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I've always said it's about the kids.
And at the end of the day, that's who I'm writing about, writing and running events for.
When Curt Herron, a former co-worker of mine when I was still in college, told me that he and Gary Larsen of WestSuburbanSoccer.com were going to hand out postseason awards differently, my ears perked up.
If you've been a reader of this blog for more than a day or ever met me, you know I disapprove of how some awards are handed out. But with that said, sometimes it's a crap shoot with stuff like that.
This year, I took a lot of heat for two players on the 2009 Sun-Times All-Area Boys Soccer team. The first was naming Naperville Central's Chris Prince the Sun-Times Player of the Year, and the second was naming Neuqua Valley's Scott Davis to the first team.
I question people all the time, so I expect people to question me. It's part of the job. That's why when I read the story on WestSuburbanSoccer.com and saw who the players talked about the most, I'm not going to lie - I smiled.
From WestSuburbanSoccer.com:
Where forwards were concerned, no name came up more often than Chris Prince, a one-man gang in the final third this season who posted 27 goals and 11 assists in becoming Naperville Central's all-time leading goal-scorer for a season and a career.
The list of big goals Prince scored this year is too long to mention. He struck like lightning throughout the year, seemingly whenever the Redhawks needed a goal.
"I don't recall one time when he lost the ball when he had it at his feet," Neuqua Valley's Scott Davis said. "He was all over the place and he caused our defense a nightmare. He almost beat us single-handedly."
"You can't give him any space," Hinsdale Central's Robbie LaRocque said of Prince. "He can score from any angle."
And who better to assess a forward than the guys in back? "I only got beat near post once all year," WW South goalkeeper Derek Babb said. "And it came off of Prince's foot. It was so quick, I never saw it coming."
Waubonsie Valley's Nik Patel is one of the best defenders in the business, and his take on Prince was typical.
"He's very strong and he loved to have the ball at his feet. He can hold the ball and turn at any moment and shoot it, dish the ball at any moment, give and go at any moment," Patel said. "He's very hard to deal with."
Neuqua Valley's Bryan Ciesiulka echoed what players from every team Naperville Central played against could have said: "He was the most dangerous player we faced all year," Ciesiulka said.
Ultimately, Naperville North defender Jake Remegi may have summed Prince up best. "He's bigger than you are, stronger than you are, and faster than you are," Remegi said. "As a defender, that makes him really hard to handle."
After Prince, no forward was mentioned more frequently than Scott Davis among players we interviewed.
"He is the epitome of hard work," Waubonsie's Patel said of the Neuqua senior. "He gives it all he's got, all the time, and he's very fast. If he gets one step on you, he's gone."
Naperville North's Chris Boswell cut to the chase in describing Davis: "He works his (backside) off."
Davis had 24 goals and 16 assists for Neuqua this year, and played every game like he should have been wearing a helmet.
"As a goalie, he's a scary player to go against," Naperville North goalkeeper Mike Wiest said of Davis. "He never stops running. You'll think you have an easy ball, and that you have it, but you know he's coming and he's not going to stop. He just keeps going. He is absolutely relentless."
Lyons Township played Neuqua Valley three times this year, and that was more than enough of Davis as far as the Lions' Chris Meingast is concerned.
"You have to have those few workers that are going to go after the ball for 80 minutes, and that's what made Davis so dangerous," Meingast said. "As a defender you want a break once in a while, but he's not going to give it to you."
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