As the 2025 winter sports season continues, the athletic programs at Archie Williams have enjoyed great success in the early games of the season. This includes the Archie Williams girls varsity soccer team, known throughout the Falcon community as the “Turf Gurlz.” Over the years, and through many seasons, the Turf Gurlz continually demonstrate remarkable teamwork and a strong sense of belonging, representing the school proudly.
The Turf Gurlz are well known throughout the Falcon community for their self-monikered team name, which dates back nearly 20 years. Beyond the wins and losses, the strong sisterhood exudes team unity and camaraderie. Head coach Pernille Kelm, new this season, says her favorite aspect of coaching the team is the level of play and the intelligence of the players.
“[My favorite part about coaching is] the talent and how quickly they adapt and take on feedback and apply it right away [to their game],” Kelm said.
Through their strong bond and shared culture, the Turf Gurlz have overcome team challenges and achieved success. In the past four seasons, the Turf Gurlz have played under three different head coaches, Kelm the most recent.
“As a team, the Turf Gurlz have been forced to adapt to different coaching styles, as we have switched coaches several times over the years since I was a freshman,” said senior midfielder Mari Rode.
Mari, a senior captain and Division III Middlebury College commit, has started on varsity for all four years of her high school career. Witnessing the highs and lows of the Turf Gurlz through victory and defeat, Mari believes has observed the team’s culture evolve.
“As older classes leave, the team dynamic obviously changes, but this only brings us closer together, creating a culture which we have relied on significantly in the past four years,” Mari said.
Despite a slow start this season and a previous season plagued by injuries, the Turf Gurlz have shown significant success on the field. Over the past six seasons, they have reached the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) playoffs three times, a major achievement given the league’s consistently high level of competition. Kelm attributes this to the team culture, centered around support and excitement.
“Stepping into this team, [the girls] have a very unique bond with each other. They support each other on and off the field, [and] you can tell they have strong relationships with each other, which reflects every time we step in for training and games,” Kelm said.
The community the Turf Gurlz create is showcased through their Instagram account and other social media platforms. Before each game, the team shares details about the time and location, along with selected silly photos of the team members, encouraging the Falcon community to come out and support them. These posts often show the players doing a variety of things that spark team bonding and community engagement, including the tradition of having dinner together the night before the game, and a team lunch the day of the game.
Bonding over these meals brings the girls closer together, integral to their diversely-aged community. The 2024-25 Turf Gurlz team consists of 11 senior players, and the majority of the team is upperclassmen. However, this year, freshman Katie Haskell secured a spot on the varsity roster and felt embraced by the strong Turf Gurlz culture.
“I immediately felt included in the group, and [the seniors] made [practices and games] fun,” Katie said.
The strong presence of upperclassmen on the team contributes to the tight-knit community the Turf Gurlz have built, leaving a lasting legacy for the Archie Williams girl’s soccer program. Thus far, the Turf Gurlz have experienced highs and lows as they battle through their competitive MCAL opponents. They have consistently qualified for North Coast Section playoffs and hope to do so again in the future as their team connection continues to grow into the postseason.
