoming season as well as attend SYA practices when I'm able.

Greg Henesy - JV Head Coach, Varsity Assistant

I'll add a quick biography of me so that you know where I'm coming from.  I grew up in Leitersburg and graduated from Smithsburg High School in 1990.  I was on Coach Bill Fowkes first team that he ever coached at Smithsburg HS in 1986 (Bill just retired from coaching varsity soccer and Terry took over).  I went into the Maryland State Police Cadet Program after leaving high school and became a Maryland State Trooper. I am now retired, but work for Hagerstown Fieldhouse and contract to the US Army.  My first bit of coaching came from hockey.  I went to US Hockey schools in hopes of becoming a college coach.  However, I had 2 daughters and they liked soccer, so I became a soccer coach.  I have certification from US Soccer, AYSO, USC, and NFHS.  NFHS governs all high school sports and I acquired a national certification which means I can coach at any high school in the country.  That being said, those certifications don't really mean much.  I learned more spending time at DC United practices and going to games and practices at Messiah College.  I base a lot of what I teach from what I learned from Coach Frey at Messiah and speaking to his former players.  For those of you who aren't familiar, Messiah College is in Harrisburg, PA, and has had more success than any other college program in the country over the last 25 years.  In Coach Frey's 24 years there, he has won 6 national titles, lost in the finals 4 times, been to the final four 5 times, has made the national tournament every year he's been there (they went 0 times prior to his arrival),  and has won 21 conference titles (0 times before he arrived).  And the thing is, he's not recruiting players from all over the country.  20 players on this past years roster are from Pennsylvania. In implementing his system and ideals into my middle school club team years ago, my team went undefeated, regular season and tournaments, for an entire calendar year in year 2.  It works!  

I have coached at Clear Spring Soccer Club, Boonsboro AYSO, Greencastle United, Hagerstown Soccer Club, Williamsport High School, and now Smithsburg High School.  I was asked to join the staff at Williamsport in 2017 to scout and assist defense.  I became the head JV coach and then the varsity coach.  After my youngest daughter graduated, I resigned from Williamsport.  When Coach Fowkes found out I resigned, he called me immediately and asked me to come to Smithsburg.  His plan was to have me take over when he retired.  After thinking it over, I decided I liked coaching JV and preparing players to play varsity more than I did coaching varsity after my first season at Smithsburg.  We brought coach Terry on as an assistant last year and she is by far the right choice to coach the varsity team and lead the program.  I'm thrilled to work with her.  Coach Terry, Coach Jeremy, and Coach Nicole and I all worked excellent together last season.  We believe we have the best group of coaches in the county.

Regardless of your skill level, don't be intimidated.  Come out to play and learn.  Most of all, expect to have fun.  We will make you better.