Ugh - let me try something else - Here I cut and pasted it. Sorry its a little long.
Different approach to soccer gives Blasko a release
01/01/2003
By STEVE GAMEL / The Dallas Morning News
Lewisville senior Erik Blasko doesn't want to be that guy.
The guy who thinks it's playoffs or bust, the guy who shows his emotions more often than his athleticism, the guy who perhaps is too competitive for his own good.
"I won't be like that," said Blasko, a 5-10 senior midfielder. "Some people might think it's because I don't care, but that's just because they don't understand."
Blasko doesn't want his high school atmosphere to mirror the competitiveness of club soccer. His club team, the U17 Texans, have become perennial favorites at the state and regional levels. But with that comes pressure to succeed, which, at times, raises the stakes.
"I like club because of its competitiveness and the exposure you get, but at times my club coach wants to win so bad that we'll practice for several hours every day the week of a big tournament," Blasko said.
His approach is different with high school. For him, it's a release.
"There's a group on the team that isn't sure if we'll make playoffs, then there is another that definitely thinks we are in," Lewisville teammate Zack Utley said. "Blasko doesn't show which way he feels, and I like that because it's like he's our anchor. He wants playoffs, but he approaches it differently by keeping the pressure off."
So far, it has been a good remedy for a team slowly starting to feel the pressures of missing the playoffs the last three seasons. What's worse, the Farmers have missed out by no more than one game or a single point during that span.
Blasko gets frustrated by how close they have come, but he doesn't need the playoffs to validate his senior season. With less pressure, he's confident the team will succeed.
"Soccer needs to be fun," Blasko said. "I want this team to go to [the] playoffs so bad, but, to me, it won't be the end of the world if we don't so long as we work hard."
It was that extra effort this summer that coach Dave Maher credited with being the key in Blasko's rise from very good to superb. It didn't hurt to see him waltz into the team's first practice with more upper-body size, something that will give Lewisville a more physical presence at center-midfield.
Blasko also brought with him a better understanding of his midfielder role. With the added size, he is more confident in attacking the goal.
"When I saw him that first day of practice I told him he looked like the only one who did anything this summer," Maher said. "He's the same Erik, but he's changed in size, strength and ability. He brings that energy from his club team and has fun with it."
For the young guys, Blasko has become an inspiration. None of them can say he is a vocal leader, but, if he were to offer an opinion, they would all listen.
"I guarantee he's the best one out here," said junior Nick Anderson, District 6-5A's Newcomer of the Year last season. "You can tell he just keeps working hard because he cares about the team, and, for that, I look up to him 100 percent."
Blasko isn't interested in recognition. As far as his off-season routine goes, he said he did it after noticing everyone else getting bigger at the end of last season.
"I didn't want to get left behind," said Blasko, who trained at 24-Hour Fitness.
Now, his teammates feel they are trying to keep up with him.
"I always knew he was good, but I never imagined him being the spectacle that he has become for this team," Utley said. "You can tell he cares about how we do, and he keeps us all loose at the same time. It will make us all better."
And if a playoff berth still isn't in the cards, that's OK, too.
