THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607090128
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 84 lines
DURING THE SCHOOL season, Leroi Wilson drills Cape Henry soccer players. His practices cover the fundamentals, but are spiced with lessons in strategy, enthusiasm and conditioning.
In the summer, Wilson practices what he preaches, changing from teacher to player as a forward for the Hampton Roads Mariners.
Wilson, 25, has been a member of the Hampton Roads United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues' team for three years. Originally an amateur program, he stayed with the Mariners as they became a Pro, then Select League, contender.
``When you play amateur, it's more like a club-type team where everybody plays,'' Wilson said. ``Now everybody's negotiating contracts and playing at a higher level. It's been a lot of fun.''
Wilson graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University and immediately came to Hampton Roads to try out for the then-Hurricanes. He made the team his first season and has continued to hold a roster spot. However, as the team has grown, Wilson's role has changed. A former solid starter, he now serves in a substitution capacity.
``It's hard, but I've been playing for a while,'' Wilson says of accepting his new role. ``Nothing has ever come easy for me. I've never really been that star and I've had my share of being benched. I'm in a substitution role, but we have a great team. If I can go out there and provide that spark we need, then that's great.''
While a late spark is a boost for the Mariners, the team has been fortunate to not be dependent on late rallies this season. Hampton Roads (12-3, 6-2 Select) has been dominant, outscoring opponents 49-14.
A New York native with Jamaican roots, Wilson liked what he saw in Virginia Beach and decided to stay. While he is undecided about his long-term plans, Wilson is becoming entrenched in the area and is considering staying when his soccer commitment ends.
When he is not working out with or playing for the Mariners, he is teaching camps and clinics and trying to rest after his busy scholastic seasons. He coaches Cape Henry's junior varsity boys soccer and is assistant coach for the varsity girls soccer and varsity boys basketball teams.
Wilson spent two years pursuing his soccer career, then was offered the Cape Henry teaching/coaching position. He said he had studiously avoided teaching up to that point, but could not turn down the Dolphins' offer.
``It fell into my lap,'' Wilson said. ``I always thought about it. My dad did it. . . . I didn't want to do what my dad did, but it was there.''
Teaching and coaching provided Wilson with a new kind of fulfillment. In camps, he finds players like he was, driven to succeed, but unsure of how to do so. While he only has these players for a week, his Cape Henry players are his for a season. He can fully develop them from a skills and proficiency level, honing raw talent into deadly soccer power.
``I find it exciting,'' he said. ``To go out there and do it, and see the look on their faces. . . . It's stressful at times, but I really enjoy it.''
Despite his love for teaching and coaching, he continues to put his first love on the top of his priority list.
``Soccer's always been first,'' Wilson said. ``In some respects, it still is. Even though I'm teaching, I'm still a soccer professional. It's still my job.''
A job he loves. This fall, in addition to teaching and coaching, Wilson wants to pursue his studies and earn his coaching licenses. After his playing days are over, he would like to settle in and coach collegiately.
``I'd love to get more into coaching,'' he said. ``I'd love to be Norfolk State's first soccer coach.''
Until then, though, he will relish the role of a professional soccer player. Wilson has had to struggle, at times, to play this season. He has battled injuries and is currently sidelined, but maintains a positive attitude. No matter what happens, he was here for three years, living a life lesser players can only envy.
``I've played professional soccer now,'' Wilson said. ``That's a dream of mine that I've always had.''
For three years, it has also been the reality. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
``Nothing has ever come easy for me. I've never really been that
star and I've had my share of being benched. I'm in a substitution
role, but we have a great team. If I can go out there and provide
that spark we need, then that's great,'' says Leroi Wilson, Mariners
forward and teacher/coach at Cape Henry Collegiate.
MARINERS' SCHEDULE
[For a copy of the schedule, see microfilm for this date.] by CNB