The title may appear somewhat misleading given the disappointing start to the season and, in actuality, it began as a sarcastic heading to my reflections of the season; but as my thoughts began to come together, it ended up being a somewhat fitting title. Given the current record of 1-6, this by no means would appear to be a season worthy of glory, nor do the performances given of late deem a title of glorious. But instead of looking at what could possibly be glorious about the current season, I’ve decided to focus on the glories of what has come before this season, in the form of two players. Being a senior this year means that I have had the privilege to play multiple years with both of these players, hence my title. I think that much can be taken from these two players and applied to the season as it currently stands. I think both of these players represent the two types of personalities this team desperately needs.

The first player is Chris Kaminski, who graduated two years ago in 2005. He was by every definition of the term a 90 minute player. He saw little play time, but in actuality, he was one of the handful of players you could count on every minute of the game. Chris contributed to the team far beyond the majority of the players rotating in the lineup. He brought the best attitude a team could ask for day in and day out. I know others fit this mold while Chris was here, but he did it without seeing much of the field. Coming off the fields or to the sidelines, whether it be at half time, the end of the game, or even during a stoppage of time, Chris was guaranteed to be one of the first, if not the first, to shake your hand, pick you up after a poor play, and in general just be there for support, win or loss. He cared not only about Wabash soccer, but also every player that made up the team. In practice, he pushed us all to be better. He knew his playing time was limited, but he knew the little things he did in practice and games mattered.

It’s hard for me to say that I completely understand the thoughts that sometimes go through players’ minds when they don’t get to play; I’ve been fortunate enough to play most of the games during my time here at Wabash. But I have been there before, and it was difficult to sit on the sides and put on a positive, supporting face when I knew that all I wanted was to be out on the field playing for my team. I do think that if I was in that same position now, I would want to follow the example that Chris represented. Chris proved that the team going against the opposition every game consists of more than the eleven players out on the pitch. The team needs every player, whether on the field or not. They say that the team is only as strong as the weakest link. Unfortunately for a team like this, in which I think most of us would agree that we have a lot of talent, those weaknesses aren’t limited to your abilities with the ball. We all need to be players that can be counted on for 90 minutes and beyond.

Each person on this team is a part of every win and loss we experience. Whether you see the field each game or not shouldn’t be the most important thing. I’m not saying that players shouldn’t take a lack of playing time to heart; the desire to play should be even more motivation to working hard and pushing the rest of team in practice. But there’s a stark difference between taking it to heart and building off of it and taking it to heart and letting it affect your attitude towards the team. Coach may not play everyone every game, but he’s putting the group that he thinks can best do the job out there. If you think you can do a better job, prove it. Don’t simply sulk and complain about it to other players or under your breath; prove it in practice to coach and, more importantly, your teammates. This team has to realize that being a part of this team isn’t just about playing in the games; it’s about buying into the ideas coach has laid out and working hard for each other, even if that means you are contributing from the sidelines during the majority of the games. As a team we need to give everything we have each and every minute our team is on that soccer field.

Chris was one of the backbones of our team and we need more players like him that put their own needs aside and focus on what their team needs. We need 24 guys giving everything within them to this team everyday; the rest of the season depends on it.

The second player is Will McAdams, who graduated this past spring. In my personal experience, I have had the opportunity to play with some pretty talented goalies and although Will may not have had the best goalkeeping skills, he was by far the best to play with and, as a sweeper, play in front of. Will certainly single-handedly saved many games for us but his most powerful impact on the team came in a different form. He brought the kind of passion and commitment that no one can teach. Will was the type of player you could always count on to give his all day in and day out. His effort could give a team that necessary spark to get over a hump late in the game or initiate a comeback. You couldn’t help but feel empowered by the passion Will portrayed on the field. You could see him pushing himself to his personal limits for the better of the team. We all know there have been times where we haven’t given everything we knew we could give, whether that be in practice or in a game. We need to start believing in what we all want to make out of this program and, most importantly, acting upon it; and this starts with our personal effort. Furthermore, we as a team need to start building off the great plays of our teammates.

Will could provide inspiration in the way he battled for every shot and cross, and he also thrived off the play of his teammates. We all need to learn to draw motivation from within ourselves and the teammates around us. When our keepers make the one-on-one saves that we all know they can make or our forwards simply outwork defenders to free themselves up for a shot, it’s essential that we build from those plays. When your teammate tackles an opponent hard to win the ball back, let that fuel you as you go into your next tackle. This team needs to take pride in the little victories our teammates make and let those be foundations for winning our own little victories on the field. We should be the biggest fans of the players on this team and start to thrive off each other’s success. Excitement and passion will only breed more excitement and passion.

I personally hope to try harder to embody these two players. I don’t want to let that type of character remain as just a memory within this soccer program. Each player on this team could be the next Will or Chris and make that needed difference in this season. I know last year we all could have settled on the fact that the outcome of the season mattered very little as it progressed. But I can’t settle on that this year, and I know my fellow seniors feel the same way. This is our last chance to make a difference, not only in the outcomes of the games, but in the lives of the members of this team. We don’t want our last season to be remembered as just another rebuilding year. We all want this to be the start of something important and long-lasting. It’s not solely about winning and losing games; it’s about fighting every minute we have on the soccer field and taking pride in winning the little victories we all know we can win, and then seeing where the chips lie at the end.

It is still early in this season. It shows through how much we have grown together into a team this year and people are noticing this; we just need to continue building upon this and never give up.

I want to resonate what Dan Storey said after the Hope game. This coming Wednesday is the most important game of the season. Dan’s right, but this next game against the Dannies down south is important for reasons beyond the historic rivalry; it’s important because it’s the next game on our 18 game schedule. And on Thursday, Saturday’s game against Kenyon becomes the most important game of our season, and so on.

There’s eleven marbles left. Let’s start showing the pride and passion that lies deep within this team.

It’s time to start walking!

Ben Esbaum ‘07