The Kingston High School boys soccer team will be led by a new coach this spring.

Mike Fleck was hired at the end of June, taking the place of former head coach Craig Smith. Previously, Fleck worked with KHS’s girls soccer team for two years as an assistant coach. He is hoping to instill a winning culture into the boys’ soccer program that has struggled to produce wins over the past few years, earning an 11-38-1 record since 2021.

“I think the school has put a pretty big emphasis on culture, and you know, my thinking as a coach is, if you fix the culture, the wins will come,” Fleck said.

One of Fleck’s priorities is ensuring that every player on the team is focusing on the team aspect of competition. Additionally, the new coach wants defense to serve as the main focus for his team, as Kingston has struggled with defense in years prior.

“I mean, they [Kingston] had some games last year, you know, [where] they lost by ten.”

Fleck wants to address the fundamentals of defense by having a strong defensive line. In order to accomplish that, the Buccaneers will work on cover support and adding pressure, trying to force the player with the ball to either dribble out of bounds or to attempt a cross pass (a pass across the field that creates a scoring chance) in order to allow the defender to intercept the ball.

Fleck has talked with Smith about players that could serve as potential captains and about the incoming freshmen on the team as well. He is hoping to have longevity like Smith did so players can have the same coach for their entire high school tenures.

“It’s always difficult when you have to bring in a different coach every few seasons,” Fleck said. “If those freshmen can go through the same coach [their] high school career, that’s incredibly exciting.”