By: Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
In his 9th season coaching, Brent Sowell has won his 100th career game leading the Marbury girls’ soccer team. Sowell has helped establish an impressive winning culture at Marbury that has seen the girls’ soccer team excel.
“It feels great to be part of a community that has made this achievement possible,” said Sowell. “Without the players, parents, coaches, and administrators that have helped the program grow over the last nine years, none of this would’ve been possible. While it may seem like achieving 100 wins is an individual accomplishment, I don’t see it that way. This was made possible by the players in the program buying into the process of becoming better versions of themselves. The vision of the Marbury High School soccer program is to produce a competitive community of student athletes that strive for excellence in achieving academic, personal, and athletic goals.”
The process has worked. The girls’ individual accomplishments have been as impressive as the team’s accomplishments. The team GPA has been over 3.85 for five years in a row. The team has a 100% college acceptance rate over the last six years. And 8 different players have signed to play at the collegiate level.
“The culture that has been established by the players in the program throughout the years has been the reason for the program’s continued success. Each year the teams change, but the culture and the standard of our program remains the same. We expect everyone to put integrity first, the team before self, and to progress in all that we do. We value servant leadership and during our pregame meals our team leaders eat last, as a way of showing the younger players that our leaders will take care of them and value them as teammates.”
The Lady Bulldogs’ soccer team has made the playoffs nine years in a row. They set a school record by winning 23 games in 2023, and advanced to the Final Four for the only time in school history. Last year, the Lady Bulldogs advanced to the Elite Eight.
Marbury hopes to make another deep run in the 2025 playoffs, and appear to be in a good position to do so, starting the season with a 10-1 record including an area win over Demopolis.
“Our goals this year are much the same as they are for every year, and that is to focus on getting better each time we walk into the weight room, watch film, or step onto the field. This year’s team is led by two outstanding team captains in Madison Thomas and Brooklyn Fairchild. They are both excellent role models for the program and have bought into the process of progress and our philosophy of leading with love.”
