Courtesy: Shawangunk Journal


Let's Be Like Walton

By John Burns

I attended an indoor soccer tournament last Saturday at Walton High School. My children are mostly grown now so it had been a few years since I spent 10 hours inside a school gymnasium watching 12-minute mini-wars where kids run up and down a basketball court trying to kick a soccer ball into mini-nets, protected at all costs by other kids. It's a good thing too, because as you get older you find out that your body has unmistakable ways of letting you know the very next day that it is not happy with you for sitting on metal gym stands for 10 hours the day before, watching 12-minute mini-wars.
I was in beautiful downtown Walton, a small, rural community about an hour and a half west of Ellenville, to watch a contingent of Blue Devils players compete in a "Futsal" soccer tournament. Futsal is indoor soccer that uses a slightly smaller, slightly heavier soccer ball that does not have much bounce to it. This particular style of soccer is intended to help players develop foot skills such as dribbling and passing that will reap benefits when the outdoor season comes around. Ellenville boys' varsity soccer coach Maxwell Mead led the Ellenville group, which included teams entered in the junior high school division, the boys' and girls' high school division, and several Ellenville players who were brave enough to enter the adult "Over the Hill" division. Mead was also joined by Ellenville girls' varsity soccer coach Nicole Krom.

It is amazing what Mead has done with the Ellenville soccer program in just a few years at the helm. Consecutive appearances in the Section 9 tournament, back-to-back championships in the tough Margaretville tournament (Mead's alma mater), and competitive play against traditional area-soccer powers like Spackenkill have earned Mead recognition and honors such as being named last season as Mid-Hudson Athletic League Coach of the Year.

Mead is soft-spoken and humble, but he has Ellenville soccer at a point not seen since the program had many successful seasons under former Ellenville Blue Devils coach Pete Meoli. Meoli led the Blue Devils when there was no girls', team and this makes Mead's accomplishments all the more spectacular. The surge in soccer's popularity in Ellenville has resulted in events such as nightly summer pickup games behind the school, often involving members of both the boys' and the girls' teams. There has also been a greater feeling of community in Ellenville soccer, as members of both teams become unofficial cheerleaders at each other's games. This sense of family has not been seen since the days of Meoli, and the results are evidenced by the fact that our relatively young girls' soccer program has experienced a recent appearance in the Section 9 tournament, a program first.

Which brings me back to Walton High School, and why the Blue Devils must follow what appears to be a very successful formula for the Walton Warriors. Upon entering Walton H.S., one is struck by the overwhelming display of black and orange, Walton's school colors. Your first thought is that Walton must be a fun place to be around Halloween, but the colors are so pervasive that you soon feel as though they actually fit the place. Every hallway column, window frame, school banner, and classroom door inside Walton H.S. is adorned in black and orange. Signs are everywhere that proclaim, "Warrior Pride." It is apparent that a goal of most young Walton elementary students is to grow up to be a Walton Warrior. Parenting duties in the Walton community most likely include support of the Walton athletic teams. Businesses in Walton take pride in being members of the Walton Booster Club. And the fruits of their efforts are recorded on the many championship banners that adorn the Walton H.S. gymnasium. Football and wrestling are two of the most successful Warrior sports, but all Walton sports are competitive.

Walton is a small school — class D, the smallest classification in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. Roughly 8 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. It is obvious that Walton H.S. is the center of the community.

Ellenville is also a relatively small school. Ellenville is a Class C school. Almost 23 percent of the Ellenville population lives below the poverty line. People often argue that Ellenville cannot remain competitive in sports because we lack a solid middle class — that our population consists of low socio-economic residents. If winning championships meant sacrificing the diversity that makes our community so special, I would be the first to vote, "No." But the last time I checked, there were no economic, social, or religious requirements to be able to throw a basketball through a hoop, kick a soccer ball into a goal, or hit a baseball with a bat. School and community pride, something we could use a large dose of around here, is free. And if tiny Walton, New York, can put their efforts, resources, and time into making the school system the center of their entire community, we can do the same here in Ellenville. You see, kids are kids, no matter where they are from or what socio-economic background they come from.

We just need to be a little bit more like Walton. We need to encourage our students to take advantage of the opportunities that are available to them, to get the best education possible, to become involved in athletics and other extra-curricular activities, to volunteer, and to take pride in their school and their community.

This Saturday, Coach Maxwell Mead, in conjunction with the Ellenville Booster Club, will host the First Annual Ellenville Indoor Futsal Soccer Tournament. Teams from around the area and from places distant will come to Ellenville and many will get to see our community for the first time. The tournament is a first step in a return to Ellenville pride and success in athletics. Others will come to see what it is we do here. Hopefully, some will return home and say, "Let's be like Ellenville."







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com