Boys, it has been one crazy ride with all of you! These past three years have gone by so fast it’s crazy! I say three years, because I came to Mary’s as a transfer student my sophomore year and I came here nervous that it would be difficult to make friends and be a part of the team. But as my first preseason came to a close, it was like I knew a lot of you for a while and it was easy to come to practice and play the game we all love so much. I can still remember my first year here and a few months into our season the team started telling me how they were afraid of me because I looked a lot older and mean (I wont say the real reason but you boys know). Hopefully you guys now know that I am not as old or mean as you might’ve thought, fun fact I am only 21. But know that I care about you all deeply and would do very much anything for you boys. These past years have been something that I will cherish. We have been able to create a small family that is close enough to use the bathroom together. It still blows my mind that we do that, it is kind of unsanitary to be real, but hey that’s what sharing a locker room for three years does to you.
I guess this will be the part where I am supposed to thank people, so here goes ...
First off, I would like to thank my parents for always supporting me with this sport. Both of you came to the country with nothing and you gave me everything you had to offer. I appreciate you both and even though I am unable to express it most of the time I will never take y’all love for granted. Both of you have pushed me and taught me to appreciate life and be the person that I am today. You guys have invested a lot of time into seeing me happy and having an amazing life and I am blessed that both of you have made the effort to come to my games. I hope that you guys have enjoyed watching me play as much as I have enjoyed seeing you in the stands, waving, cheering, and taking embarrassing pictures of me after the game. Also thank you for bringing my puppies (Oso and Chloe) to the games.
To my big sister Mariah, thank you for all your support and skipping meetings to come see me play this year. You have been a big fan of mine since high school soccer days and although you were away for college you managed to always make time for me. I love you and always being such an amazing person to me, taking care of me, making sure that I am always happy. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you and just
so you know that I decided to put it in here, just so you have written confirmation. But on the real, you have encouraged me to be work hard everyday for what I want and I thank you!
Grunke- you stop being so soft and realize that I will take you any day. Really though, you are a great guy that will do a lot. I will always remember you for the guy that just wont stop talking on and off the field. It will be weird not walking into the trainers and hearing you call me old man. But I will cherish the sleepover we had in your recliner, best sleep I have had.
Doheny- I still can’t believe you couldn’t read the Bible in our religion class your freshman year. But I am happy I met you man! You have made me laugh countless times and you never stop amazing me with what you can do on the field. But you gotta stay on your feet and not foul so hard. Make sure you don’t get any more concussions and keep Grunke out of trouble. You clearly got punked by me on the river though I just want everybody to know that.
Levy- oh man who am I suppose to talk gym with now? You are probably one of the nicest guys that I have met. It has been great getting to know you man and getting big with you. I just want to tell you that there is no need for you to get down on yourself; you are great player with crazy skills. Just keep working hard man it help this team excel into the next level!
Butch- keep being the leader that you are. You are definitely a great example of what a hard working individual should be. I believe that you can help take this team to the next level and you will do that next year, use this year to drive you to work harder for next year.
Wolt(er)- you big tree you. It is always great to see you around with your hair parted. I will miss trying to style my hair like you and all our talks. You will do great things next year!
Estrada- you stepped it up big time this year bro! Make sure you keep on grinding and show that you deserve to be on the field with the best! Si puedes wey cuando hechas las ganas puedes hacer lo que sea.
To the team. y’all show the MIAC what’s good next year! Make sure that you boys keep on working hard to make an impact not only for yourself but also for everybody. Don’t let the bad times overcome the good ones, like coach always says, “either you lose or you learn.” Remember that you guys are a team and when you are out there on the field you play for each other. Never lose sight of what you want to accomplish and more importantly enjoy these years. It flies by very fast so just take it day by day and enjoy it all.
To the coaching staff, thank you all so much for giving me the opportunity to play for this team. You guys have taught me a lot on and off the field. I appreciate all the time that you guys have spent with us. Watkins, I hope that you will enjoy your new job as much as you have coaching. You are a very good guy and I wish you the best in all that you do.
Dinger, Blank, Dresh, Larson this is it boys. It has been one hell of a ride with you all. I appreciate being with you guys these past years, making memories and new brothers. I wish you guys all the best in whatever you do. It has been great getting to know you all and it won’t be the same stepping onto the field without y’all. Thank you guys for making my transition to this school a lot easier. You guys have helped me become a better person and brought me up when I was down after our toughest losses. I honestly didn’t think I would be back for a senior year of soccer, but it was because I wanted one more year on the field with y’all, that I decided to stay. So I hope that speaks to how much you guys have impacted my time here. It crazy to think that our last year is already over, we have come a long way. This year has by far been the best with what we were able to accomplish. Love you guys!
If there is one thing that I would like everybody to know it is that there will never be anything better than putting everything into what you love. So boys, make sure that every game you leave it all on the field, in class, and in life. It has been a great time getting to play with everybody and I hope that you all can say the same about me.
Much love, Old Man
