CCC soccer may be light on wins, not ready to learn to lose

By JOHN C. COTEY, High Schools Columnist
Published January 10, 2008

CLEARWATER - It started with a loss, then another.

Then it was five losses, then eight, then 11.

Mix in a few ties, some self-doubt, and hold the confidence.

The most storied boys soccer program in Tampa Bay, Clearwater Central Catholic, less than a year removed from playing for a state title, was quivering at 0-11-2.

Impossible? Ridiculous? Sacrilegious?

No, says coach Jim Harte.

Expected.

"Well, he told us in the beginning it was probably going to happen," senior captain Bobby Going said. "I don't think any of us understood, though, how rough it would really be."

Everyone else saw a soccer team in ruins, a long reign finally over, comeuppance even for those 18 final four appearances and nine state titles, a Florida record.

Harte saw a future state champion.

Not next year.

Next month.

"This is all by design," said the Marauders' resident mad scientist, who only had to replace seven starters, more than 100 goals and the best goaltending around from the county's player of the year.

He could have done it the easy way, by ducking the prestigious invitationals and cutting back on the travel and filling the schedule with feel-good games.

He could have skipped this weekend's trip to Fort Lauderdale to play the defending state champ and a four-time former champ.

"But we made a strategic decision not to downscale the season. We came up with the hardest schedule we could so we would be ready when it mattered," he said.

Rebuilding Harte's way meant rebuilding his team's confidence as the losses piled up.

It is a gamble, and the risk is that you lose games first. Then players.

"There was that danger," he said.

This could have never happened 10 or 20 years ago, when almost every great soccer player went to CCC and the Marauders just reloaded.

Before Countryside developed into a power, Seminole grew stronger, Palm Harbor University and East Lake came along to claim a piece of the local talent.

That's why this is not only Harte's toughest coaching job in his 21st season, but he's convinced it will be his best as well.

"He knows what he's doing," said Going, even more convinced now that the Marauders have picked up a couple of wins.

Soon he can stop explaining to his friends at school why the team's record was so bad. They wouldn't understand anyway.

But it starts with a story about a guy climbing Mount Everest. He gets to the top, and he is very happy, and he celebrates and goes home, perfectly content and never to return.

Then there's the other guy. The crazy one. He climbs the mountain one year and comes back the next year to do it again, and the year after that, too.

"That's us," Harte said. "We're the crazy guy. They got stuck with the crazy guys as their coaches."

Harte is selling it, every day. The record, it means nothing. What matters is that after months of picking on the biggest guy on the playground and getting whipped, it's time to fight back.

"We're ready for that. We think we can be the first team to ever win a state title and have a losing record," he said.

They stand at 2-15-2, having finally won a game over the holidays. They are in last place in the district.

They talk of state titles, like some crazy guy climbing a mountain.

"Yeah, it sounds a little crazy," Going said. "But we play for a program that has more state titles than anyone else. This comes with that. We're going to surprise some people."

John C. Cotey can be reached at 813 909-4612 or johncotey@gmail.com.

[Last modified January 10, 2008, 00:03:32]