Successful relationships usually require a high degree of trust, including the relationship between a coach and his players.
McCallie's Chris Cushenbery took over the middle school soccer program seven years ago and noticed a talented group of sixth-graders. The first thing he asked for was a little bit of trust.
McCallie's Thomas Priest (9) plays the ball in front of Notre Dame's Luke Eckler (12) at McCallie School on Monday, March 12, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. McCallie won 2-0, with goals by Will Hart and Ben Brock."I made a pitch to the parents that year," Cushenbery said. "I said, 'Look, we may lose a lot of games because we're starting six or seven sixth-graders, and we're going to build from the back every time.'"
Like a volleyball team learning to bump, set and spike, the Blue Tornado may give up some scores making mistakes on their own half, but once the offensive pattern was nailed down, it would be a tough one to beat.
"The parents really bought into that," Cushenbery said. "We had some bigger, older kids, and maybe you're going to win more games with bigger, older kids, but that group could play. So we made a commitment right then. We want to put this group in a place where they can win state championships."
Two years later, McCallie's high school coaching job opened and Cushenbery got to follow the talented bunch into their freshman year after an undefeated eighth-grade season.
Among them were Thomas Priest, Jonah Bryan and Ben Brock, who are now seniors with Division I scholarship offers and have been key components in a dominant four-year run in which McCallie has compiled a 51-4-8 record, including a 9-0 start this season.
"Coach says our best is good enough, and if we play it, we shouldn't lose," Brock said. "So far this year, that's been true."
The Blue Tornado's undefeated run has helped vault them nationally to No. 2 in Top Drawer Soccer's Fab 50 and No. 6 in USA Today's Super 25, but Brock said the team is keeping its focus on the state level.
McCallie's Benjamin Brock reacts after missing a goal against Notre Dame at McCallie School on Monday, March 12, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. McCallie won 2-0, with goals by Will Hart and Ben Brock."We were No. 3 nationally our freshman year and didn't win state, and it was the same kind of thing our sophomore year," he said. "We're focusing more on working our butts off every practice and every game."
Bryan added, "We're not playing to win a national championship. We're playing to win a state championship, so these region games are what matters."
McCallie continues region play tonight at 6 with a home match against Montgomery Bell Academy - a team this crop of seniors has gotten to know well.
A crushing 3-2 overtime loss to MBA ended McCallie's season and its 16-game winning streak in the 2015 state semifinals. An equally agonizing 1-0 loss to the Nashville school led to another semifinal exit the following year.
McCallie finally got revenge last year, beating MBA for the state title Priest, Bryan, Brock and Cushenbery had been preparing for together.
"Coming back on the bus from the state championship game was as holy a moment as you could ask for," Cushenbery said. "From saying we were preparing them for a state title to thinking I wouldn't be a part of it when they were heading into high school - then to see it happen. It's so storybook."
That storybook ending was just the latest chapter in a budding rivalry as MBA takes its best shot at ending McCallie's unblemished season. But the Blue Tornado know they have another dangerous rival that would relish the same opportunity.
"We're looking forward to MBA and Baylor," Priest said. "They're going to come out fast and angry. We have a target on our backs every game, so we have to make sure we're prepared for it."
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.