The word “proud” does not even begin to explain how I feel about this year’s SSFS Men’s Varsity Soccer Team. From the beginning, we have faced adversity. From unfair comparisons to teams of yore, to sympathy regarding our youth and inexperience, to injury after injury; perseverance has been our common defying thread. Now, having survived to be a privileged part of the last week of the tournament, all that remains is the exclusivity of the PVAC Final Four with the precious opportunity to achieve a special and elusive goal. The semifinal is often the most dangerous in a three-round tournament, as teams too often get seduced by the allure of the championship, rather than focusing on the task at hand. Consequently, sports history is ripe with examples of teams that have fallen in this round due to lack of priorities.

The result of our climb has revealed a group that personifies courage and boldness. At times we have bent, but have never truly broken because we have proven through trial to be indivisible. Not surprisingly, this team has improved to the point of excelled -- some may even say overachieved -- and I could not be more proud to lead this group onto the pitch. Whatever happens, I am confident that we will end with our heads held high, knowing that in the end, win or lose, we are united proudly and forever as the 2008 SSFS Men’s Varsity Soccer Team.

As the conclusion of the season appears on the horizon, we are forced to face our mortality within the context of this defining and interdependent experience: the inevitable end to something so meaningful, cooperative, and all-encompassing. The time spent working towards our goals - both common and individual - and overcoming obstacles together has now given way to the beginning of the end. Certainly, this bell tolls most for us seniors.

Rather than be saddened by this inescapable reality, instead we should be reinvigorated by the opportunity to squeeze everything out of what precious little remains. Specifically to the seniors, never before has time been more ours. Inspired by this heightened state of awareness, we owe it to ourselves to go out with a noble bang rather than a whimper.

“Play to your potential.” This is a coaching mandate instilled in our team. Not wanting us to define ourselves -- or be defined -- by our youth or size, our fortune or misfortune, or even our last game, the coaching staff demands that we continue to aspire by perpetually setting new goals. Always striving for more, that is certainly a defining characteristic of the SSFS Men’s Varsity Soccer Team.

Such demands teach us methods to avoid the dangers of surrender, apathy, and complacency. Succumbing to these pitfalls is often born from a loss of focus and/or control -- some combination of doubt, fear, arrogance, bravado, and pressure -- that ends frustratingly in excuse and hindsight. On the other hand, attaining one’s potential is a seemingly ever-elusive demand of endurance, determination, and humility. In this respect, “the point of the journey is not to arrive.” Quite simply, the difference between growth and stagnancy is progress, and that can seem exhausting. When the ugly alternative is so much easier, little wonder many never reach their potential. Not surprisingly, great teams always maintain that the most important game is the next one.

Doing the “right” thing is often as difficult as it is deceptive. Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton said, “The easiest person to deceive is one’s own self.” At such crossroads, too many choose the easy path at the avoidance of what Robert Frost called The Road Less Traveled. Ultimately, we come to be defined by the choices we make.

Having fallen, this team is confronted with a choice: stay down or attempt to rise. As “right” as the latter seems in the face of surrender, buyer beware, it certainly comes with no guarantees; and the pain of repeated falls tends to be exponential. Consequently, not only is it difficult to do the “right” thing, it can sometimes hurt. Nonetheless, Roy Disney once said, "When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”

In the end, experience has taught me that the difference between smooth sailing and bumpy seas is considerable. It is easy to navigate gracefully when waters are still. On the other hand, owning one’s circumstance in times of trial is not only “right,” it is courageous, and as Ernest Hemmingway said, “Courage is grace under pressure.”

Although it's always important to learn from one's past, spending too much time dwelling on it can take one's eyes off the present. Similarly, while it's equally important to set goals that project out into the future, too much time day-dreaming can see the now slip away. Consequently, it is important to learn how to refocus on each respective task at hand, taking things one game at a time and trying to manage those things upon which we have any influence. As the saying goes, “How does one eat an elephant? One piece at a time.”

Staying calm, focusing on what is at hand, and sticking together are all key ingredients for preserving group unity and finding collective success. T.E.A.M.: Together Everyone Achieves More.

So onward, as now is no time for the weary, but rather to persevere and strive for more. We must not lose that hunger and stick-to-it-iveness that defines driven and improving teams. It is essential that we stay true to what we believe to be right and continue to work hard to achieve as many of our goals as possible. Remember to "shoot for the moon. If you miss you'll still be among the stars."

This past week found us faced with the daunting task of opening conference play on the road. Two tough away games would certainly be a formidable test of our collective persistence, perseverance, and progress. Despite our achievements, in both cases we were reminded just how difficult it is to prevail as a team. Success seldom comes with ease and comfort. This lesson is at the heart of Coach's desire for us to adopt a humble, team-first, blue-collar work ethic.

However, in order to prevail as a team, it is essential that first we commit ourselves as individuals to a common goal. I remember the days, not so long ago, riding the bench. If I wasn't on the bench, I was often ball-running on the side of the pitch. Playing behind veterans, like Patrick Ma, Gus May, and Andrew Stowe, battling for playing time anywhere I could carve out a few minutes, quickly taught me that it would take much more than wishing and hoping to earn game time. Minutes weren't rights, they were privileges. Whenever I got minutes, I was thankful. Whenever I made a mistake, I listened to Coach and tried to right my wrongs. Whenever there was a chance to improve, I seized it. Slowly, but surely, I climbed the ranks.

This is the kind of transformative story that has come to define the players that have passed through this program. Like so many myths, the heroes of this program started as humble ball-runners, adjusting to the pace of the game, grabbing short shifts, one at a time, learning lessons while trying to earn one's stripes by modeling themselves after their veteran leaders. After all, how can one rise without climbing? Life is so often less about where we start then it is about where we finish.

There is no substitute for hard work and certainly the SSFS Men’s Varsity Soccer team has been working hard, from the Sunday mornings in January and February to this summer's evening pick-up sessions, and late August's team isolation camp. In addition, our pre-season schedule put us up against formidable opponents, the likes of Northwood HS, Maret, Sidwell Friends, Georgetown Day, and St. Vincent Pallotti, whom we battled for hard-earned minutes and gained invaluable experience.

The regular season began with the first round of the Francisco Hope Classic, hosted by St. Andrew’s Episcopal, in which we lost a hard fought contest to a deserving Seton HS. Frustratingly, the second round match was cancelled due to Tropical Storm Hanna, leaving us disappointed and needing to refocus on what is next to come; the challenge of opening conference play.

“How are you going to make it without last year’s seniors?” I’ve learned to expect this reasonable question. Understandably, what outside observers don’t know is that, as a team, we have discussed this significant question, confronted its unavoidable reality, set a bold new course and chosen to move forward together. Something else they don’t know is that SSFS has done it before. The legendary team of ’99 lost 10 seniors after winning both the regular season and tournament banners. Many believed the 2000 squad could not hope to repeat any of what the ’99 team had done. However, through sheer determination, hard work, and a commitment to the SSFS Men’s Varsity code, the 2000 squad returned to capture the regular season banner.

So what is our plan? It's certainly no secret and comes with no guarantees, but we are prepared to work equally hard, never surrender, always strive for more, and apply everything we have learned in the past few months, while never forgetting the lessons taught us by all of the past SSFS Men’s Varsity teams: Belief, Honor, a Gentlemen-Warrior mentality, and Pride.

We are the 2008 SSFS Men’s Varsity Soccer Team.