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Lawrence High School diverse team with common language (Soccer)

With winless stretch snapped, new coach develops foundation for success

By Mike Lipka, Globe Correspondent | September 17, 2006

LAWRENCE -- Until last week, it had been five full years since the Lawrence boys' soccer team won a game -- a period of futility during which the Lancers compiled a record of 0-73-2.

``We were always thinking we were gonna win," said senior Oquel Mombayard, ``but when we'd go on the field, everything changed. This year, everybody said, `We're gonna win,' and it happened. And we keep going."

With a 4-1 win over Greater Lawrence in their Sept. 5 opener, the Lancers ended their run of futility and began turning heads in the Merrimack Valley Conference. There's an obvious new attitude at the newly renovated Veterans Memorial Stadium.

``Our goal at the beginning of the season was `earn respect,'" said first-year Lawrence coach Don Sheldon. Because ``they knew that when schools came to them, or when they went to schools, it was, `OK, it's Lawrence coming, it's a win in the column.' "

But not anymore, and that's of no small credit to Sheldon, a 46-year-old Andover resident who works as an attorney in Haverhill and has no coaching or teaching experience.

Sheldon's sons played soccer and ran track for Andover, so the coach got to know some of the Lawrence players. When the job opened this past offseason, he was intrigued, and athletic director Mike Rivet hired him.

``The program was in a state of disarray," said Rivet, who said the Lancers struggled to find any stability at the coaching position, with games and practices postponed and canceled. When he arrived on the scene last month, Sheldon saw that his players weren't really expecting to win.

``They weren't a team. They were a bunch of individuals who were out trying to kick a soccer ball around," said Sheldon, whose 40 varsity and junior varsity players hail from 15 countries -- from Haiti to Cape Verde to Cambodia -- and speak five languages. Sheldon jokingly called his team ``the United Nations."

``I wish I knew Spanish and French Creole," the coach said. ``But soccer is one language."

So Sheldon quickly set to work teaching his players to speak it together. Instead of everyone running around trying to score, the team learned to move together, working through drills in which they couldn't let go of their teammates' jerseys, necessitating defensive movement as a team.

``I told them, `For 10 weeks, we're all gonna be brothers,' and they're playing that way," Sheldon said. It paid off even more quickly than Sheldon could have expected. Sheldon said he could see the squad jelling during three preseason scrimmages, and the opener didn't even turn out close, as the Lancers led, 3-1, at the half en route to the win over Greater Lawrence.

Junior Kelvyn Rangel, one of the team's captains, scored the first goal, and the eventual winner was buried by Lucy Francisco, the team's lone girl. Lawrence doesn't have a girls' soccer team, so Francisco, a sophomore, starts for the boys' team. Sophomore Ricot Mombayard, Oquel's younger brother, and Edwin Gutierrez also scored, while Oquel had a pair of assists. There's a third Mombayard brother on the team, too -- Monack, a junior. The family is from Haiti.

Sheldon said the team was aware of its history, and certainly savored the win.

``They were jumping and whooping and arms around each other," Sheldon said. ``It was a good icebreaker for these guys. It built a lot of confidence, just right from the beginning try to give them the belief they could win."

In the team's league opener Sept. 7 against Tewksbury, Lawrence almost snagged its second win. The Lancers outshot Tewksbury, 17-6, and came back from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 2-2 tie.

There will likely be more growing pains like those last Tuesday night, when Chelmsford scored three times by the 12th minute, propelling the Lions to a 6-1 win.

There are obstacles the team must overcome. Sheldon pointed out that many players hold jobs that help support their families, and said he has to be understanding. About an hour before Tuesday's game, he learned that one of his best defenders wouldn't make it, since he couldn't get off work.

Freshmen don't get out of school until 4:30 p.m. because Lawrence High is moving to a new building next fall, and due to overcrowding in the old facility, schedules are being staggered.

Sheldon's team also has transportation issues. At a preseason practice at another school, Sheldon counted about 100 players on the other team to go with about 40 cars. One Lawrence player owns a car.

``Everyone else shows up in cabs and walking and on bicycles," Sheldon said. ``They have to make an effort to get over to practice and to get over to games."

Then there's the lack of youth soccer programs in Lawrence. While Sheldon's sons had been playing with their teammates for almost 10 years by the time they got to high school in Andover, many of his players hadn't even met when they arrived at Lawrence High.

``If they've played soccer, it's in their home countries, and it's sandlot style," Sheldon said. ``A lot of tricky ball skills, but no concept of really how to play as a team out there."

But Sheldon's working on it. He didn't take the job to turn Lawrence into a one-win wonder -- he's hoping to build a program. Lawrence's core is young, with only a few seniors on the roster. Sheldon already has gone to the middle school to spark interest, and he hopes interest will trickle down to the formation of a youth program.

He also plans to start an SAT prep program for his junior and senior players, stressing that while sports have many benefits, academics come first.

``He's teaching the kids not just how to play soccer, but life skills, too," Rivet said.

But right now, the excitement is about soccer. Sheldon said he's had to force his players home from practice an hour after it was supposed to end. The Lancers are holding their home games at night so that parents can make it, and there was a sizeable contingent watching Tuesday.

Lawrence was scheduled to host an MVC game day at Veterans Stadium yesterday, during which all 10 conference teams were to play, with the Lancers facing Central Catholic. Lawrence's players are thinking about making the state tournament; Sheldon is simply hoping for another win.

``It's been everything I expected and better," Sheldon said. ``The kids are just fantastic kids, and they want to play soccer, and they want to learn, and they want to do well. They know what the history of the team is, and they work hard to change it."

Mike Lipka can be reached at mlipka@globe.com.