Play With Courage

(Published in Vype Magazine)

A Jeffersonville High School student has just returned from the Final Four -- in soccer, that is!

Red Devil Vincent Straight was a member of the Indiana team that made it to the Olympic Development Program National Championships in Frisco, Texas.

Straight, who also plays select soccer with Southern Indiana United's U15 Mavericks, was part of a '93 team which reached the final four thanks to its triumph at the Midwest regional last year.

Their reward was a place at the national championships, joining Oklahoma, Virginia and California South.

"I had a lot of fun," says Straight. "It was a very good experience for me. I never thought I would actually be competing in nationals on a state team."

Although they lost their semi-final game to Oklahoma 4-0, the Hoosiers bounced back in the consolation game to beat Virginia 2-1. In the final, California South beat Oklahoma 4-3 in overtime.

"We came into nationals losing three of our main players, including our goalie," says Straight, an attacking midfielder. "We performed well, but not together as a team in the first game. In the second game we got it together and we moved the ball around."

Straight says the competition at ODP Nationals is "a lot different" than what he's used to at Jeffersonville High School, where he was named Newcomer of the Year as a freshman in the fall, or with his SIU Mavericks team.

"Touches are better, as is vision of the field, passing, speed, strength and shooting," he says. "Everything is a lot cleaner."

His coach at Mavericks, Mike Vejar, says he is very proud of Straight, whom he has mentored for seven years.

"It is a very talented group and for Vincent to have made it was a huge accomplishment for this young man."

Straight's dad, Scott, says the achievement is even more noteworthy for the fact that, other than one player from Evansville, all squad members are from Bloomington and north of the state.

"Just like in other high school sports in Indiana, it is very hard for boys close to Louisville and so far away from Indy to get recognized at state level," he says.

The US Youth Soccer ODP was formed in 1977 to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a national team is selected for international competition. Each state association holds ODP tryouts on an annual basis.

So did Straight take away any valuable lessons from his ODP experience?
"I was told a lot of things by my coaches and the people there that I will remember and use every time I step on the field," he says. "They told us to always have courage, always take risks, and to always give 100 percent in everything you do."



Above: Jeffersonville’s Vincent Straight (right) in action for Indiana against Virginia at the ODP national championships. Photo by Bill Vieth