Dallas Coyne has come so close to a state championship he could almost taste it.
The senior defender was a member of the 2011 and 2012 Vestavia Rebels soccer team whose seasons ended in the semifinals of the state high school soccer tournament. Both years they were knocked out by Oak Mountain High School.
While this season’s success may be indicative of Vestavia’s talent on the pitch, Coyne said he has focused on not getting caught up with regular season accomplishments.
“The rankings and our record are great. It shows how hard we’ve worked this season and how well Coach (Rick) Grammer has coached us,” he said. “But if I’ve learned anything from the past two seasons, it’s that nothing matters until the playoffs.”
This year’s team went 19 games without a loss and was ranked in the top 10 nationally by multiple high school sports websites. Still, the bitter taste left from defeat in the last two seasons quickly outweighs the praise Vestavia has received this season, Coyne said. And, as a senior, he doesn’t want the confidence to get the best of his team, as he believes was the case in years past.
Coyne credits much of Vestavia’s success to the team’s ability to work as one unit. When faced with adversity – granted it hasn’t happened often for the Rebels this year – Coyne said there is enough trust among his teammates for each player to do his job. A deep bench always helps too.
“Specifically for this season, I think what separates us from most of our opponents is how deep our bench play is,” he said. “If we’ve got two guys who aren’t having a good night, we’ll sub them out and our play basically has zero drop-off.”
For the season’s first 19 games, the Rebels were unstoppable on both ends of the field. As a team, the Rebels scored more than 60 goals and allowed only two into its nets.
Finishing is a reoccurring theme for this year’s Rebels. During its streak, the media couldn’t find a better candidate than Vestavia to finish the season in triumph and to hold up the State Championship Trophy.
If the Rebels do reach their goal, it will be the school’s first soccer State Championship since 1995. Coyne said it would all be worth it if the seniors from Vestavia get to taste victory after coming so close the last two years.
It would taste even better for him if the Rebels play Oak Mountain in the semifinals again – which Coyne called the toughest game of the season for his team so far.
