I watch my colleagues Creighton, Neathery, House, Allen, Gilbert, etc. - our football staff - with a bit of envy as I wish I was still running some practices on the field as they do in preparation for their second NCAA Play Off game. The fact of the matter is that we are turning our attention to recruiting, so that we can bring in some exceptional student/athletes who can, eventually, lead us to a post season segment and give us the first ever NCAA Championship crown in the next three years. That's the plan. I told Chris Creighton that I see us being the NCAC Soccer Champions in 2010 and at the same time his football program becoming NCAA National Champion! Wouldn't that be awesome?! I am sure that Chris has is own plans, possibly even an earlier National Championship, but it would be nice for the soccer program to follow the footsteps of the football program and replace them as Conference Champions as they climb to the highest step in NCAA Div. III.

Well, in order to do so, we - Jeff and I - have to roll up our sleeves and go on the road again. We just finished our recruiting trip to the Indiana High School Showcase in Indy this past weekend and we are planning to travel quite a bit in the next two months or so.

First, I attended a W Night in Merrillville just last night. We had about 18 student prospects and their families there. Prof. Herzog, Coach Johnson (if you never saw him give a speech, please do so as soon as you can, he is something else!), Dr. Anglis, DDS, and Andrew Rodenbarger '08 were the night speakers. Tomorrow night I will travel to Mishawaka for another W Night. Pres. White will be there as well as other Wabash faculty and staff. I will be giving my first speech as member of the Athletic staff. Jeff will also travel to Evansville for another W Night this week.

Then off to Orlando, Florida for a Region II ODP tournament, where I assist with the '94 Boys Team. We will be playing against the other three Regions in the country and two US National Teams at the beautiful Disney World of Sports Facility. Obviously, my '94 boys are too young for college recruiting but we also have the '92 boys there with us as well. They will have the same schedule as we do and it will be interesting to see these young high school players competing against the best 2014 class in the nation!

After that trip, Jeff Oleck will bundle up again and travel to Memphis, TN in order to attend the Germantown Invitational Showcase, where teams from Midwest and other parts of the country will gather to play each other in front of 300 college coaches.

Once Jeff returns from his recruiting trip to Tennessee, I will be leaving for Florida again to attend the Nike Friendlies in Bradenton. This is really huge as the top youth academies, teams, and clubs in the WORLD send their players to compete. Man. U, Real Madrid, Tigres, Barcelona, AC Milan, etc. are amongst the elite clubs that will send representation. As well as the US National Team, top clubs in the country and the first ever USSF Academy Teams. It will be interesting to see so many good players, the majority of whom have Div. I aspirations and dreams....but you never know.

I won't even have time to unpack that I'll be heading back to Florida one more time! Around the Christmas Holidays, Florida hosts several major College showcases and tournaments that 800 college coaches will travel to watch and from which recruit student/athletes. Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cocoa Beach, Miami, Boca Raton, etc. are the few stops of along my long stay in Florida.

Once the new year kicks in, Jeff will travel to Fort Wayne and other "local" showcases in order to consolidate and strengthen our prospects pool. The end of March will see us having spent a long year recruiting the class of 2012 and just starting recruiting the 2013 class.†

It seems endless, but that's our job. Trying to bring in quality soccer players who have the academic standards to succeed at Wabash is our quest 24/7, 365 days per year, it never stops.

The next two recruiting classes, 2012 and 2013, together with the 2010 and 2011 that we already brought in during the last two years, are the stepping stone of our future successes. A stepping stone that started with the returning '08s and '09s, who realized the demands and sacrifices that we needed to make in order to win and create a winning soccer legacy at Wabash. They understood the dream, they embraced the plan, and they set the goals and standards for the years to come.

We are in for the long run together, Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores and Freshmen. We have created a team, an identity and a desire that will propel Wabash Soccer to unprecedented territories in the not too distant future.

We have big dreams, big plans, and big goals. After all, WE ARE....WABASH!!!

Posted by Roberto Giannini at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I miss the team, I miss the guys...a lot. I wish our season wasn't over. I wish we could still be out there practicing like the football team is. Fighting the darkness that arrives too soon and still competing for something, anything.

We finished with a smile on our faces as we won our last game away, and I believe the feelings of that partial success are the major force behind my homesick sentiment. I miss the team; I miss the guys...a lot!

It was great to see so many happy faces on the bus ride back. I am sure that the returning players have better understanding and appreciation for their teammates, our program, and the overall relationship between each other and the coaching staff.

I remember Tom saying, during our first pre-season meeting, that his goal for the season was to finish with a smile, being happy to have been there, to share and be happy. Although our record wasn't too impressive, we really competed hard, especially in conference games, I trust that Tom and everyone else were satisfied with their experience and therefore left, temporarily, with a smile on their faces.

I want to thank each and everyone of my boys for trying their best, working as hard as they could, respond to my demands, and tolerate my "fiery" temper.

Thank you, Jon Miller. Thank you, Devin Moss. Thank you, Mike Scheitlin. Thank you, Jon Funston. Thank you, Matt "Taz" Potasnik. Thank you, Mark Babcock. Thank you, Fabricio Monroy. Thank you, David Rosborough. Thank you, Christian Krenk. Thank you, Mike Kaster. Thank you, Matt Kaster. Thank you, Andre' Hall. Thank you, Blaken Wamsley. Thank you, Liam Killick. Thank you, Diego Aliaga. Thank you, Tom Hanewald. Thank you, Josue' Gutierrez. Thank you, Dan Storey. Thank you, Josh Manker. Thank you, Drew Kapsalis. Thank you, Tim Cheeck. And thank you, Gary Simkus. 

Also my deepest thank you to my Assistant Jeff Oleck for his continuos support and friendship, and to our trainer Mark Elizondo for his work and expertise.

You all made this "year one" a good one, upon which build the immediate and long term future of the Wabash Soccer program.

Grazie mille!

Posted by Roberto Giannini at 07:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)