St. Louis Scott Gallagher would like to congratulate Indiana University Senior Captain Luis Soffner (SLSG Alumni) for winning a National Championship and Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award. “SLSG is literally in my blood and without Tim Kelly and everyone who works to make SLSG the best club to play for, I wouldn't be where I am today,” said Luis Soffner.
SLSG would also like to congratulate SLSG Alumni - Tomas Gomez from Georgetown University on becoming a 2012 NCAA Division 1 National Finalist. Tomas' performance and hard work has also earned him a U20 US National Team Camp invitation.
Tim Kelly - SLSG Director of Goalkeeping on the two SLSG Goalies in the NCAA Final,“I couldn't believe this was actually taking place. I was hoping worst case was one of the 2 keepers would make it to the final, but to have both is surreal”.
Coach Kelly trained both keepers as the came up through the SLSG system and many times in the same training group. For more on Coach Kelly’s thoughts as he sat in the stands watching his two keepers battle for the title - see below.
Lastly congratulations to SLSG Metro’s Drew Schall (Indiana University) for winning the 2012 National Championship.
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Luis Soffner - Indiana University Captain - National Champion - Most Outstanding Defensive Player - Thanks to Tim Kelly and the Club:
Just wanted to send a quick message out to the entire group to thank everyone for their support and messages I personally have been receiving these last few days. It's been an absolutely incredible last few weeks and I have already told Tim Kelly how much he has contributed to my personal success in high school, club, and college on the field. I would not be where I am today without all of the time and energy he has put into making me the best I can be protecting the goal.
SLSG is literally in my blood and without Tim Kelly and everyone who works to make SLSG the best club to play for, I wouldn't be where I am today. Knowing that another incredible goalie in Tomas Gomez was opposite the field of me in that championship game speaks volumes about the club and the job that Tim Kelly has done to prepare us for getting to experience those moments. It was unfortunate that only one of us could win that day because Tomas played an incredible game and obviously led his team all the way to championship (not to mention the fact that he is only a sophomore!!).
I am incredibly honored to have been named the tournament MVP and once again I want to thank Tim Kelly and the entire Scott Gallagher club… it is an honor I will always cherish and want to share with the entire Scott Gallagher family. Thanks for all the support and to all the younger guys out there… keep working hard and know that Tim Kelly and the SLSG program will make you the best you can be.
-Luis Soffner
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SLSG Director of Goalkeeping - Thoughts on he Two SLSG Goalies in the NCAA Final:
Training Background-
Tomas- I started with Tomas when he was U13. Tomas was always a kid that I could get his best effort at every training session. Tomas would sometimes train with the older kids so I could send a message to him that having a certain work ethic was expected, and if you wanted to be the best you had to take that to each training session. Tomas took that and then some and I knew that when I told him he needed to work on his feet. Over time I could see progression and knew he had the desire to become better. One Tomas moment that sticks out to me is after his junior year with the academy. Tomas was disappointed with his play that day and started to do sprints after the game. Most players questioned why he was doing it but I knew why. I knew that he was doing it because he felt he let down his team and himself. That's the day I knew Tomas had the mentality to be a leader.
Louis- I started training Luis going into his freshman year. Luis moved here from Cleveland and the club told me I was getting a strong athlete. They were right, I got a strong athlete but unfortunately at that point Luis had minimal training technically. Luis had a decent foundation that I could work with but was pretty raw. With his athleticism I went ahead and threw him in with the best keepers we had, and he just had to deal with it. Luis accepted the challenge and embraced it and although I am sure his body hated him for it,he took the training on full-speed. The biggest thing that Luis had to get used to was not just perfecting the technical aspect but understanding mentally what it took to be a top keeper. I think Luis was shocked how hard the training was, and him throwing up on the side-lines during training probably justified that. Luis stuck with it, became more efficient technically and focused on crosses to compliment his height. Luis has a fun-loving personality that is contagious. To this day he still calls me coach because he knows I prefer either TK or just Tim.
I also wanted to send a quick note about keepers that these two trained with. I will stand by that the environment we have created in SLSG is what truly pushes and makes these players perform. People like Nick Collico(SIUE), Ryan Wehking(Wisonsin Green-Bay), Connor Sparrow(UMKC), Mark Pais( SLU/Tulsa) Jean Luc Panchot(Georgetown, Business school). Without these players around them pushing them at training they would not be the players they are now. Coaches point the players in the right direction, but the players themselves and the people they train with are the ones who help get the results. All players that have ever worked with these 2 should get just as much credit as I do.
Being Proud-
I guess I never really thought about this too much until I actually made it down to the semi-finals in Birmingham. I kept getting text/phone calls about the accomplishment of having 2 keepers involved in this event. When the brackets came out the first thing I did was check to see if I would have any keepers being matched up to play against each other. I noticed that Mark Pais(Tulsa) and Tomas could be matched up in the Elite 8 but unfortunately Tulsa was knocked out by University of San Diego in the Sweet 16 or else I would have been in D.C. watching those 2 for a chance to make it to the final four. I knew IU was still in it and knew they were in the other bracket. I realized in order for my 2 remaining keepers to play each other it would be for the National Championship. Although I was optimistic with each players ability I also knew it took a team effort and some luck. The fact that they were in the final four was to me a huge accomplishment, regardless of the end result. I am proud of all of my keepers for just getting through my training and the physical and mental toughness they must have in order to do so. I am proud of them growing up to be fine men who are trustworthy, hard workers, respectful, leaders and tough minded.
Friday's semifinals-
When I arrived I realized how rare this was when I had people I did not know congratulate me. I also realized that this will be the first collegiate game that I have seen either of them play. I started to realize that within 4 hours I was going to know if I was going to have two players playing for an NCAA national championship.
Georgetown vs Maryland
The first game I sat with Tomas' family and the rest of the Georgetown contingent. Everyone was so nice to me and gave me great compliments for the way Tomas is and how lucky they are that he chose Georgetown. I was very humbled by this and it's nice to always hear positive compliments but anyone who is coaching for the right reasons do not do it for those compliments. You do it to see your players on the field in competition. The game was absolutely insane and ended 4 to 4. It may have been one of the best/worse games I have ever witnessed. Tomas was able to come up with a huge save at the end of over time that got his team to PK's. Tomas has always had an instinct for PK's. It is something he was just naturally good at and had a good sense for. It got to the 5th round all knotted up with Maryland up to the spot. I turned to a friend/SLSG coach Joe Wyland who traveled with me and said " Please make this shot, because Tomas will save the next one". Tomas has already made 1 save and I know him as someone who seems to always make 2 to even 3 sometimes. Fortunately the Georgetown player made his and Tomas was due for his 2nd save. Yes he made that second save and literally sprinted all the way to the other corner to where his teammates finally caught up to him. As I said to Tomas " I am not sure if I liked your save better or the run you made after it".
Indiana vs. Creighton
Having to follow up the Georgetown/Maryland game offensively was going to be tough to compete against, unfortunately for the fans it was just that. The game was very blah and to be honest IU's defense is so stingy and smothering that they can take the life out of offense very quickly. IU was able to get a goal in the first half and really held Creigton to hardly any solid looks in the opening half. The second half they did the same until the last 10 minutes or so where they put a little pressure on the goal but really not much. Luis had minimal to do but came out a few times nicely on through ball and crosses. At the 83rd minute mark Creighton finally got their best chance from about 22 yards out and it was going in the upper right corner. Luis read the ball well and made an incredible save to his left with his top hand. The crowd went nuts and that was the first time I heard the IU fans start chanting " Louie Soffner" clap clap clap, "Louie Soffner". It was at that moment that I realized that these fans, alumni, parents, brothers and sisters knew how important Luis was to their team. That made me extremely happy for Luis and to be able to hear these people appreciate him, was great. For 83 minutes I was bored, which was fine by me, and in the 83rd Luis made just an incredible save to help his team capture their 14th trip to the NCAA final.
Final - Tomas vs. Luis:
This was a day that I couldn't believe was actually taking place. I was hoping worst case was one of the 2 keepers would make it to the final, but to have both is surreal. Just like when I was a player I didn't really start getting nervous until my drive to the stadium. That is when reality was sitting in that I am going to have to deal with 2 emotions. I am going to have one player that is going to be the happiest kid in the world and the other player is going to be probably the most upset he has ever been involving this game of soccer. I was invited to attend the Georgetown tailgating party and IU's tailgating party as well. I showed up to Georgetown's first and met with Tomas' parents and his high school coach Tim Cashel(Webster) who drove all day to get the final, awesome of him. I hung out, spoke to them for about 30 minutes, while of course having to hear from other fans "You're rooting for Tomas and Georgetown, right?" and I would state" No I am rooting that both my keepers do well and put their team in position to win and hope it goes 0-0 and gets to PK's." After meeting with them I head over to the IU tailgating party to meet Luis' parents and family. Of course having to deal with the same question "You rooting for Luis and the hoosiers right?" as I would give them the same answer. Of course neither Luis' or Tom's parents said that and if anything they were very sensitive to what I was going through as a coach. We got into the stadium about an hour before the game so I could get some good seats and watch them warm-up. Unlike Friday where I sat with each teams fans this time I sat away from all the parents and hoopla of the fan base. As the game was kicking off I thought about the text I sent them both. Most of it is personal but this one statement was a mentality I instill in my players through training. I would always say " Your true competition is the keeper on the other team. If that keeper does something fantastic you better do something fantastic. If that keeper again does something fantastic you better match that keeper save for save. If you do that you will most likely keep your team in the game and possibly put them in position to win". When I started saying this my first year of coaching 10 years ago I never once thought it would be for two keepers that have trained together, under me, and for the same club for an NCAA national championship. I knew they could use it when they played each other locally in high school maybe, but not at this level.
It felt great to hear everyone around me talking about how the keepers were playing good. Nobody had any idea about the history of these two, the same club, the same city, the same coach, the same mental and physical grind that had to put up with to go through me. I didn't care, I cared that my boys were performing. I cared that people in the crowd appreciated what they were seeing and were talking behind me saying how good that kid is playing or the other kid, etc. The section I was sitting in seemed like it was more local people and not biased to one team or the other. Every time Tomas or Luis made a save I would stand up and say something, clapping. I am sure it was strange for these people to see me do this and finally a guy sitting next to my friend asked him why am I cheering for the keepers only and Joe told him. That was when the section realized why I was so emotional and why I was rooting for a 0-0 game. It was also then when I realized what a parent feels like when they are watching their son or daughter play. I do not have any children and my players are my children. Watching those two perform was tearing me apart. So to my parents and all those parents that watch their son or daughter in competition, I now know how you feel and can sympathize with all of you.
Final score Indiana 1 Georgetown 0
As the game ended I saw one goalie standing there holding his teammate up and celebrating, while the other one was laying face down by himself. All I wanted to do was run to Tomas to pick him up, as he had nothing to be ashamed of. Luis is fine, he just won a national championship, he will have plenty of people to be around him. But when you lose, sometimes you feel like you are by yourself. Tomas was the one I was worried about. Tomas was the one who needed to be lifted up from the ground and someone needed to tell him that he played well. The teams finally did the trophy ceremony and after that was done Georgetown and their players immediately went to the locker room, rightfully so. They were so close to winning their schools first national title and it had to be hard to chew. I went down and spoke to Tomas'parents for a while and to thank them for making me feel apart of the GTown familiy this weekend. Next, I went to Luis's family to tell them congratulations. It was at that moment that Luis saw me there and climbed from the field, over 3 rows to give me a hug and to thank me. It is moments like that, that make me realize why I chose the career I did. Anyone who is a keeper knows how hard mentally it can be, it is no different being a coach. If my players don't do well, I have pain with them. They are an extension of me and I am an individual position coach and it is a very small fraternity. Watching a young man climb over rows to give me a hug will be with me the rest of my life. Sometimes I don't think players realize the effect they can have on a coach can be just the same if not greater than the effect the coach can have on a player. I said a few things to Luis in his ear that nobody could hear and gave him one more high five/handshake and he jumped back down in the stadium.
That was it, the game was over. As I got into may car I just wished I had the chance to talk to Tomas. I couldn't stop thinking about how upset he must be. I was thinking about the time after that game his junior year, him doing the sprints, and then sure enough my phone rang, it was Tomas. He asked if I was in the stadium still because he wanted to talk to me. Of course I said "yes" but the truth is I was just about to get on the highway. I turned around and went back to him to be there for him. We had a personal moment and he was very upset at himself. Tomas takes pride in doing well for his team, family and himself. I told him that he had nothing to be upset about and he was one of 2 keepers that even had a chance at this game. These are the games that mold players, that push them to be better, for Luis or for Tomas. It's what they do after is what makes them a true competitive athlete.
There is one big thing I realized this trip. It meant more to me that my two ex players cared that I was in the crowd watching. It meant that they respected me and hopefully loved me just like I loved them. That to me was very special and to me sums up why I coach. A true coach is not always measured by what they produce, but by the ones that have their players still care to talk to them and fortunately come home to train with me any time they get a chance to, that is the truest compliment I can get. I hope you enjoyed what I wrote and understand the emotional battle I was dealing with over the course of the weekend. I may or may not ever have that feeling I had on Sunday again, but I will cherish it the rest of my life. GO SLSG.
-Tim Kelly
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