BELLVILLE — Clear Fork assistant Matt Beachy believed, even before fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso made it fashionable.

Every time the Colts take the pitch before a match, each starter touches a custom-made wooden paddle held aloft by Beachy — the word ‘believe’ is inscribed vertically in all capital letters on the re-purposed skateboard deck.

In the first episode of Ted Lasso, the wildly popular Apple TV comedy series about the fictional soccer club AFC Richmond, the title character played by Jason Sudeikis hangs a handwritten yellow ‘BELIEVE’ sign above the coach’s office in the locker room. It came to serve as a symbol of hope throughout the series.

A self-proclaimed Ted Lasso fan, Beachy was ahead of his time when it came to believing in the Colts’ 12-man senior class. He has coached most of the seniors, including son and captain Kade, for most of their soccer-playing lives.

“Belief is a huge part of what we do,” Beachy said. “I love the mindset stuff in the TV show and I’m kind of the mindset guy for our team.

“If you believe in yourself and your teammates, you’re going to have success.”

Genesis

Success is nothing new to these Colts. Clear Fork has won consecutive Division IV district championships — the first two district crowns in program history.

“We’ve had a few really good seasons,” senior midfielder and captain Owen Weikle said. “But a lot of Clear Fork teams have had really good records and they would get to the tournament and get taken out.

“It has been nice the past few years to go far in the tournament, but we definitely believe we can go further this year.”

The belief the Colts play with first took root when the seniors were sophomores. Clear Fork was a pedestrian 6-8-3 during the regular season in 2024, but caught fire in the postseason and reached the Sweet 16 in Division IV.

“A few seasons ago, our motto was, ‘believe,’ ” said veteran head coach Nate Gailey, who took over in 2018. “To show up and believe you had the talent to do some great things.

“When our senior class was young there was a lot of potential … They just needed to believe they could compete in every game.”

Clear Fork was 12-7-1 last fall and won an outright Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship — its first MOAC title since sharing the crown with Ontario in 2020. The Colts again reached the regional tournament, falling to Cincinnati Wyoming in the semifinals.

Championship Mindset

The back-to-back district titles — and the new-found confidence that comes with success — set the stage for 2026. The Colts are 7-0-1 and have outscored their opponents 40-9 this season.

“Coach Beachy first introduced the ‘believe’ sign when we were freshmen or sophomores and it’s just been a staple for us ever since, having the confidence to step up to the plate,” senior defender Coy Bieri said. “We play some very good teams, so we’ve got to believe that we can compete with anyone.”

That approach served Clear Fork well against perennial small-school heavyweight Kidron Central Christian in the second match of the season. The Colts trailed by three goals in the second half but fought back for a 5-5 tie.

“I think we would have lost that game earlier in our careers,” Bieri said. “Without the confidence and belief we play with now, it would have been a wrap for us.”

New Standard

This year’s 7-0-1 start rivals the standard set by the 2020 team. Those Colts started 10-0-3 but dropped their final two regular-season matches and were eliminated in the sectional finals.

“There’s a standard that’s just kind of gone up over the last several years,” Gailey said. “We knew what it took to get to a certain level, but how do we become better than that?

“History is made on the practice field, not the game field. You put the work in and the results will speak for themselves on game days.”

Forward Kade Beachy leads Clear Fork with 12 goals and six assists. A.J. Swendal, a senior midfielder and Clear Fork’s third captain, has six goals and three assists. Senior forward Finn Mcauley has seven goals and four assists and senior forward Kabuto Setser has six goals and a pair of assists.

“Sometimes it’s hard to see progress translate to games, but we’re getting better,” Gailey said. “What I tell the boys is win, lose or tie, there has to be a lesson that we take away from a game and we’ve been able to learn something new about ourselves every game.”

‘Believe’

Matt Beachy saw great potential early, even if the players didn’t yet see it. He has fostered that belief ever since.

“I remember texting some people years ago and saying this group can challenge for a state championship when they are seniors,” Beachy said. “This year is a culmination of years and years of hard work.”

Belief — in themselves and the team — has become contagious.

“Everybody on the team wants to win, but I don’t know if everyone always believed we would win,” Bieri said. “That has evolved over time.

“Without the chemistry we’ve developed, we’d never be where we are today.”

Another piece to the puzzle, Bieri said, is accountability.

“My teammates have to know they can count on me to be in the right place and do the right thing and I have to trust them,” Bieri said. “We hold each other to a high standard.”

That’s music to Beachy’s ears.

“To watch it all come together, it’s been super-fun,” Beachy said. “We’ve done some things that have never been done at Clear Fork over the last two seasons and it has been amazing to watch.

“They’re best friends off the field and it shows on the field.”