To this day, Coach Mike always tells us, “The journey to greatness is long and hard”. He has always been there for my soccer team and I. We have gone through rough times, and through some good times in the 8-9 years he’s been my team’s coach. He was there when we won the state championship, but he was also there when we lost in the regional semi-final. He would always be there shouting on the sideline with his short mostly grey hair, wearing a tight shirt and long training shorts. He is strong and so built that you would think it doesn’t take much to set him off. But looks can be deceiving because he is one of the happiest and playful coaches I’ve ever known. Coach Mike is the wisest and most determined coaches that our soccer team has had.

The first time I saw Mike Z. was when I was 7 years old. It was my first year on the highest level team in the club. It was our first practice and no one knew how are coach was or how he was going to be. I had already had trouble at tryouts making the team, I didn’t know what to expect here. That was when he walked in wearing a shirt that was too tight for him because it looked as if his muscles were going to rip his shirt. The rest of the team and I were frightened that he was going to be such a pain. But at that moment he just smiled showing his teeth that were as white as a ghost saying, “Lets get started”. Those first couple of months ended up being very difficult, but not in the way i imagined. Coach Mike had conditioned us to the point of exhaustion because we were so out of shape. We ran all the way around the field in less than 90 seconds, also we ran ladders, and we ran end line to end line as punishments. I was not a fan of all this running but it was worth it because my team did very well that season. So I could not be more grateful to Coach Mike and his wisdom.

The next few years after that were even better than the first. We trained and got better, and eventually we won the State Cup championship game. I remember Mike shouting at us from the sideline, “Just hang in there, it’ll come (a goal). Just be patient and it will come.” Mike Z. turned out to be right because minutes before the game ended, we scored. Then, we scored again to ensure the State championship. I looked at Coach Mike and thought he might explode from the joy he had, not to mention his tight shirt. But even after all this success, we did end up losing the regional semi-final to a team from Kansas. I knew that he was proud of us still because he had a sympathetic look in his eyes that were as blue as the sky. He told us,”We might have lost this time around, but we’ll be back.” We plan on returning to the regional tournament by winning state again this year. We are the first team ever in our club to win State Cup and go to regionals. It will be tough but Mike Z. taught us that with determination, we can do anything.

In conclusion, the past 8 or 9 years I have learned so much from having Coach Mike as a trainer. From the very beginning, he has taught us and showed us the true meaning of perseverance. Whether its playing our first soccer game, to winning a state championship, we have always had our bulky coach right there by our side. I truly look up to Coach Mike as an inspiration. He is an incredible coach and I can’t wait to see what our future has to offer with him at the sideline. “The journey to greatness is long and hard” he says, but I know that its possible to get there because he has taught me that anything is possible with a little perseverance, and hard work to get better at anything we want to get better at.