Why Am I Here?

This moving post from Who Ate All the Cupcakes touched a nerve within me.

This…is why I’m here

Currently Soccer’s reputation stands as a game for fairies, a game that you only play when you’re young, a game for parents to get their ADHD kids to run around and expend some energy before coming back home and being a little more relaxed. Since the game’s rep isn’t that great in this country we end up with athletes who choose to play soccer, not true soccer players. True soccer players like the Cruyffs, the Peles, the Maradonas, the Valderamas, the Zidanes, and to a lesser extent the Bergkamps and Ronaldinhos of the world who can’t help but create magic on the pitch. We end up with the Landon Donovans, Claudio Reynas, John Harkeses, Pablo Mastroenis, and Ricardo Clarks; all are good players (good enough to play internationally) but they don’t pull off the jaw dropping moves, runs, passes, or goals.

I coach because I want this to change; I want the reputation of this wonderful game to change in this country; I want to be a part of that grass-roots movement that will eventually culminate in the US winning the world cup (through coaching kids to be better players and develop a passion for the game and coach the next generation of players to better than they were) sometime during my life. I sound like I’m Jerry Mc-effing-Guire and I’m going to save the world tomorrow with a mission statement, but I really believe that if there are enough coaches out there who want to develop true soccer players this country can begin to develop more and more top quality players. I coach soccer because my coaches taught me a lot but not enough to be a true soccer player. I coach because I want this younger generation of players to learn to be soccer players, not just athletes; I want them to learn at 15, 14, 12 even, the things that I learned at 20. I want them to be on the pitch and figure out 2 or 3 different options in every situation, instead of always doing the same tired and jaded thing in every situation. I coach to give players someone who won’t scream at them for trying something new and failing. I’ve heard stories of high school coaches in my area who demand that their players play the ball to this place every time they get it. These same coaches also scream at these players if they stray too far out of their defined position on the pitch, even if it’s to make a play.

I play soccer because fitness, athleticism, and skill reign supreme (even though I don’t have any of these) not pure size. I play soccer because it’s the most free-flowing thought provoking game out there, players have 90 minutes with only brief interventions from coaches to figure out how to make in-roads on the opposition and win the game. It’s like chess on grass. I remember the good plays I made, the goals I scored (there aren’t too many), I remember the great runs that I’ve made that resulted in something good as well as the great runs that resulted in nothing. I’m not and never have been a good player, but that’s the great thing about this game is that even someone like me can make a good, sometimes great, play, which only makes you want to come back and try to top the last one.

I follow soccer because it is the one game where grace combines with passion and aggression. Because it is the most interesting sport in terms of competitions/leagues; in the US if you have a shitty season you get a crack at the best collegiate players, in soccer (everywhere but the US) if you have a shitty season you go down a lower league more your speed. In the US if you win the championship you’re the world Champs, in soccer if you win the championship you’re the champ of that competition, be it cup or league. In the US if you’re the best in the league you come back and beat up on the same teams, year in and year out, in soccer if you’re the best in the league, you get the chance to play against the best teams from other leagues and countries. In the US sports fans are only loud if their team does something good or they feel aggrieved by the referee, in soccer (most of the time) the fans are loud throughout the entire game. I remember watching the special games and special goals; the ’98 World Cup final, the ’96 MLS Cup final, ’05 US Mexico World Cup qualifier in Columbus, the US’s entire run in the ’02 World Cup, McBride’s over the shoulder take down and half volley against West Ham in the FA Cup, Rooney’s volley against Newcastle, Roberto Carlos’s volley into the ground and then upper 90° against Marseille in the Champion’s League, Liverpool’s Champion’s League triumph against AC Milan, and it goes on and on and on. I remember the awe that these games and goals made me feel.

This is why I'm here.