To coach the newly formed JJV girls soccer team, Pranay Dhanani was hired by the Athletics Department on August 25.
Currently, Dhanani works for Kinja FC, a recreational team that many ASL students are part of. One of the team he coaches is the underage 15 girls side, therefore, he has experience coaching young girls from ASL. His familiarity with freshmen that play both for Kinja FC and are trying out for the school team, along with the hard work he sees from them at Kinja FC encouraged him to accept the role. “The American mentality is that they just give their all, 100% in whatever they do and that is a good trait to have,” Dhanani said.
From a coaching perspective Dhanani believes improvement in players is an important aspect of his job. “I like to talk to players individually and give them things to think about to become a good player.”
While growth among individuals is important for Dhanani the most important facet of coaching is fostering a “team” mentality as he believes football is a game for a team, where earning a good result can only be accomplished by working as a collective unit.
Hiring Dhanani was a decision based on the increased number of players at tryouts this year. Familiarity with the personnel one would be coaching on the girls JJV team was a key factor for Athletics Director John Farmer to hire Dhanani. “It’s one thing to have someone who’s good at the job, understands the sport, things like that, but working with [younger girls] is really essential,” Farmer said.
Farmer hopes the skills Dhanani brings to the soccer program keep the team competitive, but also prepare them for the JV and varsity teams. “He’s going to bring that experience, that ability and I think some enthusiasm to the program to really do what we needed to do… recognizing that [JJV] is not just another avenue for people to play, but that these [players] are going to be contributors to our program.”
Dhanani’s first interaction with the program was during tryouts on August 27.
Official practices for soccer teams begin on September 2 with Dhanani managing the JJV girls team thereafter.
