Hatchets have a blessing and a curse

Homepage

Discussion

September 20, 2012

Hatchets have a blessing and a curse

By Dennis Glade Washington Times Herald The Washington Times-Herald Thu Sep 20, 2012, 11:45 AM EDT

WASHINGTON — Playing soccer for Washington High School can be a gift and a curse.

Getting the opportunity to play for a sports program like the one Hatchets’ boys soccer boasts is a gift for any athlete. But, the sky high expectations can be a curse when those expectations aren’t met.

The 2012 Hatchets (8-2-4) have experienced both this season from incredible highs, like the 14-0 season opening win against Princeton, to the shocking lows of the 7-0 home loss at the hands of rival Vincennes Lincoln.

Head coach Quintin Myers, who knows first hand what the Hatchet program stands for as his father, Kevin Myers, built the program from scratch to the elite one it is today.

Myers thought his team’s heads might have swelled after the Princeton victory, which may have directly attributed to the Lincoln loss that Myers hoped would be a wake up call for his team. After their 3-1 Senior Night victory against Forest Park on Sept. 4, Myers thought his team was “going through the motions” and has seemed utterly disgusted with their effort at times.

After each win, Myers didn’t seem to be satisfied with the direction his team was headed. This may seem odd as the Hatchets have only lost twice in 14 games. All season, Myers has preached to his team that they can do much better. For a while it appeared to an outside observer that maybe this was who they were, a team that could just get by on talent alone.

That was until they took to the road.

Since the Forest Park win, the Hatchets have played their last five matches away from the friendly confines, going 4-1 in that stretch. The only loss, their second of the season came at the hands of 2A No. 5 Valparaiso at the Fort Wayne Canterbury Invite this past weekend. It was in Fort Wayne, that Myers thinks his team turned a corner that could take the Hatchets to heights that didn’t seem realistic three weeks ago. The Hatchets shutout 2A No. 10 Fort Wayne Homestead 2-0 before falling to Valparaiso. The game was the Hatchets’ second in four hours and Valparaiso’s first.

“I’ve been telling them all year they haven’t been playing to the level they should be,” Myers said. “This weekend they stepped up and they took it to those teams.”

What changed for the Hatchets? Going on the road has seemed to unite them and bring out their full potential against some tough competition. In addition to win against Homestead, Washington shutout likely sectional opponent Boonville 1-0.

The level of play the Hatchets displayed against Homestead and Valparaiso has Myers thinking his team can play with anyone, which goes back to his initial expectations for this season, a state championship. With better play comes renewed expectations.

This is nothing new for the Hatchets, the gift and the curse.

Text Only

Local News

Republicans to vote on new trustee
Republicans from Washington Township will meet today to vote on a new township trustee.
Fifteen committee chairmen from Washington Township will vote at 8:45 a.m. today to fill the position following the death of Albert “Pete” Showalter, who died on April 13.

May 18, 2013
North, Owens 'Play' hard
B-R to graduate 41
Police Report
School board approves new handbooks

Obituaries

Makenlie Robinson (Lakatos)
Makenlie Jean Robinson (Lakatos) was granted her angel wings Friday, following a short illness.

May 20, 2013 1 Photo
Mary Lou Henson
Daniel E. Foster
Mary Willis

Local Sports

Obaseki moving up the ladder
Ben Obaseki was happy with his performance at the three-day rookie mini-camp of the Green Bay Packers. Now it is up to the Packers, or another team, to make a call.

May 18, 2013
Dubois wins Loogootee Sectional
WHS girls soccer call-out meeting
Cougars win one for Samantha
Wagler places 2nd in 1600 meters

The "Z" Watch

IU still working towards sixth banner
Monday night in Atlanta, Louisville won the school’s first National Championship since the year I was born - 1986. This accomplishment is significant to Indiana basketball fans, because the last two times the Cardinals cut down the nets (1980, 1986), the Hoosiers did it the following year. The stat, of course means nothing, other than both schools had strong programs in the 1980s.

April 11, 2013
Zeller declares for NBA
Washington shows support for Zeller
Zeller scores 18, but Pacers beat Cavs 99-94
Oladipo, Zeller named All-Americans

Must Read

LIVE BLOG: Massive tornado hits south of OKC
A massive tornado touched down Monday afternoon in Moore, Okla., just south of Oklahoma City. Follow live coverage of the aftermath of the storm.

May 20, 2013 1 Photo
VIDEO: Tumblr sold to Yahoo! for $1.1 billion
What you need to know about preparing for tornadoes

Entertainment

Movie preview: “Star Trek Into Darkness”
Plot: When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within that has left Starfleet in ruins, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.

May 13, 2013 1 Photo
Movie preview: “The Great Gatsby”
Movie preview: “Peeples”

State News

Indiana’s high school grad rate continues upward
Indiana’s reported high school graduation rate continues to improve, moving from 77 percent to more than 88 percent in less than a decade, but there are still significant achievement gaps marked by race and income.

May 14, 2013
Schools chief Ritz on fast learning curve
SLIDESHOW: Governor Otis R. Bowen

Homepage

Search Results

Discussion

Hatchets have a blessing and a curse

Do you have a Summer weather prediction?

Site Map

Contact Us