Lessons for living

Experience and team effort were the driving forces for the Ft. Wingate soccer team at this year's 2009 Indigenous Soccer Cup, leading the team to a gold medal in Las Cruces on Aug. 1.

Though the team is called Ft. Wingate, it had six players from St. Michaels and six from Wingate that made up this year's under-17 boys division team that won the gold against Rehoboth, 7-3.

The team also called upon experienced soccer coach Eddie Weber. Weber, the head soccer coach at St. Michael, has been involved in all three Indigenous Soccer Cup events.

Joe Weber, Eddie's son, was the key to putting team Ft. Wingate together.

"Wingate asked us to play with them and they didn't have a coach," Eddie Weber said. "They had six players when we were approached. They asked Joe to play on the team, he agreed only if his teammates were to play also.

"Since I'm the head coach at St. Michael, I went ahead and volunteered to coach them," Eddie Weber said. "They knew I coached here (St. Michaels) already."

With the team assembled, they did not meet or practice with each other until the day of the tournament.

"We didn't even know each other," Eddie Weber said. "The first time we met each other, we met there in Las Cruces just before our first game."

Yet the 12-member Ft. Wingate team won their first match against San Felipe, 2-0.

Eddie Weber said that since he didn't know much about the Wingate players the only choice was to see what they can do on the field in their first game.

"I just got the guys on the field and they just played," he said. "I immediately knew how they played and understood their position. I listened to them and just watched them to see what they wanted to do. I asked them where they like to play."

After making the adjustment between the younger Wingate players and the experienced St. Michael players, Weber said it didn't take long to know what they could do.

"After the first game I knew how to adjust and just trust them in their next game," he said. "It was all up to them on the field. Second game, we were basically on the roll.

"It took two or three games to get used to each other," he said. "It didn't take long, they (Wingate) were eighth or ninth graders. We were able to carry the team," Joe Weber said.

Under Eddie Weber at the tournament, the team finished 6-0, which included 3-0 in pool play and 3-0 in the championship bracket.

Most impressive was that the team outscored their opponents 30-5, with Joe Weber scoring half of the team's goals.

"I expected it to be a more competitive tournament," Eddie Weber said. "But it turns out that our team, they had more experience. We didn't know what to expect until the beginning of the tournament."

In other matches in the tournament, Ft. Wingate beat Shiprock (7-1) and Taos 1 (3-0) in pool play. In the championship bracket, they beat Crow (7-0), Shiprock (4-1) and Rehoboth in the gold medal match.

Weber said that experience was the key, but in his previous three years his teams were at the other end of being an inexperienced team.

"At that time we weren't able to compete against those that were two or three years older, but now the experience has paid off," Weber said. "Now they've been playing against much more older and experience teams."

"Older people can do better against younger players," Joe Weber, a midfielder, said about age competition. "Two years ago we couldn't do anything against older players. This year it was different because we were older and we had advantage against the younger players."

The elder Weber noted that with Joe's experience, he was able to get all his teammates involved with the wins.

"He's a strong player," Eddie Weber said. "He has the ability to make the game plays. He's someone who has the experience and he carried the team. He's not selfish player.

"You need to have a go-to player that makes plays and gets everybody involved," he said. "That knows how to make good decisions to carry the team. That's what Joe brought."

Yet while soccer is the most popular sport in the world, Weber said the sport is still new to Native Americans.

"To a lot of Native youth, the game is still new, but it's a healthy sport and it can be positive for the youth," Eddie Weber said. "They get to meet a lot of people across the country. The coaches mix them up for interaction reasons. It was one big event for the youth.

"Still soccer is still being introduced to the Native Americans. Other teams from across the country had players from other areas of the U.S.," Eddie Weber said. "St. Michael has a team before and has been here before, but we were happy with Wingate."

For the 2008 Navajo Times Soccer Player of the Year, Joe Weber, a three-time Indigenous Soccer Cup competitor, he says the event not only gives him the pleasure to compete but to meet new people.

"It's fun for me and I grew up with it all my life," Joe said. "I like it because I met a lot of new people, new Native Americans. The whole thing was fun."

Team included Arlo Enoah, Gabriel King, Gabriel Lee, Ethan Lincoln, Brad Sam, Gabryl Sam, Elijah Strangeowl, Cameron Tsingine, Vincent Tsosie, Joseph Weber, Cardarrell Yazzie, Jerrick Yazzie, Ricky Yazzie, Melcolm Bitsie and Robert Smith.

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