Steel Squad Takes State Championship When one looks at the successes of to name a few. The only loss of the year the Harding University athletic depart· came at the hands of the Westside Soc· ment and all of the championships that cer Club, by the score of 3·0. the individual sports earned, one sport is Against Westside, Nelson Whit· overlooked more times than not. The tington, one of the key players on the year 1981 was successful for the Searcy squad , was lost for the season due to a Steel soccer team as well. Made up of broken leg. The loss of Whittington's mostly Harding students, the team not talents could have been devastating to only enjoyed success but it savored it at the chances for the league title, had it its best; a state championship. not been for one thing. "We were ex· Participating in the Central Arkansas tremely deep in talent," Steel coach Jim Soccer Association Senior Men's Berkley said. "We had over 25 guys try League, the "Men of Steel" swept out for the team and ended with 16 through the league with a 6·1 record and rostered players." Perhaps even more built an overall record of 10·1. What is remarkable was the fact that only seven impre~s 'le is the list ot wins by the returne~ from the previous squad, one squad. \J1i:-'.,;fsity ¢. nrkansas·Littie that finished with a 5·2 record in the Rock (3·1), Ouachita Baptist (4·0), Freed· spring. Hardeman (5·3), Hendrix College (6·2), Aside from the fact that all of the and Memphis State University (2·1), just players naturally love the sport, there r:======================::::====..... ===------." were several reasons for the athletes to sacrifice valuable time to play on a non· 282 -Soccer school sponsored team. "To me, soccer is an all around sport," said left wing Ronnie Moore. "If you're just half·way decent, you've got to be smart and also a pretty good athlete." Mike Cash, a four season veteran of the team, felt that individual play was more of liabil ity than an asset. "To be successful in soccer, you have to work together as a team," Cash said. "That really impresses me and helps me to look at the team con· cept of play." . No matter how the team did during the year, the squad would not exist had it not been for the efforts of the trainer and past coach of the team, Chuck Wilson. "Chuck began the team a few years ago and the success of it is a reflection of his dedication to the sport," Berkley said. "He handled the practice and training sessions and is solely responsible for the teams conditioning that allowed them to play the fastest style of soccer for ninety minutes a game. Our opponents could not match that effort the last two seasons. Without that kind of effort, it could have been a long season for the Steel team." f£A
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