Buckingham County High School’s varsity boys soccer team showed overall growth this year and was represented by four 2018 All-James River District selections, including two on the first team.

Knights senior midfielder Ethan Caldwell and junior defender Diante Lee were named to the first team by district coaches, and Knights senior midfielder John Crews III and junior forward Joshua Kodi made the second team.

“I was actually very pleased,” Buckingham Head Coach Brett Whittington said of his team’s all-district recognition. “I wasn’t expecting to get four guys.”

The Knights built on their performance from 2017, finishing their run this year with a 4-9-1 record. They held the No. 11 seed in the Region 2C tournament and fell 5-1 to host No. 6 James River High School in the first round to close the year.

“We played some games where we were in games and lost them late,” Whittington said, pointing to a 2-1 overtime defeat to host Nottoway High School and a 2-1 home loss to Bluestone High School. “We were playing well, but then we had stretches where we didn’t play well, and it showed.”

He noted that examples of poor showings included a game against Central Lunenburg High School and the second contest against Nottoway.

“It was inconsistent, but overall, we improved over last year, most definitely,” Whittington said.

He said the team’s development showed in practice and translated to games. He witnessed a burgeoning culture of selflessness among his players.

“They bought into it, and they started to really play as a team versus trying to play as a group of individuals,” he said. “That’s something that I’m actually proud of.”

Caldwell was one of the team’s captains this season, and he demonstrated a few different traits that the coach cited for why he made the all-district first team.

“For me, his speed, his energy level, he’s always around the ball, and he’s a fairly smart soccer player,” Whittington said.

He said Caldwell is a good defender — he primarily played defense in the past — and his dribbling and passing showed improvement this year.

Whittington said he thought the game slowed down a bit for Caldwell, meaning his ability to read and effectively manipulate situations to help his team grew. His speed helped him take advantage of this.

“He’s one of the fastest kids, I think, in the district,” the coach said.

Caldwell finished the season with three goals and approximately six assists.

Whittington said Lee was his team’s best defender on the ball, and the selection of Lee to the first team really stuck out to him because it is only Lee’s second year playing soccer. It is remarkable recognition for a player lacking the benefit of years of experience that so many other players on the field possess.

“That, to me, is very impressive, and it shows the dedication that he has and his work ethic,” Whittington said.

Lee played right fullback and did not have many statistics to speak for him since he was on defense, but the coach highlighted something that clearly speaks for him now.

“When the eight other (district) coaches vote for him to be on the first team, that says a lot about him,” Whittington said.

Praising his team’s second-team selections, Whittington said Crews provided important leadership through his temperate approach in games, and Kodi, who is from Sudan, began to score in bunches once he became comfortable with the style of play in the U.S.