Rose basketball highlights
FRI.| 4-12-24 | ENTERTAINMENT
Father-son bond displayed on soccer field
WED. | 10-20-21 | SPORTS
With one minute left in the game, the anxious player rips a shot from outside the box. As he watches the ball zip into the back of the net he realizes he has just scored the winning goal. He then looks over at his father who happens to be the coach. The coach smiles back at his son and the rest of the team. This scenario describes what Joey and Dawson McAlduff often experience on the soccer field, as Joey McAlduff coaches the varsity men's soccer team at Rose. Among the 27 players on the team is his son, Dawson, a junior at Rose.
Joey has been coaching soccer since he was twenty-two years old and has been the head coach at Rose for three years now. He coached his son Dawson from the ages of four to ten, and then recently started coaching him again at the age of 15.
“I knew I wanted to be a part of the game by developing young players into really good soccer players,” Joey McAlduff said.
Dawson has been playing soccer for twelve years and has been on the men's varsity soccer team since his freshman year. He has been coached by his father all three years he has been at Rose. Dawson enjoys having his dad as a coach because he gets extra tips and help at home which helps him grow as a soccer player. He says he sees this as an advantage that the other players don't have.
However, Dawson also expressed that sometimes he feels that it causes him a disadvantage while playing.
“I get called out the most on the team and I get yelled at the most.” Dawson McAlduff said.
Joey loves to cheer on Dawson and make him his main focus while on the sidelines, but when he is coaching he puts his focus on the entire team, the bench and the opposing team.
“There are some heated moments with having a son look at me as his dad rather than the coach, but we deal with them as best we can; I try not to bring home the emotions of a game,” Joey Mcalduff said. “I also do not try to single him out, but that is the nature of it, knowing him better than anyone on the team; so I do tend to push him harder because we have the same last name.”
Dawson says that at times when he is angry with his dad it normally does not affect him on the field, however sometimes it is hard to put his emotions aside and it can cause issues.
“One time he kept critiquing me and I got mad at him and waved him off and told him to be quiet,” Dawson said. “He pulled me out of the game and said he would probably never play me again and I lost my starting spot.”
However, there have also been many positive memories made during games.
“One game against New Bern, it was in overtime, and my dad was yelling at me and was super mad at me,” Dawson said.
Dawson ended up scoring the tying goal in the game and Rose went on to win.
“We all went nuts and this brought us closer together,” Dawson said.
There may be some downsides to having your parent be your coach but in the end, it can be a great thing that can create many memories.
