I caught up with 2009 graduate Mike Schaeffer, who was a
teammate with me on the junior varsity team for one year, and the varsity
soccer team for three years.  He is also a long time friend of mine, so I
decided to give him a shot at this blogging thing. I guess it couldn’t be too
bad, but let’s find out:

What do you think about this year’s team? “There’s a lot of talent, but just
very young and inexperienced”

How do you think this year’s team will do? “I think that as long as they work
hard and stay consistent they have a chance to win. I know Goshen is tough, but anything can happen.”

Describe how you felt when the winning penalty kick went in
during the Section 9 tournament in 2008: “Well after I saved the first one when the game was on the
line I felt relieved, and once I realized I had to do it again I just started
laughing to myself saying ‘Wow, this was a great game.’”

“After I dove and saw it go just by me I just put my head
down and realized my whole soccer career was over. Couldn’t do anything but tip
my hat to the other team. I respected the team though because the kid who
scored came up to me and congratulated me on a good game.”

Do you wish you could still play? “Absolutely. Especially now, because
a year ago I was playing my senior year, and now it’s over.”

What do you miss most about it? “Playing with my friends without a
doubt. After your year is over, there’s a good chance you’ll never play with
them ever again, and I took that for granted during the year. “

Every goal keeper has their own personal favorite or best
save, name your moment: “In sudden death against Wallkill in the section tournament last
year. There was a free kick from right outside the 18 yard box and the wall
wasn’t really set up yet. The kid bent it over the wall and towards my lower
right corner and I tipped it just wide. A few of my teammates ran up to me and
just started hitting me as the ball was still in play. I screamed at them to
get the ball out.”

Many college students become homesick during freshman year.
What do you miss most about Cornwall? “I miss knowing who everyone
was and where everything was. In college you’ve got to make friends all over
again, find out where things are on your own and adjust to being on your own.
It’s a huge switch.”

What would you tell a senior varsity athlete now that you’ve
experienced it and graduated? “Enjoy it. It goes a lot faster than you think it does.
This time next year you’ll realize how fast the season went as well as the
entire year.”

High school sports play such a pivotal role for many
teenagers these days and leaving the scene can be very difficult. Life moves
on, and we can take certain aspects from the games we play, and apply it for
our future. These experiences build character, and with this character we can
go on and do great things in the world. Mike has decided not to play soccer,
and is currently attending the State University of New York at Oswego. He is majoring in Business
Management. 

Much more
to come.

Minisink Valley, Monticello, New
Paltz, and Middletown, respectively. Only half way through the week and I’m
exhausted. Throw school work on top of that, and things get pretty hectic.

I, for one, cannot wait to finally begin playing regular season games and
I bet I can speak for my whole team on that notion. When I asked senior
co-captain Brendan Smith how he feels about waiting so long to finally play the
first regular season game, he said “It stinks” very abruptly, “we don’t know what to
practice for because we haven’t faced real competition yet.”