Thornton Fractional boys soccer coach Alejandro Lagunas often jokes that he doesn't know where his team will need sophomore Ray Kobus next.
"I tell him I don't know what you'll be playing next year," Lagunas said. "For this year I need you in the back. I might need you in the goal next year.
"Everything changes every year with our program. I needed somebody solid in the back and I needed a foundation and he was the guy I had to go to."
If the need of the team is Kobus at sweeper, the sophomore standout is doing just fine adapting to his new position. Kobus was a starter in his freshman season at forward, but when the team needed him to move, the sophomore quickly answered the call. He has become the heart and soul of the team's defense and has already shown a natural ability as a leader.
"My role is to just keep everyone in the back organized," Kobus said. "It's just making sure everyone is tight in and who is covering who. Making sure everyone is pushing up when they need to and falling back when they need to."
Kobus is only one of two Thornton Fractional players who plays with a club team in the offseason, joining junior midfielder Ivan Trejo as club soccer athletes. The T-F squad is a young team looking forward to future successes in the coming years.
"We're young," Lagunas said. "We're a very young team. We're trying to get those young guys playing time so they can get that experience. We're trying to build and grow game by game, and I told the guys the No. 1 thing is we have to defend well."
Kobus knows that the coming years, along with future success or future failure, will be be up to the players themselves and their commitment to the program.
"Always working hard at practice and listening to coach," Kobus said of the team's needs. "Always being able to play disciplined. Playing to what we've been doing in practice and just learning off of what we've been doing."
As far as personal goals Kobus sets for himself, the tough sweeper will give the the easiest answer of all for a defender.
"Personal goals are just to try and not let anyone score," Kobus said. "It's hard back there being able to keep everything organized. Being pretty young and having this much responsibility, it's tough. But I love having this responsibility as a leader and being able to help others in the back."
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