Carl Junction Boys Soccer senior forward Nolan Couk is our athlete of the week! Couk has netted 17 of the Bulldogs' 27 goals this season and recently had five goals in a single game against Hillcrest. Our Ryan Bunnell has the full story below.
CARL JUNCTION, MO. — Carl Junction Boys soccer is currently sitting at 7-4 overall with 27 total goals scored in the 2025 season, and senior forward Nolan Couk has played a part in 19 of them.
Couk tallied five goals against Hillcrest and another two goals against Bolivar throughout the last week.
“He’s not good by accident,” assistant boys soccer coach Glenn Helms said. “I mean, he’s put in the work, the sweat, the blood, the tears, you know, he’s put his minutes in and his time in to develop his craft and to be good at what he does.”
With 17 goals and 2 assists in 11 games played, Couk credits his success to his teammates, which he says is a tightly knit group considering they have been playing alongside one another since the 10u days.
“Without my teammates, I would not be here,” Couk said. “I’m pretty sure 90% of us have been together for quite some time. And we always have fun when we play. We always push each other to do better. We always encourage each other.”
On top of high school soccer for the Bulldogs, Couk kicks for Carl Junction Football, runs track and balances club soccer in the offseason. While it’s a lot to balance, Couk says playing club soccer has tremendously helped improve his skill set.
“I play for Sporting Springfield and that really was like another step because I used to just play for a local team here, and Springfield has definitely shown me there’s levels to the sport,” Couk said.
From scoring on goal on varsity as a freshman to now leading the team’s attack as a senior, Couk hopes the next generation of Bulldogs adopt a hard-working mind set.
“I just want them to push themselves harder,” Couk said. “I know my freshman year I didn’t push myself as hard as I wanted to and it definitely showed. I feel like the younger generation can step it up and push themselves more.”
Couk and Carl Junction Soccer are in action next on the road against Joplin on Monday, October 13 at 6:30 p.m.
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