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HOW SWEET IT IS!
When we talk about sports we are usually interested in the outcome, more specifically, who won. We interview the winning team eager to hear the comments from the coaches and star players. Established programs that win year in and out often take winning for granted. Everyone wants to be a winner, someone has to lose and often we don’t give a second thought to the losing team.

So when a team becomes mired in a losing slump it’s easy to look the other way as people expect you to lose and your opponent expects to win. Take Tri-Village, now in their third year as an official High School Soccer program and one year as a club sport, this co-ed program competes against mostly all boy teams and had never experienced the taste of victory… until now!

The team lost nearly 40 games without an official victory on the field, they came oh so close to winning last year, once this year losing a heartbreaker to National Trail 2-1. The team began to wonder if they would ever win a game but… they still showed up, taking the field laying everything on the line with aspirations and hope they would eventually experience what it felt like to be on top.

So when Tri-Village took the soccer field in New Madison on Thursday night 9/29/05 to face Tri-County North a team they lost to earlier in the season 13-0, no one really expected the drama that was about to unfold. It would be a night many of the kids will remember forever and was a tribute to those who played before them and to those who weathered the losing streak. The team would pull off a shocking victory over Tri-County North, 2-1 notching a place in history at Tri-Village with their first ever soccer win.

The night held promise early on, for no more than 30 seconds into match the Patriots had scored their first goal. It was a throw-in to senior Troy Shuman who beat the defenders to the hole and his shot not only gave Tri-Village the lead, it gave them a shot of adrenaline and hope, something they had never experienced because it would be their first lead ever in a soccer match.

“That goal was huge, said first year Coach Brad Gray, you could see the body language of our kids go up and they then played with more passion.” The Patriots weren’t done scoring, with 25 minutes left to play in the second half junior Ben Hollinger made a couple of good moves and put a good leg on the ball pocketing it into the left side of the net. “Ben has been such a strong player for us this year and has 3 of our teams 5 goals this year,” commented Coach Gray.

Now with a 2-0 lead the team really felt confident, parents in the stands started to get excited sensing the moment that something special was about to happen. The Tri-County North Panthers weren’t going to just leave the field and hand it to the Patriots they were going to have to earn it. With 10 minutes left to play North was finally able to get a goal and close the gap 2-1 and the celebration was now somewhat premature.

The Patriots held their composure playing solid defense, clearing the ball whenever possible to take time off the clock while trying to preserve their mark in history. When the last seconds ticked off the clock and the realization of what just occurred is what High School Sports is all about. Seeing the excitement and exuberance on the faces of those who just won was priceless. For many it would be their first win in any competitive competition. “Our kids acted like they won the State Championship, said Coach Gray. It is something I will never forget. In his post game comments he let the kids know that to this point they were the greatest soccer team ever at Tri-Village. “This win puts our program on the map.”

I am so happy for our team, especially our 4 seniors Troy Shuman, Nick Hammaker, Clayton Mikesell and Brian McEldowney. McEldowney has been such a tremendous leader, hard worker and fights hard in every game and it means a lot for a kid like this to finally get that win.

We have 5 games left and for the first time our kids believe in themselves and feel like they can win 2 out of the 5 remaining games. We will continue to work hard but regardless of the outcome, the effort of our kids over the last 4 years is now starting to pay dividends.

Coach Gray and assistant coach Rosenberg aren’t content to rest just because the team won their first game. Their thoughts turn to the next opponent and to the next year. They would like to continue the momentum and build a program that is competitive like those at Newton, Franklin Monroe and Bethel all strong Cross County Conference programs.

“We have to get more kids to come out for the team. Even if it’s just for a couple of weeks in the fall to see what it’s all about. “Before this year I really didn’t know much about soccer. I’ve played football, basketball, and baseball and coach basketball as well but… this has been a tremendous and rewarding experience for my family and me. The team’s win over Tri-County North is my most memorable win as a coach. I really think if we could get some of our athletes who aren’t involved in other sports in the fall to come out they would also have a positive experience.

We need to continue to support those youth who now participate in the SAY organized soccer program. SAY has been so successful in developing programs at a number of schools such as Franklin Monroe, Newton and Bethel. It is my understanding that we have a number of youth participating and I would encourage them to continue because it is the feeder program that will help the High School program in the future.

So the next time you see a team mired in a losing slump take a few moment to reflect on this story. These are kids, who regardless of talent work hard, whether they win or not they are winners for having tried! That is what High School Sports and life in general is all about.