WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A CHAMPION AMONG COACHES
“Two Central alumni. Two best friends. Two Public League Championship coaches.” Mr. Julien tweeted after the boys’ soccer team won their championship game. He was referring to himself and Mr. Trott, who both led their respective teams (soccer and wrestling) to be 2013 Champions. Although they have similar background stories, both being Central graduates and teachers, their approaches to coaching are unique.
Mr. Trott is new to the soccer world, having only become coach in 2012. In his first year, the team made it to the playoffs, which most would consider a great success. “It was a proud moment,” Coach Trott said, “but it wasn’t enough. The boys had too
much potential to not be champions.” At the start of his second season Coach Trott made it known to his players that toughness, both mental and physical, were the key to becoming champions. “The problem was in their heads. They just gave up, which wasn’t going to cut it” he explained. He dug deeper into the problem as playoffs approached, using a method only an English teacher could.
In every pregame speech, he told triumphant stories from The Odyssey, reminding the boys to fight until their limit, like Odysseus. “I’m not saying epic poems makes you good at soccer, but the team needed some motivation, and Odysseus worked for them.” His method paid off, with Central achieving their Public League Championship goal in just his second year of coaching. The soccer boys accredited his supportive attitude for their success. “He never yelled at us, and he never doubted us,” Captain Joel Kelly said with appreciation.
Two of Central's biggest and most popular sports teams, boy's soccer and wrestling, have been lucky enough to enter and conquer in the 2013-14 school year public league championships. While the players are a vital part of the team, it can be argued that they would be nothing without the coaches. In this article, let's see why.