Hi again dogs and doglets!
Although its been quite some time since I've written any words of wisdom, it doesn't mean that I haven't been thinking about y'all. So here I am, and today's lesson is on the Greatest Player on Earth.
"Who can it be?" you ask. Is it Pelé? Is it Franz Beckenbauer? Is it Mia Hamm? Maybe its Ronaldo, or Zenedine Zidane, or Roberto Baggio, or Hagy, or Michelle Akers. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope & nope. It's a girl named Allison.
This is the story about how the best player on earth isn't judged by skills, or points, or goals, or speed. It's a story about a girl who had more heart than anybody I've ever had the good fortune to coach, and how she became a role model and a star in her own right.
It all happened in my first few years of coaching. I was just a young puppy, and was pretty happy just to be standing on the soccer field with the real human coaches. Before that, the closest I got to coaching was barking from the front row.
My first year of high school coaching was at the same high school that I attended. No, it wasn't an obedience school, although I often believed my classmates would have benefitted from a little obedience training. The team was the girl's varsity team. The tryouts were pretty rough. Many girls came out for the team. The seniors were the worst behaved girls I'd ever met. Very much a clique, and very unfriendly to the juniors, sophomores, and froshmen. This was the first year the team had allowed froshmen to tryout. Allison was a sophomore.
There were about 40 girls trying out for 18 spots. There were a core of 8 seniors who were standouts from the previous years, and were all pretty much assured a sport on the squad. The remaining positions were up for grabs. Of course, we wanted to draw at least 3 or 4 players from the froshmen to allow them to mature with the team and become the stars of the team in the senior year. The only juniors we wanted to take were the ones who would be starting, since we didn't really want any junior riding pine, when we could spend the bench positions on the younger players. At this time we did not have a junior varsity program to draw from, so we were making decisions for the next few years. There were about 5 juniors that were good enough to start on the team, so combined with the returning seniors and the froshmen, we only had about two spots to fill with a sophomore. It was a tough decision, since that year we had many strong sophomore candidates to choose from. Allison was not one of them. We had three sets of cuts in the pre-season, and I'm pretty sure Allison was cut in the first cuts.
The following year, Allison again returned to tryouts. She had been playing club soccer during the high school off-season, but was still lacking the technique and tactical awareness needed to make the team as a junior. I was, however, always amazed at her heart. She ran harder than everyone else, not faster, but harder. She tried harder at all of the drills, and always went the extra step to learn and to ask how to improve. She wanted to play on that team more than anybody else, but unfortunately did not possess the skills to do so. She made it to the second cuts this year, but still didn't have what it took to make the squad.
After she was cut, she was really devastated. She wanted so badly to make the team, and she was frustrated with the whole thing. She actually told me that she was going to quit playing soccer because she was so frustrated, and she remarked that she would never make the team as a senior. I was coaching a club team in the high school off-season, and I suggested that she come out and play on my team. I was short a couple of players, and I thought playing with better players would be good for her.
The club season went pretty well. It was a fun bunch of girls, and Allison was by far the most coachable player I have ever met. She worked on the things that she needed to improve, and was always positive in her attitude. Allison was a very smart player. She had simply never been taught the proper way to do things. She understood the concepts perfectly, and always did exactly as she was instructed in games. She had great positional awareness, and an above average game sense. Although she didn't have great skill, she could make a simple pass. Although she didn't have a lot of speed, she made up for it by positioning herself perfectly in all situations. She turned into a great defender, and the best man-marker I had on the team.
In her senior year of tryouts, she had one of the most difficult tasks ahead of her; she was a senior, trying out for a varsity sport. Unless she was going to be a starting player, the chances of her making the team were really slim. This time there were only about 4 or 5 seniors trying out for the team. In addition to be a little light on seniors, the tryout was really short of defensive players. So when it came time for final cuts, both coaches were so impressed with her improvement and motivation, that we decided to keep her on the team as a starting defender. We weren't the only people who saw the potential in Allison, because when it came time to choose the team captain, Allison won the postion in a landslide. At seasons end, Allison was awarded Most Inspirational Player.
Well, that's my story. It just goes to show that hard work and perserverance are more admirable qualities than speed and skills. I think I can speak for many coaches when I say that I would prefer a team of Allisons over a team of divas anyday.
Keep the faith. Ciao for now.
The Samster