Eric Messmore Makes it Happen for the Wildcats
Great Bridge boys’ varsity soccer coach David Lawrence focuses much of his efforts in practice getting the young men on his squad to think while they are on the field. “Decision-making is one of the most important parts of the game,” he explains.
“I believe that the more they use their heads on the field, the better things will pan out.” Making the right choices on the field, according to Lawrence, has translated into particular attributes for the Wildcats.
Specifically, the Wildcats’ defense is among the best in the region. They have managed to keep the number of goals scored against them to single digits. This has resulted not only from the Wildcats making good decisions, but from the fact that they have fielded first-rate goalkeepers for the past several seasons.
Great Bridge’s success on the soccer field also derives from the experience of the team members. “This season we have incredible depth,” explains Lawrence, who has been coaching soccer for nearly twenty years. “We have twelve seniors this season and they all provide strong leadership. Almost all of them play select soccer outside of high school.”
Some of the seniors on the 2006 squad are playing their first year of varsity soccer, something Lawrence explains that he is not reluctant to do. “Some coaches are averse to picking up first year seniors, but my philosophy is that if they can perform well in tryouts, I’d be happy to take them.”
Evidently, Lawrence’s attitude, and the hard work of the players themselves, gets results. Great Bridge has been in the Southeastern Regional tournament four out of the past five years. Further, the 2005 Player of the Year for the district was a Wildcat. But Lawrence is cautious as a coach not to take achievement for granted. “I hope we can challenge for the district title. That’s a realistic goal.”
Besides the work that he and the players put into making the season successful, Lawrence believes that the camaraderie plays a role in creating the conditions necessary for a strong soccer program. “At the varsity level, I think the friendship is why a lot of these guys come out.”
Eric Messmore, an eighteen-year-old senior and captain of the team, agrees that the chemistry on the 2006 team translates into success on the soccer field. “There is a lot of individual talent,” he says. “Since we all get along so well, that talent allows us to work very well together during games.”
The more time the team gets to practice as a unit, according to Messmore, the more reliable its performance is at game time. “I like when the whole team runs plays together and scrimmages when we’re training,” says Messmore. “The live action helps out a lot because it truly gets us prepared for upcoming games.”
Messmore, who plays center midfield, is particularly adept at reading the field, a critical element to any soccer team’s success. When the Wildcats require that the game take a certain turn, Messmore is able to make it happen. Last season, he was named to the second All-Southeastern District team.
Sixteen-year-old sophomore Adam Klink represents the promise that the underclassmen show in bolstering Great Bridge’s position as one of the region’s foremost contenders in upcoming seasons. Nevertheless, Klink gives plenty of credit to the team’s leadership. “We have twelve seniors on the team,” he explains. “They provide strong guidance for those of us coming up.”
Klink will undoubtedly be one of the team’s leaders in the seasons to come. At goalkeeper, he demonstrates his capable management skills in the backfield. He uses verbal commands to position defenders and plays with force and passion. His strong style of play earned him a spot on the Olympic Development Program (ODP) team for Virginia.
Athletic aptitude, however, is not something that Klink takes lightly. He runs an additional six miles after practice and lifts weights in his spare time. All of this, he maintains, “will make me a better athlete overall.”
Both Messmore and Klink hope to continue playing soccer in college, something that they concede is a challenge, but one that they are ready to meet. With their strong work ethic and commanding skills, professional soccer could likely be in their future as well.
