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There is always something beyond the immediate. After every win there is a loss. Even when you win the championship, eventually you fall. That’s life. But try telling that to a team of high school boys celebrating their day in the bright ligts of the big city after bringing home yet another title to Martin Luther King high school.

So after what was proclaimed MLK Soccer Appreciation Day Coach Martin Jacobson crammed a whole life into a single soccer season. “Like life,” he said. “it’s the end that counts. And we ended up pretty well.”

He was alluding to the fact that for the first time in 13 years, MLK didn’t dominate their opponents (they won 11 city championships over that time). Goalkeeping coach Mickey Cohen said he couldn’t remember the last time MLK was shut out. Before this year I mean, because this year, it happened three times. They lost twice to Beacon High School, the team MLK would eventually topple in penalty kicks in the finals. Jacobson enjoyed his time at the podium, introducing guests and going through the season like he did his life for me a few years ago, telling honest to god tales of times in the gutter before finding the light. “We’re talkin about gettin on,” he said to the cafeteria crowd, nailing down his point about succeeding after losing.

And then Jacobson introduced a few former players, invited to hopefully inspire his young team. They addressed the 50 or so family and friends (and a few journalists; Paul Gardner and Michael Lewis were both in attendance).

First was Bouna Coundoul of the Colorado Rapids. He played for MLK in 1998, 1999, and 2000, when he was voted NYC player of the year. He graduated from the University of Albany before playing in MLS and for the Senegal National Team. His contract is up when the new year comes, and he told me he will look at other offers in and outside of MLS. I could have talked to Bouna for hours, but tonight was about him talking to the kids. “Coming back here is like going back to Senegal,” he said. MLK and his experiences there meant that much to him. Talkative but shy, Coundoul didn’t spend long at the podium. He coyly advised the boys that while it’s great when you achieve your athletic dreams, it is even greater when you achieve an education.

Case in point speakers #2 and #3, Steven Amaya and Oral Bullen. The latter plays with the New Jersey Ironmen in the professional indoor league after a stint in USL-1 in Portland. But the University of Massachusetts graduate has his eyes on life after soccer. He said as much to the MLK players, who as 14-18-year-olds tend to do, giggled and fiddled with phones between moments of focus.

Steven Amaya graduated from MLK two years ago. He wrote about his transition from high school to college for TIAS during his freshman year at Hartwick College. He was the captain that led the team back from a crushing loss in the finals (breaking the team’s streak of 6 titles) to regain the trophy the following year. I’ve witnessed Steven cry in pain and cry in joy. I watched most every game he played in for two years, meeting the team early in the morning and riding with them on the bus to and from games. I’ve seen better teenaged soccer players, but none I enjoyed watching more.

I had not planned on attending the event but when I found out some of the old kids were coming back I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Kind of like Bouna said, I think anyone who spends some serious time at MLK comes to find their own bit of home inside its chaos. I could go on, loop it back to winning and losing, life lessons and MLK, but having heard him give the speech, I thought I would let Steven finish. Here’s what he had to say to the group…

As I walked up the many stairs outside, through the main entrance and into the cafeteria I couldn’t help but feel a warm sensation of familiarity being back between these walls. It was as if I had been away for too long and was finally coming home for the holidays.

It has already been two years since I was at my last KING SOCCER awards banquet, yet I still feel connected with that everlasting feeling of being a member of the city’s most prolific soccer team. The ease that I feel as I stand before you was built by the undying memories of pulling on an MLK soccer jersey.

Just this year, I received perhaps the most significant message of my soccer career. I was in Fairlawn, Ohio for the Mid-American Conference semifinal with the Hartwick College men’s soccer team. We were preparing to take on the number two team in the country, Akron University, and at that moment our coach relayed an inspiring message to us about memories. He began by asking us what game or games would come to mind if asked to name a memorable soccer match. As he asked this I could only think of two specific matches that stood out immediately and one of them was the 2006 PSAL soccer championship.

It was a time where the cup rested in another school’s trophy case and we were no longer NYC’s champions. It was a time when KING had been dethroned and the entire city doubted us. It was a time where respect was no longer given to us but had to be earned. It was one of those times where anything but being the best would have been a failure. This is why if I was asked to describe the day we defeated Lehman High School 4-0 in the championship, I could relate the moment to you down to the very last detail. I can explain what I did and how we prepared as a team before the match, I can tell you who scored the goals, and I can even tell you who the first person I hugged was as our team came rushing onto the pitch after the final whistle blew.

My coach at Hartwick continued his speech by explaining that a moment such as that match was the creation of a memory. The day KING reclaimed the title of NYC soccer champions is a memory that I, along with my teammates, created. We created this memory because it was a day where nothing and no one else mattered. It was one of those days where after the match ended there were no regrets. It was one of those days where anything that KING soccer did went right; we couldn’t fail and triumph was inevitable. It was one of those days where after the match ended nobody wanted to go home because nothing else mattered but tossing around a piece of silverware and having a laugh with the group of boys you worked so hard with to create that memory. It was a moment that everyone hoped would last forever.

Our coach finished by telling us that, like all good things in life, moments like these must come to an end. However, the one thing that never ends and that nobody can take away from you, are your memories. The memories that you create are yours to keep for eternity regardless of what happens. Therefore, as KING’s returning players prepare for next fall and the seniors move on to play for their respective college teams; realize that every training session, every match is an opportunity to create another memory. You must embrace every opportunity and continue to add to your count of memories for which you will be forever grateful and proud.
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It was a day that will likely mean more to the boys when they are men…