| Honoring Our Past (March 2006) |
By Jay Martin
The NSCAA is a special organization. In the past year, the NSCAA reached two milestones: the Association officially passed the 20,000 member mark, an all-time high; and attendance at the 2006 Convention surpassed 9,000 – another record! The Association is growing and moving forward at breakneck speed. I remember when the NSCAA had fewer than 2,000 members and was an all-volunteer organization. Today, we have more than 20,000 members and 13 full-time employees.
We are a special organization. The NSCAA has had (and still has) many special people in the organization. As we grow so fast, it is absolutely imperative that we not lose our institutional memory. We cannot forget these people. They represent the past.
Three important coaches were honored at the convention in Philadelphia, Hank Steinbrecher, Nick Zlatar and Walt Chyzowych. These men are soccer coaches. They are special. They are role models for all of us. They cannot be forgotten.
Hank Steinbrecher won the NSCAA Honor Award. He was a soccer player, then a soccer coach, but he was so much more. He coached at Warren Wilson College, Appalachian State and Boston University. His record was “only” 100 wins, 61 losses and 19 ties. That pales in comparison to many coaches today, but Hank did much more than coach. He helped at clinics and he helped coach coaches. The first time I met him, he was the keynote clinician at our annual Ohio Soccer Coaches Association Spring Clinic. He was great.
While at BU, Hank was asked to be the venue director for the 1984 Olympic Games at the Harvard University stadium site. He was great. From there he went to Quaker Oats to develop and market Gatorade. Again, he was great. Under the direction and tutelage of Alan Rothenberg, Hank became Secretary General and Executive Director of the United States Soccer Federation. In the next 11 years he spearheaded USSF to international prominence and solidified the place and credibility of our national teams in the world. The list of his accomplishments is endless, but he is renowned for his optimism, perhaps fanaticism, about the future of U.S. soccer. He was instrumental in World Cup 1994 and the creation of Major League Soccer. His mantra of “Our time has come” inspired U.S. Soccer for more than a decade. Hank is a special person, and deep down Hank is a soccer coach. His field is just a little larger than that of most of us.
Nickola “Nick” Zlatar was the recipient of the Walt Chyzowych Award, what many refer to as “The Walt.” Walter was the coach at Wake Forest when he passed away 11 years ago. More about him later.
Nick Zlatar won The Walt because he is a special person and a special soccer coach. Nick came to New York from Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He played high school and college (NYU) soccer and also played baseball. Nick developed the first “D” level non-residential coaching course for the New York State Soccer Association. That course was a model for future USSF non-residential courses. He spent his life dedicated to coaching education and teamed with Walter as a key member of the USSF coaching staff. He was responsible for all USSF operations on the East Coast. And he was an educator. He taught in college for many years. In a conversation after the award ceremony, Nick lamented the current state of soccer in this country. He talked about how many free clinics, training sessions and soccer-related activities he presented because he was an educator. Does that happen today?
In his acceptance speech he said, “No one has had the impact on the game or the people in the game that Walt Chyzowych had. As a writer once said, there are two ways of spreading the light – to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. There is no doubt that Walt was the candle.” Nick is a special person. Nick is a special soccer coach.
Which brings us to Walt Chyzowych. How can a man who passed away more than 10 years ago be honored at the 2006 Convention? Believe me, Walt was honored, because his award went to Nick Zlatar. Walt would be happy to know that. The Walt recognizes those who have devoted their lives to preserving the spirit of the game of soccer, advancing its level of play and promoting its growth and development among youth and adults while supporting the principles of life and sport espoused and exemplified by Walt Chyowych. Whew! The recipients of the award through the years reflect the very best in soccer – how about Jerry Yeagley, Anson Dorrance, Bill Killen, Joe Morrone, Bob Gansler, John McKeon, Mel Lorback, Bruce Arena, Tom Fleck and Joe Machnik. That’s a pretty good group, a group of special soccer coaches. A group that would make Walt proud.
Walt was there from the beginning. He could coach a team and teach coaches how to coach. That is a rare combination. He was the first full-time U.S. National Team coach. He organized and developed (with German mentor Dettmar Cramer) the USSF coaching schools. He was fired by USSF and rehired. His legacy is the astonishingly large number of soccer coaches who consider Walt their mentor.
Walt was a special person. Walt was a special soccer coach – a coach we cannot forget.
These three coaches are special. They were part of this Association at the beginning. Does new member No. 20,000 remember them? Know who they are? They all were successful and all contributed to the NSCAA. As Bob Gansler suggested of Nick Zlatar as he quoted from Ralph Waldo Emerson:
To laugh often and much, To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, To find the best in others!
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden path or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to be successful.
Walter, Nick and Hank all are successful.
As we grow, don’t forget the past and the people who worked hard to make soccer what it is today. Don’t forget the people who paved the way so you could have a job in soccer. We still have a long road ahead. The NSCAA is a special organization. It has many special people – special soccer coaches. Maybe someday you will be a special person. A special soccer coach. |
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