Editor’s note: This is one in a series of articles featuring the Lawrence soccer teams that participate in the Premier league of Hearland Soccer Assn.

It may be the U12 KSA Lazers, but the Kansas Soccer Association team found a boisterous talent in 10-year-old Maddie Dieker, who also plays on the U11 squad. Dieker isn’t the only one on her team to split time in different age divisions. Her teammate, Rylee Fuerst, 11, also plays on both teams.

“It’s hard, but it is always getting easier because I have great teammates,” Dieker said of playing on both teams.

Although KSA is in just its first year, the Lazers played together in both the fall and spring seasons last year as the Lawrence Lazers. The spring season hasn’t been entirely kind to the U12 Lazers so far, who have recorded one victory in four games. The Lazers are simply short on bodies, which is why many players from the U10 and U11 squads have been playing up a level or two, which according to team manager Stan Rasmussen, works out well since the U11 team went undefeated with just one tie during the fall season.

Maddie Dieker, 10, winds up for a kick after practice April 19 at Free State High School. Dieker plays on both the U11 and U12 Kansas Soccer Academy squads, which were in action last weekend in Raytown, Mo., for the KC Cup.

Defender Fuerst said the U12 team just needs to work on communication.

“Three of our four games were really close, we just had small mistakes getting back and switching on defense, which would give the other team the one goal they needed to win,” Fuerst said.

While the Lazers work on communication and defense, they don’t worry nearly as much about offense because they have a secret weapon. Well, kind of a secret. At 10 years old, Dieker stands nearly a foot shorter than some of her taller teammates and opponents. This allows her to use her quickness and sneak past defenders, but after scoring nearly 20 goals combined for the U11 and U12 squads, defenses will surely take notice of her presence on the field.

Fuerst, Dieker and teammates Lauren Fleming and Ashley Rasmussen all agree that their team benefits from great coaching. Ivan Huntoon, who coached at Baker University and Emporia State before coming to Lawrence, also coaches for the Olympic Development Program at the U12 and U14 levels. So the Lazers certainly boast a head coach with a stellar pedigree.

“Coach is great,” Fuerst said. “He lets players give their opinions during halftime, but we also get a lot of one-on-one instruction, which really helps with individual skills.”

Rylee Fuerst boots the ball after a team practice April 19 at Free State High School. Fuerst, 11, splits time on the U11 and U12 KSA Lazers soccer clubs.

One reason the players haven’t felt down after an 0-4 start is the coach’s emphasis and learning and demonstrating skills during the game, win or lose. Fleming, Rasmussen, Fuerst and Dieker all recited the coach’s mantra “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” That mantra changes slightly during tournaments as the players say there’s much more of an emphasis on winning those games.

The Lazers played in the KC Cup in Raytown, Mo., over the past weekend and will travel to Emporia this weekend for the upcoming Three Rivers Youth Soccer Association tournament.

Opposing teams at both tournaments will see a lot of the Lazers game time ritual. The team, arms around shoulders, forms a circle, jumps up and down in a clockwise motion while spelling L-A-Z, L-A-Z-E-R-S, and finally yelling “GO LAZERS” before charging the field.