Connecting Through Soccer

Photo Gallery

One town. One student-athlete. An instant connection. Syracuse junior forward Pete Rowley (Reading, Pa.) has developed a special bond with those that run the LaFargeville Youth Soccer League and that relationship resulted in Rowley spending the last weekend in September in the small upstate New York town, working with approximately 150 young soccer players.

The kids, ages eight to 14, attended several practice sessions during the course of the weekend and Rowley helped them with the fundamentals of the game. Rowley also signed autographs and posed for pictures.

“I wanted to teach them about team shape and communication,” Rowley said. “I think that’s the foundation for all of soccer so the first thing we did was play handball and as I suspected, everyone ran to the ball. We tried to steer them away from that and by the end of the weekend the transformation (in the kids) was amazing. They really picked up on what we were trying to teach them and made a lot of progress.”

Rowley’s interaction wasn’t limited to just the kids. He also spent time with the local youth coaches and presented tips on how to organize practices as well as specific drills. It was a learning experience for everyone as Rowley also picked up hints about the challenges of coaching youngsters.

“A lot of them (the coaches) were picking my brain and I was trying to do the same,” Rowley said. “I was trying to see what they did in certain situations with the kids because I’d like to be a coach at some point as well.”

Scott Baughn, a former Army Ranger, is in charge of the LaFargeville Youth Soccer League and invited Rowley to spend the weekend there. The town is about 90 miles north of Syracuse, up Interstate 81 near Watertown and Fort Drum. The two got to know one another two years ago at Dean Foti’s Orange Soccer Camp in Syracuse where Rowley volunteered.

“Scott brought his kids down a couple of years ago for the camp,” Rowley said. “One of his kids was a little homesick. Scott had just returned from Iraq and his son had to stay at the dorms here and missed his dad. I just tried to make him feel better and took him under my wing a little bit. That’s how the relationship started.”

In addition to Baughn’s relationship with Rowley, SU assistant coach Jaro Zawislan also made a connection with Baughn through the camp and helped set up Rowley’s appearance. Zawislan also invited the LaFargeville youth teams to Syracuse for the Orange’s match against No. 5 West Virginia on Sept. 23. Approximately 50 kids made the trip south and received the opportunity to play a halftime game in a collegiate stadium, as well as take in a Division I match.

“The kids were amazing,” Rowley said. “They didn’t have any attitudes. They wanted to learn and wanted to play soccer and we played three or four times a day. They had a ton of energy and it gave me a lot of energy. The kids paid attention and respected me and that says a lot about the town and the program that Scott’s running up there. I had a great time.”

Rowley recently got back on the playing field himself. After suffering a knee injury during spring practice, he missed SU’s first 10 games. Rowley was medically cleared to play just prior to the Orange’s match at Rutgers on Oct. 7. He still wears a heavy brace on his knee, but he came off the bench in the first half and played 26 minutes against the Scarlet Knights. Rowley’s return gives the Orange another offensive weapon as well as adds depth up front. He has 10 goals and 23 points in 39 career matches.

Fans can catch Rowley and the rest of the Orange on Saturday, Oct. 13 when the team hosts Cincinnati at 7:00 p.m. at the SU Soccer Stadium.

Syracuse University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos