It starting brewing last year, when Joe's fifth grade classmates took over the sixth grade soccer team late in the season and won the HVAC Div. II tournament at Franklin Road Academy. For maybe the only time in the decade one or both of my boys have a attended University School Nashville, a coach recognized the importance of winning, in terms of morale and school pride, and played the best players. In other words, they played to win, which is exceedingly rare at USN, at least in middle school sports.
Joe's class of boys - particularly his close friends - is different from others in the past at USN, including JP's. More athletic. More competitive. More intense. More physical. More willing to mix it up with other teams. All of the good things, in my mind. These boys share traits that will help them succeed in life, long after their days on the athletic fields are over. That's my guess, anyway.
I expected big things out of them on the soccer filed this fall, as sixth graders, and I haven't been disappointed. USN is 4 - 0 on the season and, if memory serves, they only have give up two goals. Joe is playing middle back on defense, rather than goalie, which is good for him and for the team. It allows him time and space to work on his foot skills and his leadership is readily visible as he sets the defense, encourages his teammates, and moves the ball.
Tuesday afternoon, in an away game at Ensworth, they dominated the second half and won 4 - 1, clinching a first round bye in the Div. I tournament at the end of the season. It was a big win for the boys in large part because Ensworth is not a school that USN normally beats, in any sport. It's refreshing for the boys - and their parents - to play a sport at a high level and defeat schools that place a much high emphasis on athletics. Competing, and winning, breeds confidence and school pride. It's contagious. I saw it last year and I'm seeing it again this year.
The Ensworth coach yelled at his players after the game, proof positive that he didn't anticipate or like losing to USN. That made the win all the sweeter. Then, after a tie in the B team game, he whined about something that happened in the handshake line.
Joe and his teammates play with a bit of an edge. They're a bit cocky and that's completely okay. Not arrogant, mind you, but confident and a little cocky. They're not going to get pushed around. For several of these boys - not Joe - soccer is their main sport. They've played it competitively at the travel level for years. They've practiced, drilled, and played games all over middle Tennessee. And it shows, now, as they play for their school.
Last year, it was interesting to hear Joe talk about how much fun it was playing soccer with his closest friends from school, boys he's been on the playground with every school day for the past 5 + years. At lunch or during breaks, the boys got together and broke down the previous day's game. He loved that. Again, it's not often that a group of boys in middle school at USN are able to compete at a high level in a sport and experience success because too often the focus had been on participation, not competition.
Sadly, because it's USN, it's very likely this group of boys will splinter when sixth grade is over and attend seventh grade at other private schools in the area. This is what happened with JP's group and it's what will happen with Joe's group. Why? Because of a serious of broken promises from the USN administration over several years and a refusal to recognize that competitive sports can coexist at a school with a strong academic reputation. That's a whole story in an of itself.
For now, though, I'm going to enjoy watching this group of sixth graders from USN compete on the soccer field the rest of the season. Let's go!!
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