New coach laying groundwork for Pioneer resurgence

MANCHESTER, NH – Mark Papp is no stranger to reclamation projects.

After coaching several other New Hampshire high school programs up from mediocrity to contention, Papp took the reins at Trinity this season, inheriting a team that won back-to-back Division-III championships in 2020 and 2021 before moving up to Division-II last year.

This season, Trinity has slipped to a 1-14 record as Papp and assistant coach Rhett Johnson begin the rebuild.

“Throughout my coaching career, I’ve done this a few other times,” said Papp. “I’ve been at three other schools, one of which was a big-time power, and the other two were building projects, so it can be tough early-on, to keep kids’ heads up whenever they’re not getting the results that they want, but a lot of it depends on the energy of the coaching staff. If the coaches have their heads down, and they’re pouting and mad – which I was when I was younger as a coach – the players pick up on that energy, but I’ve learned that you don’t turn programs around in a year. And these guys, there’s been a lot of turnover, so this is a year where we’re building some character.”

Indeed, after winning their season opener at Sanborn, 2-1, on Aug. 29, the Pioneers have gone winless in September and October, though they’ve been competitive in many of those matches.

In their most recent setback, Wednesday, they held city rival Derryfield – a D-III championship contender – scoreless in the first half, but the Cougars broke through with three second-half goals to upend the hosts.

“The last time we played this team (on Oct. 4) wasn’t so long ago and the result was a lot more lopsided (6-0),” said Papp. “It’s a little late in the season to come together, but I think the boys have really started to develop, to gel, so we’ve got some good pieces to build toward the future.”

Seniors Ian Shamel and Evan Pearson captain the young Pioneers this season, and their character and work ethic are reflected from the top of the roster to the bottom.

“These are are incredible kids, man,” said Papp. “I’ve just loved working with them. They’re well-behaved, they’re honorable and their parents have down a really good job with them.”

The Pioneers now look to earn a “W” on the other bookend of the season when they host 7-8 Milford at 4 p.m. today.

“Before we played one game, I said we’re going to learn what it looks like to battle through adversity,” Papp said. “I didn’t know how prophetic that would be, but these kids have shown the willingness to grind and battle, even in games when the score starts to get lopsided, they keep working, and that’s going to serve them well beyond the soccer field, it’s going to serve them well in life too.”

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