Tripp Monica, '25
Last Of A Generation
By Luke Crochet, '25
Tripp Monica has been a part of the ESA soccer team for five years, and he has been the starting striker for all five, starting when he was fourteen years old. He has won two first team All District honors and has an All District MVP award. That being said, Monica has been an extremely integral part of the team. I got to sit down and discuss with him what it was like being a part of an extremely dominant Falcons soccer program. From playing with ESA soccer legends like Christian Herpin and Adam Sabbagian, who were both All State team caliber players, to eventually playing with more recent, but all the same fantastic players like Evan Lipari and Gunner Caswell, Monica had this to say about growing up with these players: “I was extremely lucky to have grown up around those guys. They were not just my teammates, but my good friends and always had my back in my early years when I was still developing as a player.” I also wanted to ask him what it is like being on a team with a nearly all new starting lineup. “I feel like we have a lot of great players at our core, but in the end we have to be there for the younger players like the older guys were with me,” Tripp said.
The Falcons are approaching a new season with a new set of circumstances. They graduated seven starters from their eleven of the previous year. Although they have more of a J.V. team this year, Monica seems really optimistic about what he expects from his teammates. “I just think that the boys have to work hard and understand that we will lose some games, but it's not the end of the world. It's just where we are at as a team right now.”
The ESA boys soccer team has lost only five regular season games in the last four years, an impressive feat that Monica says everyone is aware of. But he does not really think it will affect the team as the older players can handle the adversity. “We have a lot of players that have dealt with tough losses especially in the playoffs, so I am not worried about us forming a habit of a bad attitude after losing.”
The Falcons will face a much easier schedule than usual this year while they adjust to their new lineup and their still very young developing players. But it seems like although they are facing less competition, they are still having some very shocking results. The Falcons fell 8-0 to David Thibodeaux on their Monday night home season opener, and this is what Monica had to say about the game. “It was completely unacceptable, and not the ESA standard. I feel like the seniors this year have gotten a reputation as nice guys, and that's not a bad thing per se, but we need to be tougher on the younger kids of the team.” He also told me that although it is unfortunate what is being asked of them, the younger players need to step up in ways they maybe do not know they can and perform at a high level, but it's what has to be done. Such a large class of soccer players graduated from ESA last year, and there is no one that are upperclassmen than the four seniors and two juniors on the team. Still that's no excuse, he says, repeating what he said to me earlier. “We have to set the example, our jobs are so much harder this year because we have no help from older experienced players but we have to find ways to win for our team.”
Overall, Monica is extremely positive about the upcoming season and the challenges that are coming his way. He wants to be the player for the younger generations that the older athletes were for him when he was younger. “Its what it’s all about,” he says, “Just being the guy that the younger kids remember doing things that they want to be able to do when they get older.” That's his motivation and why he works so hard on and off the pitch every week.
Episcopal School of Acadiana
Episcopal School of Acadiana is a private coeducational day school for students in grades PK3 through 12. Our mission is to instill in every student the habits of scholarship and honor.
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