The DeKalb County High School Tigers soccer team has been on the field, getting ready for the upcoming 2023 season. Head Coach Dylan Kleparek, or Coach K as he is called by his players, says the team is looking good this year with a lot of experience coming back to the field.
“I think we’re pretty strong,” Coach K said. “We’ve got a lot coming back this year. We only lost one senior last year so we’re bringing back all of our starters.”
“We had a player that started for us as a sophomore, he moved away but now he’s moved back,” Kleparek said. “Now he’s a senior. So, we lost a senior, we gained a senior, got everybody back, and we’re looked pretty solid.”
Coach K said that the Tigers have a lot of experience this year with a large senior class. “We have 10 seniors this year, so just about the whole field will be covered with seniors. They’ve all played together since they were little kids. I think it’s going to be an exciting year.”
When asked about how the Tigers stand in the district, Coach K was very optimistic. “We should be a strong team. You don’t want to jinx yourself, but it’s going to take work. They’re not going to give us first place, we have to earn it. That’s what we’re going for.”
As for the district, Coach K said the plateau teams should be the ones to look out for. “Our district is broken up north and south. We’ll play everybody once, but we’ll play the teams in the south twice, Cumberland, DeKalb, and White are in the south, while Livingston, Stone Memorial and Upperman are in the north.”
“Every year, Cumberland is going to be a challenge,” Coach K continued. “Stone Memorial and Livingston will also fight for the top. White and Upperman are still building their programs I feel like, but on any given day, anybody can beat anybody. You’ve got to come to play every time.”
Coach K said the team is getting ready for some preseason play, getting the players ready for the fast-paced action of regular play. “We’ll have a preseason play day on March 11, with eight teams coming out to play, varsity and JV on both fields. Our first regular season game will be the following Tuesday against Upperman.”
Coach K also pointed out the continuing efforts to improve the soccer field. The field had lights installed before last season, and this year the field sports new dugouts for the teams. Coach K said that with the addition of new stadium seating at the Tigers’ football field, the soccer field hopes to get a portion of the old stands relocated to the soccer field sometime in the future.
The Tigers first regular season game is scheduled on the road on March 14 against Upperman, with their first home game against Coffee County on March 16 at 7 p.m.
2023 DCHS Tigers Soccer Roster
# Name Grade
2 Jonathan Balderas 11
3 Cooper Brown 12
4 Connor Hopkins 9
5 Brayan Aguirre 10
6 Ekow Afful-Turkson 11
7 Jonathan Zavala 12
8 Miguel Mata 12
9 Cameron Miller 12
10 Yair Mata 12
11 Adan Ramirez 12
12 Axel Aranda 10
13 Aydan Bean 11
14 Jaxon Kleparek 9
15 Leo Delgado 10
16 Emilio Garcia 11
17 Hector Cervantes 10
18 Brandon Silva 12
19 Jose Guzman 10
20 Milas Driver 10
21 Ryder Miller 12
23 Giovani Palomo 9
24 Jesus Guzman 10
25 Bryan Ramirez 10
26 Jonathan Garcia 12
27 Cesar Gaspar 11
28 Cale Brown 10
29 Erick Hernandez 10
30 Miguel Guzman 10
31 Connor Vance 12
32 Jack Gassaway 9
Coaches: Dylan Kleparek, LaTonya Kleparek, and Jasper Kleparek
Managers: Jacklyn Kleparek, Ailish Munoz, Raven Savage, MaKinzy Jenkins, Kinsley Savage, Hannah Aldino, and Kylee Savage.
DCHS TIGERS SOCCER 2023 SCHEDULE
PRESEASON V JV
Sat. 4-Mar Middle School Playday Home
Sat. 11-Mar DeKalb Playday Home 8:00 JV
REGULAR SEASON
Tues. 14-Mar *Upperman Away 6:00
Thurs. 16-Mar Coffee Co. Home 7:00 5:00
Fri 24-Mar Springfield JV (Smoky Mt. Cup) Away 6:00 E
Fri 24-Mar Ooltewah (Smoky Mt. Cup) Away 8:00 E
Sat. 25-Mar Shelbyville JV (Smoky Mt. Cup) Home 9:30 E
Sat. 25-Mar Carter (Smoky Mt. Cup) Away 11:30 E
Sun. 26-Mar Gat.-Pittman (Smoky Mt. Cup) Home 9:30 E
Sun. 26-Mar William Blount JV (Smoky Mt. Cup) Away 11:30 E
Tues. 4-Apr *Stone Memorial Home 6:00 after
Thurs. 6-Apr Cannon Co. Home 6:00 ?
Tues. 11-Apr *Cumberland Co. Home 6:00 after
Thurs. 13-Apr *White Co. Home 6:00 ?
Tues. 18-Apr *Livingston Home 6:00 after
Thurs. 20-Apr *White Co. Away 6:00 ?
Tues. 25-Apr *Cumberland Co. Away 6:30 after
Thurs. 27-Apr Central Magnet Away 6:15
Tues. 2-May Macon Co.^ Home 6:00 ?
Thurs. 4-May Warren Co. Away 6:00 ?
POSTSEASON
Mon. 8-May 1st Round District Tourn. TBA TBA
Tues. 9-May 2nd Round District Tourn. White TBA
Thurs. 11-May District Championship White TBA
Tues. 16-May Region Semifinals TBA TBA
Thurs. 18-May Region Championship TBA TBA
Sat. 20-May Substate TBA TBA
Mon.-Fri. 22-May State Tournament TBA TBA
^ Senior Night * District Match
