Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 10, 1995 TAG: 9506120039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``Jason played on the 1989 state championship soccer team,'' Decker said of his older sibling.
The Indians' midfielder outdid his big brother by becoming Timesland's boys' soccer Player of the Year en route to helping his team to the 1995 Group AA championship.
Shelley Blumenthal, who wasn't the coach in 1989 but coached the Indians to their second state title in 1993, is Timesland Coach of the Year.
The All-Timesland team is dominated by Blacksburg. Three other Indians - forward Steve Cherry, stopper Jon Freeman and goalkeeper Ben Pinkerton - are on the first team.
William Byrd, which was beaten in the state semifinals by Blacksburg, placed forward Michael Berry and fullback Matt Bryant on the All-Timesland team, and North Cross claimed two spots with midfielders Brad Blum and John Prillaman.
The other three All-Timesland selections are Salem halfback Ryan Reeves, Cave Spring junior midfielder Chris Hewitt and Franklin County senior midfielder Jonathan Seale.
Blumenthal said Decker is as competitive player as one will find. ``He has vision, the ability to be unselfish and great ball skill,'' Blumenthal said.
Decker had 16 goals and 22 assists, quite an improvement over last year when he wasn't even listed among Timesland scoring leaders.
``I think the reason my statistics improved was that my team improved,'' said Decker, whose team finished 24-0-1. ``We probably have the best offensive team I can remember at Blacksburg. We also had two of the great finishers in Steve Cherry and Kurt Williams [a second-team selection]. I was supposed to set them up or score if the team needed. The strongest part of my game is setting up people.''
Decker plans to attend Virginia Tech, but his soccer career might be finished.
``Possibly I'll try to play soccer, as a walk on,'' he said. ``My main concern going to college is to get an education. I've always wanted [to major in] engineering and Virginia Tech is the logical place to go. It's in Blacksburg and it's one of the best [engineering] schools in the nation.''
Decker also played basketball for the Indians, but he cut back on the number of sports he played as he grew older.
``I tried to do as many sports as I could when I was younger. I did almost everything. When I was at middle school, I realized I didn't have the time to do all the sports and cut down to basketball and soccer,'' Decker said.
``I played basketball for four years and I was a starter this season. I wouldn't say I was an integral part of the team.''
Decker beat out Pinkerton and Hewitt for top player honors. Pinkerton was a key stopper until Blacksburg's defense started catching up to the offense. Hewitt took off in scoring and was instrumental in making Cave Spring stronger than usual.
Blumenthal hedged on the question of whether this Blacksburg team was his best.
``Those things are always tough to say,'' said Blumenthal. ``This team improved tremendously throughout the the year. Offensively, it was unquestionably the best team. It was hard to beat the 18-0-2 record of 1993, but then we got to the end [of this season] with a 19-0-1 record. I think we just peaked at the right time.''
Blacksburg played a tough schedule by Group AA standards. First, the Indians went to Tennessee for an invitational tournament. Later, Blacksburg beat Cave Spring and North Cross, both considered to be very strong teams in Timesland along with William Byrd.
Cave Spring first-year coach Bruce Mahan was runner-up to Blumenthal for top coaching honors. The Knights dominated the Roanoke Valley District and played well in the Northwest Region tournament before losing 2-0 to Albemarle.
by CNB