Here's a story I wrote last week on a soccer player at Rock Island. I'm pretty pleased with the story. Enjoy.
Throughout his life, Rock Island junior defender Redemer Gbeddeh thought he was a forward. The problem was that nobody else shared that opinion.
The Rock Island coaches didn’t, which is why Gbeddeh rarely got off the bench during his first two years of high school.
In fact, Rock Island coach Cory Dalton admits that when he was an assistant two years ago, his opinion of Gbeddeh’s skills was so low that he didn’t think Gbeddeh would ever contribute for the Rocks.
But as a junior, Gbeddeh had tired of sitting on the bench and realized his finishing skills never were going to get him playing time.
In fact, he had lost his desire to play forward. Instead, he decided to give defense a try.
“During my sophomore year, that’s when I realized that I don’t like the forward position, and I want to play defense,” Gbeddeh said. “So on the first day of practice this year, when he called out the forwards, I was like, ‘Nope, I’ve got to play defense.’”
When he made that decision, everything changed.
Gbeddeh’s combination of height and strength proved the perfect fit for the Rocks’ defense, which has held nine of 10 opponents to two goals or less on its way to a 7-3 record, three wins better than the Rocks had in all of 2010.
“The way we have it set up, it’s very key to win balls in the air,” Dalton said. “Redemer is winning a ton of balls in the air. He’s starting to become more vocal, and that comes with confidence. He’s starting to understand the game and our system, and as he understands that more, he gains more confidence and becomes more vocal.”
New strategy pays off
Gbeddeh’s rapid improvement coincided with Dalton taking over as coach this season. In one of his first moves, Dalton decided to change Rock Island’s defensive strategy and emphasized denying other teams scoring chances by winning battles in the air.
As Dalton explained the formation to his team, a light came on for Gbeddeh. Immediately, he realized that the formation required strong, tall players who could get their head to the ball, which perfectly described him. Seeing that, the junior saw an opportunity.
“When the coach changed the formation, I started to progress with it,” Gbeddeh said. “It gives me more chances to win the ball in the air, because I’m a bit taller than the other players. I knew when he changed the formation that if I just learned it, I could get better because when the ball comes, all I have to do is head it.”
Gbeddeh learned so quickly that Dalton instantly realized that his initial impressions of Gbeddeh no longer were accurate. Gone was the player who produced little and let attitude impede progress as a freshman. Instead, Gbeddeh had transformed into a hard-working leader.
“I consider him a captain of the team,” Dalton said. “He doesn’t have a captain’s armband yet, but he’s the leader of that back line. We have Riley Bennett back there, who has only been playing two years, and to have Redemer to help him back there is huge. Our system is really simple, and Redemer understands that and keeps it simple.”
Soccer is a release
Dalton said Gbeddeh’s maturation is hardly uncommon for Rock Island’s players because several of the Rocks are African immigrants who came to the United States to get away from violence.
Gbeddeh comes from Liberia, a country that has fought two civil wars during his life. He was born in the midst of the first war in 1994, and his family emigrated to the Ivory Coast shortly after the second war broke out in 1999 before arriving in America in 2004.
“A lot of these guys come from tough places,” Dalton said. “We have a lot of African kids who still live tough lives, and this is their getaway. We see a lot of attitude when they first get here, and then they realize soccer is their release.
“When they shed that shield they’re hiding behind, you see somebody like Redemer, who now has an amazing attitude. He wants to learn, get better and he’s a leader. He’s matured quickly and very well.”
As a result, Gbeddeh understands the opportunity he has better than many high school students. His family has little money, but Gbeddeh still has the chance to receive an education and play the sport he loves on an organized team, neither of which would be available to him in Liberia.
Perfect fit
He hopes to become a computer technician, a goal that would be nothing more than a pipe dream in Africa.
“In Africa, the schools are not very good,” he said. “You’ve got to pay for it or go to a little school, and in America, schools are free until you get to college. In Africa, we had to get up and work in the morning just to put food on the table, but in America, you don’t have to work that much.”
Instead, he’s been able to work on his soccer skills, and has emerged as a pleasant surprise for the Rocks.
“I had no idea (the system) would be tailored so much to him,” Dalton said. “Two years ago, I didn’t think much of Redemer. Technically, he wasn’t very good, he was timid and he wasn’t as big.
“But he grew a lot, and when he grew in size, I think he grew in a lot of other ways. To right away find a guy who fits the system perfectly and has really stepped up to be the leader is an amazing surprise. We have him for another year, so he’s only going to get better, and the people around him will continue to get better.”
http://qctimes.com/sports/high-school/soccer/soccer-heads-up-move-for-rocky-junior/article_bdedd3d4-de90-11e0-b64a-001cc4c03286.html
Throughout his life, Rock Island junior defender Redemer Gbeddeh thought he was a forward. The problem was that nobody else shared that opinion.
The Rock Island coaches didn’t, which is why Gbeddeh rarely got off the bench during his first two years of high school.
In fact, Rock Island coach Cory Dalton admits that when he was an assistant two years ago, his opinion of Gbeddeh’s skills was so low that he didn’t think Gbeddeh would ever contribute for the Rocks.
But as a junior, Gbeddeh had tired of sitting on the bench and realized his finishing skills never were going to get him playing time.
In fact, he had lost his desire to play forward. Instead, he decided to give defense a try.
“During my sophomore year, that’s when I realized that I don’t like the forward position, and I want to play defense,” Gbeddeh said. “So on the first day of practice this year, when he called out the forwards, I was like, ‘Nope, I’ve got to play defense.’”
When he made that decision, everything changed.
Gbeddeh’s combination of height and strength proved the perfect fit for the Rocks’ defense, which has held nine of 10 opponents to two goals or less on its way to a 7-3 record, three wins better than the Rocks had in all of 2010.
“The way we have it set up, it’s very key to win balls in the air,” Dalton said. “Redemer is winning a ton of balls in the air. He’s starting to become more vocal, and that comes with confidence. He’s starting to understand the game and our system, and as he understands that more, he gains more confidence and becomes more vocal.”
New strategy pays off
Gbeddeh’s rapid improvement coincided with Dalton taking over as coach this season. In one of his first moves, Dalton decided to change Rock Island’s defensive strategy and emphasized denying other teams scoring chances by winning battles in the air.
As Dalton explained the formation to his team, a light came on for Gbeddeh. Immediately, he realized that the formation required strong, tall players who could get their head to the ball, which perfectly described him. Seeing that, the junior saw an opportunity.
“When the coach changed the formation, I started to progress with it,” Gbeddeh said. “It gives me more chances to win the ball in the air, because I’m a bit taller than the other players. I knew when he changed the formation that if I just learned it, I could get better because when the ball comes, all I have to do is head it.”
Gbeddeh learned so quickly that Dalton instantly realized that his initial impressions of Gbeddeh no longer were accurate. Gone was the player who produced little and let attitude impede progress as a freshman. Instead, Gbeddeh had transformed into a hard-working leader.
“I consider him a captain of the team,” Dalton said. “He doesn’t have a captain’s armband yet, but he’s the leader of that back line. We have Riley Bennett back there, who has only been playing two years, and to have Redemer to help him back there is huge. Our system is really simple, and Redemer understands that and keeps it simple.”
Soccer is a release
Dalton said Gbeddeh’s maturation is hardly uncommon for Rock Island’s players because several of the Rocks are African immigrants who came to the United States to get away from violence.
Gbeddeh comes from Liberia, a country that has fought two civil wars during his life. He was born in the midst of the first war in 1994, and his family emigrated to the Ivory Coast shortly after the second war broke out in 1999 before arriving in America in 2004.
“A lot of these guys come from tough places,” Dalton said. “We have a lot of African kids who still live tough lives, and this is their getaway. We see a lot of attitude when they first get here, and then they realize soccer is their release.
“When they shed that shield they’re hiding behind, you see somebody like Redemer, who now has an amazing attitude. He wants to learn, get better and he’s a leader. He’s matured quickly and very well.”
As a result, Gbeddeh understands the opportunity he has better than many high school students. His family has little money, but Gbeddeh still has the chance to receive an education and play the sport he loves on an organized team, neither of which would be available to him in Liberia.
Perfect fit
He hopes to become a computer technician, a goal that would be nothing more than a pipe dream in Africa.
“In Africa, the schools are not very good,” he said. “You’ve got to pay for it or go to a little school, and in America, schools are free until you get to college. In Africa, we had to get up and work in the morning just to put food on the table, but in America, you don’t have to work that much.”
Instead, he’s been able to work on his soccer skills, and has emerged as a pleasant surprise for the Rocks.
“I had no idea (the system) would be tailored so much to him,” Dalton said. “Two years ago, I didn’t think much of Redemer. Technically, he wasn’t very good, he was timid and he wasn’t as big.
“But he grew a lot, and when he grew in size, I think he grew in a lot of other ways. To right away find a guy who fits the system perfectly and has really stepped up to be the leader is an amazing surprise. We have him for another year, so he’s only going to get better, and the people around him will continue to get better.”
http://qctimes.com/sports/high-school/soccer/soccer-heads-up-move-for-rocky-junior/article_bdedd3d4-de90-11e0-b64a-001cc4c03286.html
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