Balancing Act

Demands and stress from playing soccer could toil away at any senior in high school. However, for seven Southside High School seniors, the load is doubled. Not only do the players wear the blue jersey of Southside, but they also sport the red of Fort Smith Express. Griffin Hanna, Jonathan Hayes, Abdalla Ihmeidan, Mahmoud Ihmeidan, Max Jaggers, Patrick Linder and Angelo Rodriguez have won the US Youth Soccer Association state championship for Arkansas for the past three years under Fort Smith Express and a successful season under Southside. "Having boys play for both teams helps because it keeps them on the ball practically year round. They practice every day for Southside working on their individual skills as well as their fitness," Express assistant coach Keith Hayes said. With many players beginning at the age of four for Express, the team began as a recreational team for WASA. Since then, the team has won U15, U16 and U17 for the US Youth Soccer Association state championship for Arkansas. They have traveled to regional championships in Frisco, Texas, North Little Rock, Arkansas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. To defend their state title, Express will compete at regional's in Raleigh, NC in June. Southside's boys soccer team has competed in southern regional's for three years in a row and gained experience by playing upper level teams. The team has defeated two of the top teams- Van Buren and Rogers. "I'm excited over all about this group. Chemistry is very good and with hard work we have the potential to be in the playoffs and in the final on May 2," Southside coach Mauricio Maciel said. For Southside soccer, changes in the roster and injuries along with time constraints have been the major challenges this year. Seven players with double the work ethic have only helped the team. "We have had some injuries of key players. We have a thin bench, we have good but young bench players," Maciel said. Comparing the two leagues, both are highly competitive and well coached. "Both coach Ihmeidan and coach Maciel are very good coaches who have a lot of experience in the game of soccer. They are easy to get along with and know how to lead a team to a winning season," Jaggers said. Twice the time together has increased the team's ability to emerge as a dedicated team. "The first year that we won the state championship, during the final game we scored a goal to go up 1-0. Coach Ismail Ihmeidan asked the boys to change the style of play so that we protected our defensive half of the field and protected the one goal lead. Our players had never been asked to do that and it was obvious they were not comfortable with it, but they executed it to perfection and sealed the 1-0 result and secured their first state championship," Hayes said. Despite heavy practice time and sacrificing free time, playing for two teams and with the same teammates has been beneficial for the players. "Because I play for these two teams, I can stay in shape and improve my soccer skills. By playing with the same players, we learn the strengths and weaknesses of the other players and teamwork," Jaggers said. Competing against upper level teams locally and teams all over the nation, the seven boys of Express and Southside have proven themselves as experienced athletes. "The leagues are very competitive. Express is more difficult because you compete against teams from all over the country," Jaggers said. Whether showcasing Express or the blue of Southside, the team has remained dedicated to soccer and each other. "We are like a family. These guys are like brothers to me," Hanna said.