Mark Maliniak – Staying power and a Strong Will to Win!
In addition to being the defensive leader on the Salem Sun Devils varsity boys’ soccer team, seventeen-year-old junior Mark Maliniak also runs cross country. He believes that running in the fall allows him to focus on the endurance and speed that is necessary for eighty minutes of soccer at each game.
Maliniak’s staying power is in part what has led him to being named the Most Improved Player and the Will to Win athlete for the Sun Devils’ soccer squad. On the field, he is strong and fast. He frustrates opponents with his keen ability to read a play, anticipate what an attacker will bring, and move in to steal the ball. He has evidently mastered both the physical and mental aspects of soccer.
If Malianak’s evident command of the skills is not enough to make him a leader on the team, he has the experience to back it up. Soccer is a family affair; he began playing at the age of three, following in his brother’s footsteps. “My style of play has been most influenced by my brother, Philip. He played for two years at Salem and then at Bishop Sullivan Catholic. There he made first team for TCIS [Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools].”
According to Maliniak, the Sun Devils are particularly adept at defensive maneuvering. He explains that providing an impenetrable defensive front is critical to winning games. But Malianak humbly doles out credit to his teammates. “The guys back there with me are good at running down the ball,” he says. “We’re all about working together and I think that our closeness allows us to make some plays that other teams aren’t able to.”
The Sun Devils can complement their stellar defensive skills by focusing on finishing offensive plays well. Whether connecting with free kicks or ensuring that the last kick of a drive makes it into the net, the key to Salem’s success will be generating points.
Coach Ryan Molloy explains that the Sun Devils have been able to do just that in the past. “Early on, we’ve been able to score points and quickly set the tone for the game. That’s a big advantage.” Molloy agrees with Maliniak in that a strong offensive showing for Salem will complement their defensive posture. “Defensively,” he says “we’ve been able to contain teams.”
Although only in his first year as head coach of Salem’s varsity squad, Molloy brings plenty of experience to the field. He was a coach at Princess Anne for the last two years and is currently the director of operations and a coach for Beach FC, one of the area’s travel soccer leagues.
Molloy may be just what the Sun Devils need to break out of the Beach District, something they have not been able to do in recent memory. Although they have not been able to advance to regional play in quite some time, according to Molloy, “Salem always makes a strong showing in the district tournament and that’s something that a lot of other teams respect us for. We may not end up first in the district, but we’ll be the hardest working ones out there.”
Making a showing in the Eastern Region tournament is something to which Molloy and the players aspire this season. But even if 2006 is not the year this will happen, says Molloy, “we want to be a factor at the end.”
One reason that Salem will be a factor at the end of the season, regardless of their record, is that this team is a very close-knit group both on and off the field. Even the newcomers to the team this year quickly assimilated to the team and proved capable of working well with the others, something that relieves Molloy. “The fact that all of these guys mesh well makes coaching easy and allows for success on the field.”
Molloy is also encouraged by the sheer athleticism displayed by the Sun Devils. He explains that his practices are very intense. “Although we have fun, I expect them to work hard in training. We do as much as we can during practice,” explains Molloy, “and they give me all they’ve got. There are a lot of really good athletes in this group."
