BETHEL — In a span of a few days, a handful of Telstar soccer players might have felt as though they’d been traded.

Four girls that had started the fall season preparing for soccer with the girls’ program suddenly found themselves on the boys’ team. It meant new teammates and a different style of play. But that wasn’t going to deter

,

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and Kaitee Killam.

“I was hoping to go through with it and actually finish the year out,” Bergeron said. “I was set on actually playing.”

The girls’ program went into hiatus because of low numbers. Some of the girls that still wanted to play took their game to the boys’ team. It was a bit of an adjustment for the girls as well as their new team, but it’s a scenario that is proving beneficial to both.

“I honestly wouldn’t want it any other way,” Alanskas said. “I wouldn’t rather work with any other team than this team.”

The girls have been welcomed by the boys on the squad and have worked well together. The girls are finding their roles on the team, while the Rebels have already won three games this season, matching what the boys club did last fall.

“I think we’re a great group working together,” Bergeron said. “We’re definitely comfortable being able to share what we’re doing well.”

Savage is a senior midfielder that earned a starting role and is one of the team captains. Alanskas, a senior defender, and Killam, a freshman, have worked themselves into backup roles off the bench while Bergeron, a junior, is developing skills and earning her playing team as well.

“It was tough (at first) because I didn’t know which of them were coming,” Telstar coach John Eliot said. “If a whole bunch of them came would we be able to get a JV schedule.”

The girls’ team didn’t win a game last year and has still been trying to establish itself since become a varsity program a few years ago. The girls’ team had a new coach and started the fall practice season hoping to continue to build the program. The numbers weren’t there from the start. Only seven players turned out initially. Then there were only five. The remaining players worked hard trying to recruit others, but it didn’t look promising.

“I knew if we didn’t have a big enough girls’ team, we would struggle because we didn’t have any subs,” Killam said.

The school waited until the very last moment before cancelling the girls’ season and avoiding any penalty. That meant any girls wanting to continue to play would have to join the boys’ team.

“In my head, I knew we weren’t going to have enough girls,” Savage said. “So I already had the mentality that we’d probably be on the boys’ team. I didn’t mind it because I had played throughout the summer with a bunch of the boys. So I was already used to it. I was actually pretty excited because I knew playing with the boys pushes me as a player. I’ve definitely gotten better playing on the boys’ team.”

Bergeron hadn’t played soccer since elementary school. She enjoyed the preseason work with the girls’ team but wasn’t too fearful going to the boys’ squad. She’s a junior firefighter. So working with males is nothing new to her, and she wasn’t intimidated. It was just a matter of developing the skills she needed on the field.

“I definitely learned a lot from the first couple of weeks working with the girls,” Bergeron said. “Then shifting over to the boys definitely helped me a lot more. They helped me out with the physical part along with the mental part. “

It was a bit of a challenge for Killam. She was an incoming freshman. She was new to the girls’ squad as it was. Before she had the chance to completely feel comfortable with her girls’ soccer teammates, she was on the boys’ team.

“When we switched to the boys’ team, I was the only freshman girl,” Katie said. “That kind of scared me because I didn’t really know everybody but now I do.”

In addition to getting accustomed to new teammates the style of play was different. Boys are bigger and stronger. It’s not only intimidating for a smaller girl with limited game experience but also a challenge to be able to compete against them. The girls said they needed to take on a more aggressive mentality and play the game with the intensity that boys usually do.

“There was a lot of adjusting,” Alanskas said. “I play defense. To me that’s a big thing because I have to block the shots. It’s different playing with the girls because their on it quickly. So it feels like I’m learning more as it goes.”

It was a quick study too. The girls joined the boys’ team just days before the season started. So establishing their role and place on the team was part of adapting to the new surroundings.

“It was hard switching over,” Savage said. “Practicing with them and getting used to their speed and their feet and adjusting to them and getting our drills down with them was hard. It was weird at first but we did get used to the shifting.”

The four girls added some numbers to the boys’ squad and provided a little depth, but the Rebels are still relatively young and inexperienced. The addition of more players makes it hard to develop skills and provide playing time when the boys’ varsity is all that’s left.

“Without the girls’ program and without the JV programs, there’s 19 kids and four or five kids don’t have a lot of experience,” Eliot said. “What do you do? I have a heart. I want them to play, but I don’t want to lose a game at this level. I’m kind of stuck in between. I try to be fair but win too. It’s a hard balancing trick.”

Telstar is in the hunt for a Class C South playoff spot and the team continues to build. Against Carrabec last week, Savage started and played well in the midfield, while Alanskas and Bergeron came off the bench and did well on defense. Killam was out that day with an illness.

Eliot hopes that the girls’ squad can bounce back. He’s got a young daughter that would likely play in the future. There’s a group of incoming freshmen playing at the middle school level that could help the girls’ team get back on track next year. In the meantime, the girls and the boys’ soccer players at Telstar have made the best of a challenging situation.

“I honestly like it,” Bergeron said. “They teach us a lot of good drills. I’d definitely join the boys’ team against if I had to.”

kmills@sunjournal.com