The plentiful rain has brought about the growth and bright colors that represent spring. At Howard School, a sapling has been planted, and its cultivators hope it follows the trend, growing lush and vibrant.
Two years ago, the urban school had its first boys' soccer program, and after a winless season, a lack of interest and commitment shut down a second season before it began. Cue Scott Rieckhoff and Nick Siler.
Rieckhoff is in his first year on the faculty at Howard, and Siler is in his second. The two have revived the program, perhaps for good this time.
"There's a lot that goes into getting a soccer program off the ground," Rieckhoff said. "Thankfully, the girls have been going now for two years. Erica Vaughn was the girls' coach, and she did a lot of the groundwork. We were fortunate enough to sort of come in and build off of what she had already started. So we already had cones, the balls, the cooler, some uniforms."
Head coach Scott Rieckhoff leads soccer practice in the gymnasium at Howard School on Friday, April 17, 2015.With equipment in hand, the duo needed players, so they held "open facilities" last semester. Rieckhoff and Siler could not coach during that time, but they were able to gauge interest and start some conditioning.
"That gave us a pretty good idea of who's going to be committed," Siler said. "That's definitely one of our values is commitment. Also, beyond the commitment thing, it also allows us to kind of see leadership potential.What I was pleasantly surprised about was we had a lot of the younger kids, like sophomores, deciding to take leadership roles. It was really quite impressive."
The early interest lasted into the next semester, and come February, Rieckhoff and Siler had around 30 players with whom to build a team. Unfortunately, there was only room for 18 of them, but Howard again had a boys' soccer team.
"Our first game was against Marion County away, and we ended up winning 2-1," Rieckhoff said. "The win really brought the team together. It wasn't a blowout to the point where we felt like we were on top, but it was a close enough game to bring the team together around a win, so that was good."
The victory marked the first win in Howard boys' soccer history and was the first of Rieckhoff's coaching career, which is also in its first year.
Along with learning how to win, Rieckhoff and Siler hope their players learn how to be good young men and community leaders. The program is not the only thing blossoming: Relationships are, too.
Howard's players come from many different races and backgrounds, and even skill levels which have to all blend on the field in the ultimate team sport. Siler even referred to his relationship with Rieckhoff as a "Yin-yang" dynamic that brings balance.
"It goes beyond soccer," Siler said. "We want to create world leaders in the 21st Century. Not only are they student athletes, but we want to add a human component."
The coaches said they have also received an abundance of support from the administration and teachers. With all of this balance and support, there may be many more years and wins to come for Howard soccer.
"We are always learning, always improving and always growing," Rieckhoff said.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com