A Journey’s Reward
The 2009 Royals boys’ soccer team was composed of a variety of fresh faces, but they took a very similar journey and shared many experiences with teams from CVCA’s storied past. From an outsiders perspective the 2009 season was a very successful season – an undefeated (2nd time in school history) regular season with scheduled ranked opponents Walsh, Cardinal Mooney, Wheaton Academy, Hawken, University School, Padua, and a playoff run capped by a trip to the state finals in Columbus.
From a program perspective the 2009 season was also a successful season – defined differently. This team, led by seniors Nick Finelli, Jacob Risma, and Stephen Morris, picked up the banner of the program. They made sure the integrity of the CVCA Soccer Program - and all that it stands for – continued despite the loss of a large number of key players and former head coach, Jason Spodnik. They learned the value of disciplined hard work. As teams have modeled in years past, the seniors led morning workouts before school during the winter months, open fields during the spring, and track workouts during the summer. They learned the value of purposeful relationships - defined by time spent, commitment, and sacrifice - and turned into one of the closest teams that I have been privileged to be a part of. They bought into the idea that they were not only responsible for their own results, but they were individually responsible for the results of the entire group. They learned that to ever lead someone else they had to first be able to lead themselves. They also learned to thank God for the talents that He has given them and use those talents to honor Him.
Although the journey for seniors Nick, Jake, and Steve along with Christian Ohman, Greg Kutchin, Tim Hudec, and Mike Hulisz has come to an end at CVCA, the lessons that they have learned through this game will not only be passed down to the next generation of CVCA soccer players, but will also translate far beyond this school and this game– the true reward.
