Johnathan Kennedy knows the work is not done yet. After the completion of his first season with the Rockwood High School girls soccer team, he heads into the 2026 campaign with a new team, a new challenge, but always high expectations.
Kennedy and the Lady Tigers finished 1-11 in 2025, sporting a roster mostly made up of freshmen. Some of those players had never, Kennedy said, played organized soccer before the season opener. Now those rookies are sophomores and, with the influx of a few players transferring in, things could be changing.
“So last year we had 17 on the roster, and basically almost everybody on the team were new,” Kennedy said. “We had three seniors, one junior, and two sophomores. Then everybody else on the team were rookies. We didn’t have a whole lot of experience on the team.”
Kennedy will get a chance to see exactly what his team is made of next month when he brings the Lady Tigers to Crossville to compete in the 1886 Chronicle Soccer Cup. The annual event, sponsored by the Crossville Chronicle, will be Aug. 8 at the Duer Soccer Complex.
The competition, one of the largest tournaments in the state, will feature some of the best girls soccer programs in east Tennessee. The field includes: Rockwood, Cumberland County, Stone Memorial, Cannon County, Bradley Central, Grace Christian, White County, Oliver Springs, Sequatchie County and Jackson County.
There will also be four teams competing in the junior varsity tournament.
All games, shortened to 40 minutes, will begin promptly at 9 a.m. and run through 4 p.m. Teams will receive three points for a win and one point for a tie. Any ties in the final standings will be broken by goal differential.
“I thought the girls did an amazing job of learning and developing last year,” Kennedy said. “Some of them would get the ball and just look to clear it. They just wanted to get it out of there.
“However, we did a lot of work last year in practice and started getting to the point where we would possess the ball and make good passes to our teammates. They got a lot better at that as the year went on.”
Kennedy said he spent the offseason working on defensive and offense strategies, as well as individual skill.
He wants his players to feel more comfortable in one-on-one or two-on-two situations.
“It’s going to take time,” Kennedy said. “Once they become more comfortable passing the ball, they will get more comfortable pressing on the attack, as well as defending.
“I think we will be a lot more solid on the defensive side. We’ve got some experience back there and we’ve had a few players move into the area. Getting everyone together and getting some cohesion on the ball will help a lot.”
One of the big impacts on Rockwood’s season this year will be the play of senior Kloey Treadway.
The senior, Kennedy said, will be expected to take a leadership role on the team. Her maturity on and off the field will be important.
“Kloey’s got to be there to kind of step up and help lead the team along with our juniors,” the coach said. “There’s a few others that will play big roles for us, and we’re hoping and expecting a lot out of them.”
Kennedy said his team is looking forward to the Chronicle Cup. It guarantees all teams will play at least three games.
“I think a tournament, especially this early in the season, is a good thing,” Kennedy said. “When you have an inexperienced team like we have, you want to get them in those game-like situations where they have those opportunities to get those touches on a ball.
“It is important those opportunities are at game speed. Those are the best learning experiences they could have.”