The 2016 season was a tough year for the Lynn Classical boys soccer team.
The Rams, under first-year coach Dominick Steadman, saw more lows than highs in a stacked Northeastern Conference. Classical finished the year at 6-11-1 and failed to make the state tournament for the second straight season. The positive, however, is that the Rams have turned the page and put last season behind them.
With motivated players like Josue Blas leading the charge, Classical’s prepared to right the ship in 2017.
“No one likes losing,” Blas said. “No one likes not being able to make the state tournament. That’s always the motivation each year, to make states. That will certainly drive us and motivate us this season.”
Blas, a senior, will serve as a team captain for the Rams for the second straight season. A three-year varsity star, Blas will be tabbed as one of the players the Rams will rely on for leadership both on and off the field.
With a year of captaining the team under his belt, Blas is ready to tackle a leadership role again this season.
“I just want to carry the team and be a better leader than I was last year,” Blas said. “I want to motivate my teammates to work hard. Sometimes players can lack confidence and I just want to be able to give them that motivation and help them be confident to compete with the better teams in the league.”
As the start of his final high school soccer season quickly approaches, Blas’ main goal is to get Classical back to the state tournament. Although the team still has areas to improve on, Blas believes the Rams are primed for a tournament run if they can stay committed and communicate effectively throughout the year.
“It would mean everything to me (to make the state tournament),” Blas said. “I’d feel very accomplished, like I did my job. We made states my freshman year and we lost the first game. To make states again and go far in the tournament, that would be a major accomplishment in my high school career.”
“We have a lot of new guys and I’ve seen a lot of good things thus far,” Blas added. “As we progress throughout the season, if we keep working hard and maintain strong communication, I can see us making states and making a run.”
Steadman, who served as an assistant coach at Classical before taking over the program, has coached Blas through his three years as a Ram. He acknowledged Blas as a coachable player who makes the best out of both positive encouragement and criticism.
“I think his best attribute is his coachability,” Steadman said. “He listens to every criticism, whether it’s good or bad. He has been that way since his freshman year. He has always been more mature than his age. He’s always willing to listen, take everything in and learn from it.”
Given Blas’ commitment to both the soccer team and his academics, Steadman’s fully confident in his senior midfielder’s ability to serve as a role model for the younger players on the team. Steadman feels as though Blas is a prime example in proving that team leaders can excel on the field and in the classroom.
“The most important thing is his ability to handle to both the classroom and the on-field stuff,” Steadman said. “He’s a great soccer player but that doesn’t make him a great leader. He does the things off the field the right way. I want the younger kids to learn from him. You can be both a great leader and do things the right way off the field.”
Classical begins its quest for redemption on Tuesday, when the Rams battle against Tech in the Lynn City Tournament at Manning Field. The Rams began their 2016 season with a tough loss to St. Mary’s in the opening round of last year’s city tournament. Since then, Blas said, Classical’s been hungry to prove itself as one of Lynn’s stronger teams.
“We gained a lot of experience last season,” Blas said. “We had a lot of young guys that saw their first year on varsity and it’s always hard coming up from JV but they’re ready to go. Coming from a 6-11-1 year and a bad first game against St. Mary’s, that’s going to spark a fire in us for the city tournament and the rest of the season.”
“Teams can expect a hard fight every game from us,” Blas added. “We might not be the most skilfull team or the biggest team but everyone of us will give a hard fight. I’m willing to guarantee that.”
