Owens enjoying the ride with Hollis Brookline boys soccer

HOLLIS - The first tryout session for the Hollis Brookline High School boys soccer team had just ended and coach Rick Carvalho had great news for senior captain Cole Owens.

Owens, who started as a freshman when Carvalho was a first-year coach in 2011, had made the team. The pair laughed after Carvalho's announcement, knowing that there was no chance that Owens wouldn't be a member of the Cavaliers.

In fact, Carvalho knew Owens would be a varsity player the first time he watched him tryout.

"The first time he touched the ball," Carvalho said. "It was pretty obvious because he came in, and he wasn't a lot like the other freshmen. Physically, he was a lot bigger and stronger, but he also was clearly more comfortable with the ball. I think it was maybe 20 minutes into tryouts he had done a couple of things to where I said 'this is an easy selection for me.' "

It was a smooth transition to life as a freshman on the varsity for Owens. The older players helped him along, and he understood his role as a supporting player on a team that would reach the Division II final four.

"It was kind of nerve wracking, but it was a lot of fun," Owens said. "I felt like I fit right in. The guys were all great and they took me and it wasn't too much of an adjustment. I remember when I was freshman, I always looked up to Jeff Kulpa, a kid who was a senior that year, and he took me under his wing. That’s what I want to do this year."

As a freshman and sophomore, Owens played at outside midfielder for the Cavaliers, but as a junior, Carvalho needed him to play up top and knew that change would be an easy one for Owens to make.

"The thing that's funny with Cole is that he could have been a leader on the team since his freshman year, but he understood that the team had to come first," Carvalho said. "He played outside mid, and at first he might have said I'd rather play here, or there, but at the end of the day, he's always committed himself to the team.

"As much as he’s great as a goal scorer, it's our job now to find out if he's going to help us keep possession, is going to help us score goals, is it going to be a mix of the two, is going to play wide, is he going to play inside. We've really got a world of options with Cole because he’s so good."

Owens has played soccer for so long, the only way he can remember the early days is by looking at photo albums. He tried running track in middle school, and turned aside attempts to get him to play football, never wanting to get too far from soccer.

"I started playing in preschool and every single year after that, all year round," he said. "I can see the pictures in my album, but I don't remember it.

"It's a huge part. I think about soccer everyday and I've been thinking about (the first day of tryouts) since last year, just waiting for it and it's finally here. I love playing and never get sick of it."

Owens will finally take a try at football this fall, but as the kicker for the HB varsity team, a move that first-year football coach Chris Lones - who tried to get Owens to play with the Jr. Cavs program in middle school - views as a small victory.

It's a move that Carvalho is happy to see Owens take on, but one that also makes him nervous.

"I love the fact that he can have that experience and I will never rob someone of an experience they want to have," Carvalho said. "But one missed block ... I hate it. I'm happy he's doing it because he wants to do it, but I'd be upset, because of the future he has ahead of him, if something unfortunate was to happen."

That future includes taking his game to the next level in college, but Owens doesn't know where that will be.

"People ask and you shrug your shoulders and say I'm not sure yet," he said.

Carvalho has tried to help Owens with the process.

"It's been a lot of fun because I think he's got a lot of options, but it’s been difficult because he’s so humble," Carvalho said. "It's been a lot of fun, but it's been like pulling teeth because I want him to understand what his ability is and what his level is. Until he does that, he'll always make me laugh."

HB opens its season at 4 p.m. on Aug. 29 when it hosts Windham in a rematch of the last two Division II championship games.