Kicking in Cleveland

Apr 4, 2006

In the new John Carroll University Magazine today, I see that the legendary soccer player Hector Marinaro is now the coach of the soccer team at my alma mater. I saw Marinaro a few times, and can picture one fantastic bicycle-kick goal he scored in the championship round of the indoor league.

I also saw him play during my freshman year at Carroll, when my mom was visiting for parent’s weekend. We drove to the Richfield Coliseum to see the Cleveland Force, and I enjoyed my time with my mother.

That was just a few weeks after my one-day stint with the soccer team—I tried out the first day of the season, and dragged myself through the four hours of drills and sprints. At one point during a scrimmage, the coach told me to “hop in there” and so I did, literally hopping onto the field. The next day, when I met him in his office to tell him I wouldn’t be continuing with the team (so I could spend my time writing for the newspaper), he said he’d miss my attitude.

Anton Zuiker ☄