TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Circumstances No Deterrent To Hurricanes

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRIS ERRINGTON Tribune correspondent

Published: December 11, 2007

When Bishop McLaughlin athletic director Mike Zelenka suddenly had to assume girls soccer coaching duties again just before the start of the season, he envisioned a whole host of problems.

It never occurred to him that the biggest would be finding opponents to play.

Thanks to two opponents unable to form teams due to lack of players and a scheduling conflict with another, Bishop McLaughlin already has had four games canceled this season.

Despite that, the Hurricanes haven't missed a beat. In fact, they're thriving under the unusual circumstances.

"We definitely didn't expect this at the beginning of year," Zelenka said. "Being a newer team, we wanted to find competition that wouldn't blow us out of the water. We wanted teams that were in a similar situation to us.

"Hopefully the canceled games are over at this point."

The Hurricanes lost a pair of games against Admiral Farragut and another against Berean Academy, while a match against Indian Rocks Christian was canceled because of a scheduling conflict with a school-sponsored function.

The Bishop McLaughlin saga actually began when head coach Derek Plank was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few days before the season began and had to relinquish his duties, Zelenka said. With no time to find a suitable replacement and knowing many of the players after coaching the team last season, Zelenka took the only step he could - he became the coach.

"I can't help but think it has helped that the kids know me," Zelenka said. "They didn't have to learn a whole new style, so it helped us hit the ground running."

Add in a surprising 18 players playing for the Hurricanes this season - after just 12 last season - and a defense that's allowed only four goals and Bishop McLaughlin has transformed into a Class 2A power.

Even though much of the season has been spent on the practice field, the Hurricanes are off to a 7-1 start, not including forfeit victories. It's a win total that already matches the team's number of victories last season.

"The new girls that came on and the chemistry and enthusiasm with it have enabled us to do things very well this year," Zelenka said. "I think one of the biggest differences this year is having more girls on the team. Instead of looking at the bench and having one or two girls, we've got a lot of fresh legs.

"It makes it easier for us to not get as dog tired as we used to, especially at the end of games."

Bishop McLaughlin is firmly entrenched in second place in District 9 behind perennial power Tampa Prep and Zelenka fully expects to earn the one postseason victory needed to reach the regional tournament. Still, despite all the newfound success, he knows the team's future does not include him. With all his other duties, it can't.

"None of what's happened this year is what we planned for," Zelenka said. "After having experience with the kids last year, it just made sense for me to be the head coach and give the kids some consistency, if nothing else. But, ideally, it would be great for us to get someone else for the position next season.

"Coaching the girls team detracts from the other sports because I'm the AD. If we can find someone qualified to take over this position and allow me to return to just being an AD, it would benefit everyone."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT