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Communicating Through Soccer

 

Imagine being in a foreign country surrounded by people from 75 different nations all speaking a myriad of languages. No one can communicate. No one can understand each other. Until a soccer ball appears, and suddenly these strangers start playing together. That was the situation Brunswick Pirates soccer coach Daniel Szokoly found himself in a few years ago. He was on a study abroad trip to Oslo, Norway, and realized that communicating was difficult.

“When we would play pick up soccer, everyone seemed to understand each other and play as a team despite the language barrier,” Szokoly said.

Now, in his first year as the boys soccer coach at Brunswick High School, he uses his experiences to teach young men how to deal with challenges on and off the soccer pitch.

“There are so many life lessons that occur throughout a season that I think can help young players develop into responsible, intelligent, and hard working adults,” Szokoly said.

His philosophy is that, like real life, the game tests players’ abilities to overcome challenges using intelligence, athleticism, and teamwork.

When Brunswick went looking for a boys soccer coach, they didn’t have to look far. Szokoly and his wife were ready to return to their home town and alma mater. He is a native son who graduated from Brunswick High School, where he played soccer all four years, a fact he occasionally shares with his new Pirates players. He then attended Georgia Southern and the University of Georgia. While in Athens, he was an assistant coach at Cedar Shoals High School.

“I have always loved the sport and have played it as long as I can remember,” Szokoly said.

Szokoly coached at the junior varsity level at Cedar Shoals, which prepared him for varsity, or so he thought.

“When we traveled to Pierce County for our first match up of the year, I saw how wrong I was,” he said. “I did not sleep the night before. I barely ate anything that day, and I was nervous all the way up to the first whistle.”

Once the game started, he relaxed and concentrated on his team and the game itself.

“There was a learning curve for many of the players since a lot of them were pulled up from junior varsity from the year before,” Szokoly said. “It was a good adjustment game for both them and myself.”

Now that he has a season under his belt, he will continue building the soccer program at Brunswick. He has especially been impressed with his freshman class that has gone through conditioning and practice drills without missing a session.

“The eighth-graders coming up to us next year are also looking very talented,” Szokoly said. “I think my assistant coach, coach Michael Bone, and I will be able to create a solid and consistent program for years to come now.”

Bone is also an alumnus of Brunswick who played forward during his high school days. Although it is hard work, the two have fun working together to rebuild the Pirates program.

Thus far, Szokoly’s most memorable game came this spring when the Pirates faced the Wayne County Yellow Jackets for the second time. In the first game, Brunswick made basic mistakes that cost them the game 2-1.

“Going into the second game, I made the entire team watch all of the footage of the first game,” Szokoly said. “We dissected our errors and those of the other team, and when we went into the second game, it felt good to see them make the corrections they needed to. Soccer is like a puzzle, and it is always nice to see your players put the pieces together.”

The Pirates won the second meeting 1-0.

In his first season as head coach this year, Szokoly had one of his best moments as a coach when two of his players, Guillermo Ramirez and Tevin Dixon, received scholarship offers from colleges.

“Coming into this program, I wanted to help players move onto the next level of soccer,” Szokoly said. “I filmed some of Guillermo and Tevin’s club games in the offseason and helped them compile some footage to send off to college coaches.”

Other players, including three juniors, are getting looks from colleges too.

Had he not become a coach, Szokoly believes he still would have wound up in the classroom as a teacher. Away from school, he spends time with his wife, who was a past valedictorian at Brunswick High School. Together they travel and work on their new home.

He credited his own high school teacher and coach for being his mentor. While Szokoly was still a student at Brunswick, Brian Brewer guided him down the path of education and athletics. The biggest influence on his coaching style has been Jordan Prempeh, who coached Cedar Shoals while Szokoly was there as an assistant.

“He demanded a lot of his players and was very rigorous about tactics and positioning, and that has come out in my coaching as well,” Szokoly said.

Szokoly coaches with a laid back yet determined style.

“He’s very smart,” said March Grover, the Pirates high-scoring junior forward. “He’s always coming up with the best strategy for every opponent, and he really cares about all of his players, not just in soccer but in all things in life.”

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SE-CC-0517-Szokoly

Coach Daniel Szokoly

Brunswick Boy’s Soccer

By Rob Asbell

Photography by Michael Brinson

Communicating Through Soccer

 

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