From the Founder, Brian Mazza 5/27
You’re Never Out of the Fight
This past weekend at the FC Delco Tournament, our 2017 FC Westchester boys found themselves in a situation every athlete eventually faces in life:
Two must win games.
As a coach, of course I wanted to win.
As players, of course they wanted to win.
But at the U9 level, I’ve learned something important:
You cannot coach children through pressure the same way you coach adults.
Telling 8 and 9 year olds, “This is the biggest game of your life,” does not magically make them sharper, tougher, or more composed. In many cases it does the opposite. Their minds tighten up. Their emotions speed up. Their ability to play freely disappears.
So our approach had to be different.
Before the games, I challenged the boys to embrace each other through the good and the bad. Support one another. Lift each other up. Show up during the big moments not just physically, but emotionally.
During warmups, I intentionally tried to take their minds off the pressure of the match itself.
After every short sprint or activation, I had them say something positive to a teammate.
Show gratitude.
Show appreciation.
Show love for the brothers you battle with every week.
And honestly, U9 boys are hilarious. They’re pranksters, jokesters, clever little maniacs, exactly how they should be at that age. But once they started speaking intentionally to one another, I watched something shift emotionally within the group.
Walls came down.
Players heard affirmations from teammates they may have never heard before. Some smiled awkwardly. Some laughed. Some got serious. But slowly the energy changed.
For the record, this did not magically win the games for us.
But I absolutely believe it made them fight harder for one another.
The first game we won 2 to 1 after going up early and then giving up a late equalizer before finding a way through.
The second game was pure chaos.
Down 2 to 1 at halftime in the semifinal, the boys battled back to win 5 to 4 in one of the most emotional youth games I’ve ever been part of.
And when that final whistle blew, I saw something I’ll never forget as a dad, coach, and director.
Raw emotion.
Tears.
Hugs.
Pure love.
Pure relief.
Pure belief.
That moment shook them to their core.
Not because they won a youth soccer game.
Because for the first time, many of them truly felt what it means to fight through adversity together.
That is the beauty of sport.
Life on the pitch often mirrors life off the pitch.
You will get knocked down.
You will fall behind.
You will feel overwhelmed.
You will feel outmatched.
You will question yourself.
A lot more than you think.
But if you keep fighting with relentless intent, if you lean on your people, if you refuse to quit on each other, you eventually give yourself a chance to get through to the other side.
That is brotherhood.
That is family.
That is belief.
As US war hero and Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell once said:
“You’re never out of the fight.”
Neither are these boys.
Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes.
