Dothan Eagle Super 12 boys soccer team with Player and Coach of the Year unveiled (2024)

A player who stepped up into a leadership role and a coach who had an emotional year are the top picks for Dothan Eagle Super 12 boys soccer selections for 2024.

Mason Roe of Dothan High has earned the Player of the Year award, while Paul Fripp of Providence Christian has been named Coach of the Year.

Back-to-back

For Roe, it marked the second year in a row for the senior to be named Player of the Year, but earning it this time around came with more challenges.

A season after scoring 58 goals for the Class 7A Wolves, opposing defenses had their eye on Roe every time he stepped on the field. Nevertheless, Roe stepped up big time in delivering a team-high 33 goals for a team that won the area championship and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.

“Mason is the fastest player I’ve ever seen play high school soccer,” Dothan coach Joe Nelson said. “Every team in the state of Alabama knew Mason by name and designed specific game plans to try and stop him.”

While Roe continued to thrive as a scorer from his striker position, it was perhaps the enhanced leadership role he took on that was most impressive after fellow senior Wesley Farmer, a midfielder, was injured early in the season.

“Obviously when Wesley went down, I knew I had to step up,” Roe said. “Ty (Powell, senior defender) is a great leader, so I would just try to mimic what he does and eventually I tried to step in there as much as possible and lift the others up like Wesley would do and try and fill his shoes, pretty much."

With Farmer out, along with teams keying on Roe, it affected his chances to put more balls in the back of the net.

“Yes, definitely, and especially with me losing Wesley (Farmer) at the start of the season, because me and him would have had some outrageous stats together if he would have stayed healthy,” Roe said. “But yeah, it definitely made it more tough.”

Still, Roe believes he became a much better player over the course of his final high school season.

“Tactically, a whole lot,” Roe said. “I think I’ve gotten a greater understanding for the game a lot better than last year and I think I’m more of a diverse player than last year as well.”

He will have a chance to continue that improvement by being on the roster this summer for the new pro soccer franchise in town, the Dothan United Dragons, before he begins play on the college level for AUM.

“During the summer playing with the Dragons is a whole different level,” Roe said. “I’m getting to experience that before I go to college, so I’m really just trying to get up to speed with that before I go up there and be as prepared as I can for AUM.”

He will miss his high school teammates on what was an extremely close-knit Dothan team.

“Just the team aspect of it, really … the guys going to practice every day,” Roe said. “It’s just the time you get to relax and have fun. I’m going to miss the guys. And the away games, too. I’m going to miss all of those things.

“We were all like best friends, pretty much. We all got along really well. Even when it was tough, we still laughed it out.”

Being chosen as Super 12 Player of the Year is meaningful for Roe.

“It is a big honor to get it two years in a row … I wasn’t expecting it … it’s awesome,” Roe said. “I think I’m just getting prepared to play at the next level … getting smarter tactically more than physically. I’m just moving into that next step right now.”

Ups and downs

For Fripp, guiding Providence to an 12-5-1 record is certainly noteworthy, but winning Coach of the Year during a time frame in which he lost his father makes it even more meaningful.

“I lost my dad, who lived and breathed soccer as much as I do,” Fripp said. “And so, it’s (winning Coach of the Year) bittersweet. I wish I could pick up the phone and call him and say, ‘Hey Dad’ …. I know he knows; I know he sees me.

“It’s an honor, really, and totally unexpected. It’s nice to be recognized for something … I put in a lot of work behind the scenes … scheduling, banquets, whatever. So it’s not just the playing and the games, it’s the whole building the program from scratch, which we’ve done the last six years.”

Fripp grew up in England and has been around soccer his whole life, first as a player before transitioning to a coach on the recreational level and then the high school ranks.

“I played as a goalkeeper for my school growing up,” Fripp said. “On weekends and rec league, basically, played right wing and striker. I just loved it. That’s all I’ve ever done.

“My dad was fortunate enough to be really good at soccer and had a chance to go semi-pro way back in his day. He got involved in a bad accident when he was 17 and broke his ankle, so he couldn’t continue. But he could always kick a ball, so that was one of the things we would do.

“On weeknights after school we would go out to the local park and he would hit thunder shots at me when I was in goal. Just a great memory. Soccer was fun, and that’s what I try to emulate through all of my teams … I want the kids to have fun.”

The Eagles went 9-1 in Class 1A-3A area play this season, showing improvement throughout the season.

“We set out with our goals and we kept meeting and beating those goals each game, so that momentum grew,” Fripp said. “That’s obviously what you want in a team is to carry that momentum from one game to the other. I felt we really did that well. We kept firing on all cylinders from the back to the front of the team.”

Fripp enjoys his role as a coach, having coached on all different levels in guiding both boys and girls.

“Luke, my son who now plays at Southern Union for their soccer team, started playing when he was maybe 4 and I have coached every year since then,” Fripp said. “I coached several years for the Dothan Shockers (club team) and I’ve coached in Dothan rec league.

“Really my heart is to promote soccer for everyone … boys, girls, whatever age group … as much as possible. I don’t care what team, what school you go for, it’s the best team sport in the world and it teaches you so much. I just want to see it grow in the Wiregrass, and thankfully we are seeing it grow.”

The coach enjoys impacting others through the game.

“What I’ve enjoyed most, really, is the relationships and the trust that you build with the team,” Fripp said. “I think each team dynamic every year is a little different depending on the leaders and who you have on a team.

“A good coach needs to learn to adjust to that and control your emotions, which is tough. I think for me seeing the athletes being able to play at the level that I believe God has given them the talent to play at and seeing them achieve and strive at that. If they can do that, I will walk away a happy coach.”