Josh Trejo remembers a time when Polk County soccer routinely advanced into the latter rounds of state playoff competition, when the program annually sent players such as himself on to play the sport at the college level.
Trejo would like nothing more than to see a return to those glory days – and is now in position to directly help make that possible.
The former all-state Wolverine standout has returned to Polk County’s program this season, serving as an assistant varsity coach and head junior varsity coach. He earned his first win as the JV coach on Monday, when the Wolverines topped North Henderson 4-0. A senior-laden Knights varsity squad earned an 8-0 win over Polk County in the evening’s main event.
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Trejo has been coaching club soccer with the Rutherford Rumble program for some three seasons. But when former Polk County assistant coach Will Pack decided to expand his role with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and give up his position, Trejo gladly agreed to fill the opening and return to the Polk sideline.
“Soccer is my life,” Trejo said. “I never really thought when I was playing here that I might be a coach, but things fell into place. I think God works in mysterious ways.
“Over the years, soccer players have died off a little bit here from when I played. I want to help the program grow again, to get back to competing for a state championship.”
Trejo graduated from Polk County in 2008, helping lead the Wolverines to the 1A state semifinals in his senior season. He scored 27 goals that year, earning selection to the East-West All-State Game and a chance to play soccer at Emory & Henry College, from where he graduated in 2013. He returned to the area as an art teacher at Polk County Middle School.
“Working with the kids, it’s good to be at two different levels,” Trejo said. “I can be a mentor, being a teacher, to the kids when they are in middle school. Then I can come out here and be a different type of mentor. I can show them that they might have the skills to play soccer, but they can work to use those skills to further their education. That’s what I did. I went to college on a scholarship and played soccer. They can see that maybe they can do the same thing.”
Trejo hopes to begin setting that example through his work with Polk’s junior varsity program, which is off to a 1-2-1 start after Monday’s win.
“Working with the JV team, I want to get them the skills to move up to varsity,” Trejo said. “The kids may look at it and say, I’m not on varsity. But they’ve got to look at it for the long run. The whole point here is to get prepared to move up, either next season or possibly later this season.
“It has been a good experience for me. It can be a little rough to come over here and then go on the road to a game and get back late, but overall, it has been good.”
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