Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Fort Dodge girls soccer returning letterwinners are (left to right): Shelbi Beckman, Sophie Dooley, Leah Johnson and Kelli Kersten.

When G Myers became the Fort Dodge girls soccer coach, she knew exactly how she wanted to start: from the beginning.

Myers, who played soccer at Iowa Central and Grand View, stressed the fundamentals from day one.

“It’s been a little bit of an adjustment, because I have a different style,” Myers said. “I want to find each player’s strength and go with that so we can be more successful. A lot of coaches put them were they want them to be.

“One of my favorite coaches found what I was good at and put me at that position, while we worked on things that I wasn’t as strong at. I love fundamentals. It was kind of slow starting, because I was doing simple drills. Nothing too big.”

Now one month into the season, Myers finally saw everything come together this past Thursday, when the girls had a scrimmage against the Dodger boys’ junior varsity squad.

“We had a scrimmage against the boys and that was the first time that girls were all going together in one direction,” Myers said. “At practice we would break up and work on things on offense and defense. Until that scrimmage, they didn’t visualize what was happening. In that scrimmage, I saw the most energy out of the girls and they finally put it all together.

“It was a light bulb moment for the girls — maybe coach knows what she is doing.

Myers has coached at lower levels before for the Fort Dodge Soccer Association and some traveling teams.

Myers was original going to be an assistant with the Dodger program, but the head coaching spot became available and she decided to give it a go.

“I started working at the high school after being at the elementary level,” said Myers, who is a student success specialist at FDSH. “I didn’t realize how low the numbers were at the high school level and how much of a struggle it was to get coaches.

“Ryan O’Leary (assistant athletic and activities director), who I coached when he was younger, asked me to apply for the job. I was hesitant at first, but ultimately, I knew it was something I was ready for.”

Myers knows the job won’t be easy, especially given the schedule Fort Dodge faces.

“We are definitely rebuilding, but we have to trust in the process,” Myers said. “We all have been through some struggles, but we are in the process of learning the game and seeing were it takes us.

“The first part of learning is to know that the offense starts from the defensive end. That was something that some of the girls shared. They didn’t realize that even if you’re on defense, you’re on offense. They just have to trust in each other.”

Myers will be leaning on junior Aja Jallow and St. Edmond freshman Silvia Heldorfer in the midfield.

“Aja has such a strong presence and is definitely a person you look at out there,” Myers said. “Silvia is the smaller version of Aja. She kicks with both feet and has great vision. We just need to get the freshman out of her and get her to become a leader.

“They are trusting the process. They were typically defensive players, but we are going to put them at midfield. They are strong and understand the defense, so they can play the ball. We want them in the heart of the field.”

Other key players for FDSH will be St. Edmond seniors Leah Johnson and Kelli Kersten.

“We will lean on Leah and Kelli on the outside,” Myers said. “Those two demand a lot of presence. They will spread the field out and be pushing the ball in the offensive half.

The Dodgers will open the season on Tuesday at Johnston, beginning at 6 p.m.

“We know we are going to be going up against tough competition,” Myers said. “We just have to trust in the system and work on the fundamentals to become better players and students of the game.”