Throughout Arrowhead I have learned a lot of life lessons that have really helped me grow as a person, one person who has been a big influence on me is my soccer coach, Coach Staus.

Every year for the boys soccer program we have a new motto that we go by and each of them has a lesson behind it. One year it was S4, another was win from within, and this year was ONE. S4 means start strong, stay strong whether it was for school keeping good grades and being a good student, or on the soccer field starting the season or game strong and staying that way. Win from within was about winning a battle within yourself on being a good person, pushing through everything to get to whatever you’re trying to accomplish. Finally, ONE, this one was about being a team and how everyone matters. I feel this was one of the most important ones because it’s what helped us push each other in the season to get better everyday and to have a positive attitude toward each other.

One motto he kept every year was WOCWBC, meaning working on a championship while building character. Coach Staus is unlike most coaches because he wants to win in the right way and help build his players up in the game and as people. I have learned a lot from my Coach and he always inspires me to be a better person every day.

Every year he would also say, “where you start isn’t where you finish.” This to me was an inspiration to always try my best in everything I did every soccer season, but it also gave me that mindset for everything I did. For school, it means if I have a high grade at the start doesn’t mean I’ll finish with it, I have to work just as hard to maintain it, and if I have a low grade I have control over changing that and to improve it.

Currently, I’m in a class with him and it’s Coaching & Officiating. He always makes the class and my day so much more enjoyable because he gets everyone engaged in what we are doing. He has helped me feel comfortable enough to go to him if I ever have a question about anything whether it’s for soccer and school, or just something that’s happening in my life. I have never been able to go to any of my teachers about anything super personal and I feel he is the only one I feel comfortable going to for any advice.