Soccer Memories - Bob, the referee perspective.

This is the second installment of Bob's Soccer Memories.  This one focuses on Bob's memories from refereeing soccer.  Enjoy!

I also can offer my perspective as a soccer official.  I have had the pleasure of being an official for 7 years now, and it has been a rewarding experience.  I started officiating with Olivia when she was 11, which was a great way to bond with her.  I was able to run a line for her in her last game this past spring, a state cup game at Pacesetter.  Yes, I cried. 

I think the most rewarding aspect of officiating is working with the kids.  I try to make each game an enjoyable experience for the kids, and myself.  I enjoy the open communication the players.  I love to crack a joke or 2 at lighter moments in a game.  I’m human too, sometimes the kids forget that!  I’m there for them, not me or anyone else.  When I stop enjoying the kids, I’ll be done.

I have learned much from fellow referees about soccer over the years, as well as learning from coaches and players.  I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work many higher level games, including a state final in 2013 with Doug Billerman.  This year I worked a State-semi final with Andy Martin.  I could not have done that without working with and learning from all the great officials in West Central Ohio.  It was a great experience that I hope some of the other officials in our association get to have someday as well.   

I’ve had my share of tough games, but I’ve had more than my share of truly enjoyable moments as an official.  It is great to show up at a game and see friends.  I love that!  Of course, some of the friends may groan when I show up too, lol.  At least they know what to expect!!   As much as I loved watching my kids play, and as much as I enjoy being an official, in the end, I am grateful for all the friendships I have been able to make through soccer over the years.  I am also grateful for the time I was able to spend with Nicole and Olivia along the way these past 17 years.  Without Nicole and Olivia, none of this would have been possible!!

      

Soccer Memories - Bob, the father's perspective.

I decided to break Bob's contribution in two as he provides insight from the perspective of a father and that of a referee.  First up are memories of his daughters playing.  Enjoy!

Like Tim, my time as a soccer dad ended recently with the last spring season that my youngest daughter played.  After 17 years, I no longer have someone to take to practice, a game, or a weekend tournament!  I can’t say that I AM entirely broken hearted by that fact, ha ha, but I have had my share of good memories over that time to last me the rest of my life. 

Nicole, now 23, was the trailblazer for Olivia, my youngest who is now 18.  Nicole started playing U6 at Shawnee, and hung up her boots after 1 year at D3 Virginia Wesleyan.  Olivia started out the same, finishing her soccer career at Findlay HS and GTFC Impact this past spring before heading off to USNA.  In between all that time, wow, so much has happened!

Unlike Tim’s memories, mine are not quite as specific.  I remember certain plays still to this day, but my memories are more of places we traveled, and getting the chance to spend time with my girls.  I can remember Nicole making the best tackle I ever saw her make at PSI in Toledo, her GTFC team won the tournament that year.  I remember when Nicole was 11 or 12 at the Elida Fall Classic, making a game winning goal against Elida.  Scott Laman kept telling me to put Nicole up front, he was a much better soccer coach than me!      

I can remember Nicole playing in her first tournament in Elida in the fall of 2000.  I think she still has the shirt!  That was our first weekend soccer experience, and the only time her Grandpa got to see her play, at least in person.  The next fall, we sewed flags on the girl’s uniforms after 9/11.  I know Nicole and Olivia still have those shirts somewhere!  After 9/11, I remember fighter jets flying over us at practices, and yes, we stopped to watch.

After a few years, Nicole started playing at West Central United where she met girls from other schools for the first time.  Many of those girls are still her friends today, which is great.  The West Central years were learning years for sure.  Not a lot of winning, but the girls were learning.

When Nicole was 14, a group of Lima area girls headed north and tried out at GTFC.  That’s when my eyes were opened!  Nicole managed to make the team, and played for some great coaches at GTFC.  We traveled all over the Midwest, Toronto (twice), Orlando, and Phoenix for tournaments.  It was our first trip to Toronto where I introduced Nicole to sushi, a food that she now enjoys immensely. 

Olivia was introduced to GTFC at about age 10 when she attended an indoor practice with Nicole and I on a wintry Sunday afternoon.  Nicole’s coach at the time saw Olivia and asked her to join in a scrimmage.  Olivia, being the competitor she was and is to this day, joined in and played her hardest.  She was invited to join the U-10’s that spring at GTFC.  I remember after Olivia wanting to play keeper her first year at GTFC, but she was stuck on defense, and not happy.  Her Shawnee friends asked her for come play in Elida that year, she said only if she could play keeper, lol.  She did, and she had a great weekend, loved it all!  She did eventually get to play keeper full time at Findlay and in club, a result of her ward work and eagerness to learn.  She did pretty well, making NWO District first team her Junior and senior years!  I’ll miss seeing Olivia come off her line, sacrifice her body, diving to snuff out a shot from a hopeful attacker.  

Some of Olivia best plays were coming off her line, and snuffing out a strike right at the attacker’s foot.  These were always exciting plays, and the crowd loved watching her do it as much as I did!  Then the foot save against Northview in her last game.  That was a great play and an even better reaction from Olivia.  Anyone who knows Olivia likely knows her as having a great poker face, and rarely would she show any emotion on the pitch.  But after that save, she let it out. 

I will always remember the miles traveled as a soccer dad.  Too many to count, but worth every minute and mile.  For you parents with kids still playing, just realize that one day it will all end, and then you will wonder where the time went!  I hope that my girls have fond memories of the travels as well, and someday when they are parents, they do the same with their kids, as my mom and dad did with me.    

Soccer Memories - Treg

When I was first asked to share soccer memories I had no Idea where to start. I mean this list would never stop for me. I have been apart of the game through almost every spectrum that I can think of. The sport is more then a game it is a Love.  It's not a casual thing like watching the USMNT or other professional team but wanting to pick up a ball just to be on your foot. On a few nice days as I have crossed campus this year I have had a ball at my foot literally just playing a little game defeating defenders as they walk to their next class or seeing if I can hit friends as they pass by to literally running into people or playing a game with a pig (yes we have pigs on campus)

From a player perspective it is not necessary any one certain goal that I remember as awesome (even though scoring the game winning goal against rival Warriors as time was expiring was pretty great or scoring against Elida High School on my birthday both years of High School Soccer I played). More
it is a collection of ones that had dramatic impacts upon the game like the Warrior one my dad talked about in sharing his memories or events and friendships that I can never lose.

I remember playing against a team who literally stacked a 1-1-9 formation against us and we got our heads handed to us. Next time down at their place they were mocking us and being cocky during the warm ups and what not and we went out and with in a first few minutes I was running through them like they were Swiss cheese. I remember the first one in that game which was just like us sticking our tongues out saying well two can play this game. No we didn't actually. I never played on a team like that and never plan to coach a team like that either but just one of those "take that" moments.

I got a long pass played by our wing defender Kevin Esser and I took off. Kevin probably played the longest ball I have ever seen from him. Kevin and I related pretty well because we both have speech impediments and just know about all the name calling and what not. We played on the same club teams and while he didn't have the strongest leg or the best foot skills he LOVED the game as much as I did.

As played continued I received it making a flat run to the left side and bent it in since I was literally alone having blown right past the defender marking me. I took the ball from the top of the 18 at about the width of the six to the corner of the six and played the ball to the back post just like the famous Graham Ramsay would yell back in the day to the members of the high school team that I just idolized as a little kid while being a ball boy and helping my dad in practice. As the ball trickled over towards the back post someone came into my peripheral vision. Guess who it was... Kevin himself. one of the slowest kids on the team made the 95 yard run to have my back net option right with me.  It was the start of a beautiful friendship that lasts still today.

Another great memory was playing for Lima Central Catholic. There is an ancient rivalry between them and my school Shawnee. well it was just a blast to play my 8th grade year and a fall rec tournament after my freshmen year with them. At Shawnee they would go to practice with no heart, goofing off and being happy with where they were at - winning lots of games by being
quicker then the opponent.  The gentlemen over at LCC had the Love of the game they talked about it daily. They warmed up with the idea of no bad passes and trying to get better. It was an honor playing with those guys as they were goofy off the  field like any teenage boys, but on the field it was all about the game and sportsmanship and nothing else.

The best moment playing with these guys came from Nolan Burkholder. We both
played club soccer and our skill level was higher than our teammates who did not. I remember doing so many wall passes a round a guy from St. Marys that he finally stopped. Just up and quit on us. Literally one time he just threw up his hands and said go because if it wasn't a wall pass it was an overlap, dribbling on to the next line or playing the ball to a target forward. Nolan and I played combination passes to get around the defenders.

Or the year after when Nolan and I were going at it in high school or later that fall playing on their middle school team where I played the sweeper position and saved a goal when the ball was on the goal line.

Through all these ramblings the thoughts just go on and on.

Moving from the field to refereeing to coaching to a spectator and all the
other spectrums are endless as well.

Probably the most memorable one as a referee came when refereeing Lance as he served as
a guest player. He dribbled right in front of me on a very short and narrow field and took a shot as a defending mid from about 40 yards out and just started laughing. I take off down the field towards the ball and the little stinker had put the ball in the net. That goal, if my memory serves me correctly, might of been the only goal in the game.

From the perspective of a spectator my favorite memory is probably sitting right behind the Jon Busch, Chad Marshall and Jeff Chuningham as they played for the crew. Kevin and I were
ball boys for his birthday behind the goal on the home side. It was a blast to be that up and personal and actually got to hold a conversation with Busch for about 5 minutes.

Or meeting Frankie Hedjuk and talking to him on numerous occasions.  Or the day I  nutmeged Frankie on Ohio State University Oval. (GO BLUE!) I mean just all the fun from playing the standard team game has been a blast.

As a player the last game doesn't end at the whistle of the last full side organized game but when you decide to step away. This list could go on and on and I have told my dad that I am more then willing to share more in-depth memories of this wonderful game.

Soccer Memories - Ashleigh

Having played soccer from the age of 5 to my senior year of high school, there are plenty of memories that were made.

My favorite memory would have to be when we made it to State Final Four my sophomore year of high school. The support we got from other WBL schools and the community was an awesome feeling! I really enjoyed when we took our charter bus around to the elementary schools and the little kids held up signs and cheered! It was also an amazing feeling every time we won a tournament game getting lead into town by a fire truck.

Coming from a bench player my freshman year, it was much to my surprise when I got my name on the record board my senior year. Breaking 2 records was an awesome feeling and it’s always great to look and see my name there. I might not be on the field anymore but the times I had playing as a Roughrider were the best.

More Soccer (and a basketball) Memories - Tim II

A few more of my favorite memories from coaching

These first two revolve around young players with disabilities.   Both were such neat kids from loving homes wanting to play sports like their siblings, friends and classmates. I was blessed to be able to coach Eric and John.

Eric played soccer for me one season. If I recall correctly the team was a group of U12 boys. Eric might have been slightly older. I don't know the correct term for Eric's disability. Suffice it to say he was mentally challenged in some ways. Eric was also very bright in some ways and could be a bit of a prankster. One of the challenges I faced were complaints from a couple of players / parents of how Eric's presence on the team and especially in the game put our team at a competitive disadvantage. My approach with those people was to cheerfully reply "Of course, it does!  But it also makes us a make stronger team!"  It was enough to defuse potentially ugly situations if only because it stunned them into silence.

I made no exceptions for Eric, expecting him to attempt everything his teammates did. I worked with Eric the same I would with any other players.  I acknowledged and cheered his successes and when necessary corrected his mistakes. I did notify opposing coaches and referees that we had a special needs kid on our team, but asked no favors on his behalf.  If Eric were offside, call it. If Eric committed a foul, call it.  If Eric handled the ball, call it.  I even played Eric in goal a bit.  I, and his teammates, strove to treat Eric as we would any other member of the team.

Eric, for his part seemed to have a great time. The kid was always smiling and often times I spotted a twinkle in his eye that belied a mischievous streak.  For instance, we sometimes finished practice with an exercise known as butts up! This usually involved the coaches or a birthday boy standing in the goal with hands on knees and their back to the field. Players would each have a turn to "shoot the ball" at the coaches butt.  If they hit the coach, no running. If they missed the coach, they ran half a lap.  Eric didn't have much luck hitting the coaches butt until late in the season. I had seen that twinkle in his eye before we started butts up that evening but was unprepared to actually be hit by the ball when it was Eric's turn!   He had picked up the ball, snuck up behind me, threw the ball and hit me in the butt!  Much laughter ensued!   I pretended to be upset that he had "cheated" but Eric didn't care, he had hit coach in the butt!  Secretly I beamed at his ingenuity.

And there's the lesson to be learned.  Soccer is a game about solving problems encountered on the pitch.  That's exactly what Eric had done!  In his own unique way and to the best of his ability he solved the problem.  Love, Love, LOVE that kid.  Such an inspiration to the rest of us.  I cannot begin to remember what our record was that season, but I will always remember Eric was on our team.

John was a sports aficionado.  His special needs were both physical and mental in nature.  Great kid who smiled a lot. I was privileged and honored to coach John in 7th grade basketball. Anyone that has been around 7th grade boys knows their competitive nature really begins to emerge in middle school. Having a special needs kid on your team can be a difficult situation.

I made no exceptions for John. I expected him to attempt everything his teammates were asked to do. To John's credit he dribbled and shot fairly well all things considered. Certainly not at a competitive in-game level but competently nonetheless.  He wasn't much of a defender and playing man to man defense with John on the court was never  a consideration .  Of course, there were one or two players / parents upset about the competitive disadvantage John placed the team in when he was on the court.

My solution with John was to play him in the middle of a 2-1-2 zone whenever he was on the court.  On offense he played "high post".  As I recall we actually had one player / family become very frustrated and leave the team over John's presence. We were struggling through the season, losing games we "should have" or at least "could have" won except for John.  An amazing thing happened as the post season tournament began - the team went on a winning streak that carried them to the championship game!  And yes, John was involved in each of those games.

We didn't win the championship, but I'm not sure anyone aside from John really cared. As I said, John is a sports aficionado.  He recognizes his limitations but that makes him no less competitive. I remember overhearing him talking with his father about if he had only done "this or that" a little bit better. Never blaming his disabilities, only lamenting that perhaps he had not played as well as he was capable of playing.

My own son said something to the effect, "If it weren't for John we could have won, but I think we got a better prize than a trophy by having John play on our team."  And he was absolutely correct.  The lesson here is about making the most of what God has blessed us with.  John certainly did this on a daily basis. His positive attitude was contagious to the point that he was inspirational to his teammates.  I myself don't know if we would have won that championship or not, but I do believe firmly that we would not have played for one without John leading the way.

When I took over the Lima Central Catholic girls program I knew we had to change a culture of losing.  What I did not realize was how deeply ingrained the culture of losing was. That first summer with the girls I remember getting incredibly frustrated with teaching the girls to give intelligent effort.  The idea of less physical exertion in favor of more mental exertion was struggling to find a foothold. It seemed at some point in the past a coach had told them they were not as talented as opponents and the only way they could compete was to outwork the other team.  I took the team off the pitch and we sat in the shade along the St. Gerard's school building. I told the girls they were a good team and it was time to start playing like it.  ...  there was a collective look on the players faces ... I'm not quite sure how to describe it.  I recall looking over my shoulder because I thought something might be seriously wrong. I thought back over what I just said to ascertain if I had somehow been out of line in my speech. I finally asked what was wrong and Sarah spoke up. Of course, it would be Sarah.  She is one of my all-time favorite players. A royal pain in the butt and her own worst enemy, but nonetheless one of my all-time favorites and likely in part because of her response that day.  "No one has ever told us we are a good team."   I was incredulous.  I know my mouth gaped open and I asked "What?!"  Sarah responded with "You're the first coach to ever tell us we are a good team." As I looked around at the girls I saw heads nodding in agreement, but there was something else visible as well.  There was a physical transformation and a changing of attitude happening right before my eyes.  In 60 seconds we changed the culture of the program.  I gave them my belief, my confidence in them and they knew I was sincere. One of the truly unforgettable moments in my coaching career.

The last memory I will share today is actually a product of the saddest experience I have ever had in sports.  A good friend and volunteer assistant to me committed suicide in mid-season. It happened on a Friday night.  I spent much of that night with Justin's family and especially his son, Kaleb who was on our team. The next day Lance and I took Kaleb with us to a tournament in Glandorf.  Kaleb wanted to be with us and it seemed like the thing to do.  Scott Bentz was the coach for the team Lance was guest playing for and when he learned of the circumstances he graciously allowed Kaleb to come along and play that day as well.  The next day our own team was scheduled to play the ISC Storm in Botkins, Ohio and I just didn't know if Kaleb and his family would be up for it. I called to warn the ISC Storm coach, Terry Paulus, of what we were dealing with and he graciously said he would go along with whatever we thought would be best.  We decided to go ahead and play that Sunday.  The sun shone through cloudy skies but there was a bitterly cold wind blowing.  We scored first and I began to think of how good it would be to win that day. The Storm tied the game late and, oh, I don't know ... the result just didn't seem to matter much at all.  Unbeknownst to me, Terry and the parents from the ISC Storm team had taken up a collection for Kaleb and his family.  Now, the first time I ever spoke with Terry Paulus was the day before when I informed him of the tragedy that had struck our team.  I didn't know the guy from Adam. It wasn't just a few bucks they collected either. It was a sizeable amount given to complete strangers. ... now good friends. Both Kaleb and Lance have guest played for Terry and the ISC Storm on numerous occasions.  This is of course a bitter sweet memory, but Terry Paulus and the ISC Storm made a lasting impression on us that day and provided a memory that will last a lifetime. The money, while a wonderful gesture, is not the memory though.  The memory is of others in the family of soccer stepping in to do what they could when it was most needed..  Scott, Terry, all the kids who played in those games that weekend let Kaleb know they had his back and were there to help as they could.  Can you imagine having over a hundred people, many whom you never knew before that weekend embracing you with their love?  That's a pretty special memory, in my book

Soccer Memories - Grant

I have been fortunate enough to spend 20 years around a game that I love as a player, referee, and coach and I thank God for the opportunity, my parents for their support, and all of the friends I’ve made along the way.  These are a few of my favorite soccer memories from those experiences.

I was fortunate enough to play on a club team where we would travel to Dayton to play about half of our games. We used walkie talkies to stay in contact while traveling since this was before cell phones. Being a group of 14 year old boys we joked around a lot on our trips. One time we passed a police cruiser on the highway. One of my teammates parent’s was speeding and got pulled over. My teammate Nick who had a walkie talkie comes over the air “Mayday Mayday I got a bogie on me!” The entire team was laughing. To this day I still joke with my family about it.

During my sophomore year of high school I took most of our free kicks in the attacking half of the field. At an away game against one of our rivals there was a free kick about 35 yards out that I took. I took the kick and my intention was to put it about the 6 yard box so it could be headed on goal. I miss hit the ball and it went farther than I intended but with where the kick was on the field it drifted over the keeper’s hands into the upper left corner for the goal. It’s really the only goal that I remember scoring mainly because it seemed like the ball just hung in the air forever and at the last moment dipped perfectly.

From the referee side there are too many to list here. I was privileged to referee regional and national finals , multiple USL Pro games and an MLS scrimmage.  Many of these memories are so great because they were with great people. I would like to mention Dan Fennema in particular because we traveled together a lot and he was a great mentor to me. On the field my favorite memories actually came before a game. I was refereeing an adult amateur game between two Hispanic teams who had gotten into a fight the last time they played. As we were getting ready for the coin toss the captains were speaking Spanish to each other. I unfortunately do not know Spanish so my response was to start speaking German to them and do the coin toss through hand motions. At the end the captains said good luck to each other, they shook my hand and said good luck to which I just smiled and replied good luck back to them, all of this in clear English. The rest of the game we communicated to each other in English and the game was almost perfect.

My coaching career has been rather short thus far but my favorite memory so far came at the end of the year soccer tournament with my U9 team in the Spring of 2014. The boys had been playing well and improving in the weeks leading up to the tournament but couldn’t get over the hump to win. Then everything clicked in their first game. They went on to win the tournament and were so happy with that after a season of being so close. The winning is not what I remember however. I remember that the boys played great defense and only allowed 3 goals in 4 games, had multiple bangoo goals, and the least athletic player on the team who had been working so hard on his skills did a double scissors move that left the defender wondering what had happened.

Some other things that stand out to me as I reflect are getting up at 4:00 AM to watch the Korea/Japan World Cup. Spending summer afternoons with Graham Ramsey and my father watching coaching videos and talking about the game, hearing an entire complex erupt with cheers when Donovan scored the World Cup goal. These are just a few of my favorite memories however what I enjoy the most about the beautiful game is all of the wonderful people I have met and shared stories and laughs with.

Soccer Memories - Ian

Our next installment of Soccer Memories features Ian who is in his first year of college after a stellar high school career. 


My favorite memory of soccer was my first college goal. That goals my favorite out of all my years of soccer because I'm a freshman in college and hardly play, but our team had been playing and went down to 9 men vs. 11 and coach had to play everyone to keep rest. We went down a goal in the first half and in the second we came back and tied it. With only two minutes left in the game I slot home the game winning goal. I was excited and all i wanted was to make my parents proud so I had to call them and tell them.

Soccer Memories - Keirstyn

We have had several of you contribute to our continuing our series on Soccer Memories.   The amazing thing continues to be every single memory shared being a positive one.  Teammates, great plays, big matches, travel, hotels, meals with teammates and their families. Team bonding.  The fellowship and sharing we do with our soccer families.

If you want in on the fun, send your memories to tbrown@wcoil.com and I will share them with our readers.

Soccer Memories - Keirstyn

Okay,  my favorite soccer memories would have to be from my sophomore year when we beat Anna for the first time ever then we ended up beating them the same year in the tournament 3-0.

Soccer Memories - Bailey

Bailey Hinegardner Favorite Soccer Memories

 

·         Playing Hall Soccer with a mini ball in hotels while at soccer tournaments

·         Traveling to the National 3vs3 soccer tourney at Disney’s Wide World of Sports

·         Going to the championship game in Cincinnati’s Queen City tournament by going into double overtime and then winning in PK’s and then 15 minutes later having to play the championship game

·         Being named captain of my high school team my senior year

·         Being the first Wapak team to win against Kalida

·         Scoring a 30 yard free kick against Indian Lake my senior year

·         The many team dinners we had in high school

·         Playing in the rain, sleet, hail, and snow all in one soccer game

·         The many fun times at practice playing games like soccer tennis, handball, World Cup, Power Finesse and many more

·         Attending or even helping with all the soccer camps that I attended

·         Meeting people that I would have never met if I would not have played soccer and having lasting friendships with them

·         Seeing all the different coaching styles that coaches have and learning something different from each one of them

·         Last of all learning the many lessons from soccer that not only help you with soccer but also with life

Soccer Memories - Sean

Many of my favorite soccer memories come in my sophomore high school season where I feel I made a big jump. My first high school goal was one of my favorites. We were playing Ottoville at Ottoville and in LCCs history we hadn't beaten them before, so it was a big game. The score was zero -  zero and we won a throw in near there 18. The ball was thrown in to one of our players and deflected around a few times and was sent to the top of the box where I was waiting. The ball came and I had enough time to send it top shelf. It was my first high school goal and it gave us the lead in an eventual 3-1 victory.

Soccer Memories - Candace

Some of my favorite soccer memories are the following:

 

* At the end of the last soccer game, after we had just lost, when the Climb by Miley Cyrus came on the radio and the entire team sang along.

 

* When on the way home after a game we had to stop at a random McDonalds just becausde Libby had to use the bathroom.

 

* When I broke my nose minutes before I was suppose to walk out with my parents on Senior night.

 

* When I broke my nose the first time (lol) and I hadn't realized it and kept playing, so after the game I walked up to a coach and asked, "My nose is okay, right?" and he put both of his thumbs to the sides of my nose and just laughed and responded, "No, it's broken."

 

* Getting announced as Captain.

 

* At a camp for little kids with multiple other high school teams around, when Amanda and I were messing around and I meant to trip her and we both fell right in the middle of Anthony Wayne's girls team.

 

* When at film listening to Peyton every time she got the ball, "OKAY EVERYONE STOP LISTEN LOOK AT ME PLAY."

 

* Getting a yellow card my senior year because of "a look I had in my eye" (Personally I think that's code for, I'm a really bad ref)

 

*After the last game Billy telling us how proud of us he us, a lot of it because there was a huge rainbow in the background and during the game nobody yelled, "Look guys, a rainbow!"

 

* Getting called B**** Barbie by another team my junior year, and my team and coaches then proceeding to call me "Barbie" for the rest of my soccer career

Soccer Memories - Tim

My youngest son recently played his final game of high school soccer and this triggered a conversation about our favorite soccer memories while driving home from Indiana recently.  Our family has been involved with soccer non-stop for well over 20 years.  A few of my favorite memories.

The first soccer team I ever coached went undefeated.  U6 in the Shawnee Soccer association.

Nick Welker on the walkie talkies as we traveled to Dayton proclaiming we had bogie's on our tails and to take evasive action!  Still brings a smile to my face as does the impromptu lacrosse game he helped organize,  Sadly Nick is a paraplegic now having suffered great injury in an automobile accident.

An eventful Father's Day tournament in Ft. Wayne that saw Sam Hribar giving massages to the dads, hotel security come to our room, Doug Billerman yelling "Get over here!" at a young card happy referee and a burglar.  Crazy!

Dave and Busters, Hooters and a crazy night when the adults imbibed a bit too much in Winton Woods with Treg's team.

Treg's game winning goal in the final minute at Warriors. That was a game that proved to be the catalyst for a great season.

Grant's freshman year at Ottawa-Glandorf when he played drop passes 3 times in a row and on the fourth time the OG defender jumped that move only to see Grant turn the ball back up field and leave him far behind. That's manipulating a defender / defense!

Lance's back to goal move while playing for Ohio Extreme that left a poor defender standing with his hands raised to the heavens laughing at himself. Best move, or at least the funniest result from a move, I have ever seen!

Trips to Erie, Pennsylvania where we stayed in a ski lodge just across the border in neighboring New York and saw and competed against teams from all over the world!  The Creek Classic was another tournament where we saw and competed against international teams.

The revenge game against a team in Treg's league that beat us using a 1-1-9 formation.  We played a 4-5-1 with Treg up top and smashed them!  Treg had a field day running free to goal.  Forced them to drop first one more defender back, then another and another and another until they were in a conventional formation!.

Megan Baumgartner recruiting me to coach LCC while at a track meet at Shawnee. She didn't like any of the other candidates. When she asked me to coach, I knew she had a passion for the game and that I would have a great leader in her. Both were proven true. She pestered then athletic director Pat Murphy daily until he hired me. One of my favorite players of all time. Not because of skill or talent level although those were good. It was because she strove for excellence every day and demanded the same from others. She was the driving force in getting that program to achieve as it could.

Grant refereeing in Crew Stadium for the first time.  MLS Reserve match.  Really cool!  Proud day for us all. 

The privilege of watching Brandon Morse every day for 4 years of high school seasons. Two of the best plays I have ever seen in high school soccer.  Freshman year Brandon is dribbling in along the 18 and bends a ball to Ryan Quatman's head at the six.  Still the best in-game play I have ever seen in high school soccer.  And in practice one day Brandon was going in on goal and in stride turned his hips first in one direction and on the next stride in the other direction before scoring the ball.  My description here does not do this justice.

Coaching against the Croatian Eagles. Never been prouder of a team than I was that day.  What a comeback!  The very definition of resiliency in evidence that day.  The foretelling of which was found in a crazy 6-5 victory in a President's Cup game the previous spring - the game against St. Brendan's Academy that will forever be known as the Psycho Soccer Mom game! This game against the Croatian Eagles propelled us to a great season.

A weekend at Pacesetters when we got our butts kicked but had a great time fixing diner in our hotel rooms, learning the Miller roll and, yes, another visit to our rooms by hotel security!

Shayna Niese asking if more people were going to score goals "this" year during preparations for our first season at LCC.  Yes!  We shared the load and set a record for goals scored!

Summer camp with the Piqua Indians on a Wednesday morning when everything suddenly clicked.  Xavier verbally directing multiple soccer balls at the same time.  Never seen anything like it before or since. 

A simple gesture by the Liberty Center girls team of inviting me to share in the team break at the end of the camp we did with them. It meant a lot girls!  Thank you.

Goncalo Branco taking on the entire ISC Storm team twice to score the game tying and game winning goals and preserve our perfect league season.  Only one other time have I ever seen a player skilled enough and determined enough not to be denied no matter how many defenders tried to stop him. The other?  Brandon Morse against Kenton.

I'm not sure there is a specific meal, but the fellowship we have enjoyed with the club teams at post game dinners. Picnics / tailgating in parks, BD's Mongolian BBQ, Mike and Rosie's, Olive Garden, Bunkers, The Cheesecake Factory, Young's, Der Dutchman, Max & Erma's, Dave & Busters, Five Guys & Fries, Dunaway's Beef & Ale, Biaggi's and of course....Hooters!  Those trips to Hooters with adolescent boys. smh.  Taking pictures with the waitresses.  Priceless!

The U19 Grand Lake United team from this past spring.  Best team I have ever had the privilege to coach. Great soccer players and even better people.  So blessed to have been a part of this group.  I love these young men and their families.  Such FUN because they have such passion for the game and are such hard workers. 

Wow!  I have so many more, but want to give my three sons their opportunity to share with you as well.  The ultimate might be the memories shared by the greatest of soccer mom's, my wife and the mother of our sons, Christi.  I look forward to her thoughts myself!