Devin Bierly on boys soccer: Scheller balancing being coach for 2 teams
When he was a kid, Ian Scheller imagined himself lifting a championship trophy. He just imagined himself as a coach doing it. Earlier in the summer, that childhood dream became a reality two times over when the Shikellamy graduate and 2018 Penn College graduate was first hired as the Loyalsock coach and not soon after, was brought on as an assistant for the Lycoming women’s soccer team.
The days are long and being outside in the rain and heat — or soon, the cold and snow — can be taxing. But Scheller wouldn’t have it any other way.
“There is not a day that goes by where I feel like I’m stretched too thin. I can do this all day from 8 to 8. Everyday, all day, year around,” Scheller said, who was a starting defender for Penn College the last four years. “That’s why I wanted to get involved in so many levels and I’ve been lucky enough to see everything align the way that it has. I enjoy it so much. Even when I go home after work and I watch film from the women’s game or Loyalsock’s game or I’m trying to make practice plans or I’m jotting down notes of what we need to work on. The game has always been there for me and it will always be there for me so it will never leave a bad taste in my mouth even if I’m there all day.”
With being the head coach at Loyalsock, that gets first priority. But Scheller still spends his days in the Lycoming College athletics office catching up on game film that he missed or by helping fellow assistant and Montoursville graduate Tesa McKibben prepare for practice. He also checks out recruiting pages, sends out emails to recruits and schedules games for the upcoming seasons. He primarily works with the goalkeepers in practice but helps anywhere second-year head coach Kenny Fern needs him.
Working two coaching jobs can be troubling for a lot of reasons, but somehow, Scheller is able to make it to both squads practices. Lycoming goes from 3-5 p.m. and Loyalsock goes from 5-7 p.m., making seemingly an impossible task doable.
“When I first got the job at Loyalsock, I scheduled all practices from 5-7 on our new turf field because football runs right after school and so does girls soccer. I thought 5-7 would be a good time because we can get work on the turf or we can be down on the grass field and Lycoming, most days, we’ll practice from 3-5. It just aligned and it gave me the opportunity to do both. So I’ll be at Lycoming during the day until about 4:30 and then I head over to Loyalsock. I kind of got lucky.”
With being a recent college graduate and coaching players just a few years younger than him, it can be challenging. But it also can work in his favor. Just a few short months ago, he was in those cleats, so Scheller can understand the grind on a personal level. Coaching two different levels as well, have provided benefits but again, also can make some obstacles that one-team coaches don’t have to worry about.
“It is hard in a way. The youngest person on my women’s team is as old as a senior at the high school level, which that does make it a little bit more difficult because they’ve been around the game a little bit longer,” Scheller said. “Sometimes I can come in and say something to a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior in college that maybe a senior in high school hasn’t learned it. And in all honesty, it’s helped me build on that. It’s been good because I’ve been able to see it work in a couple different aspects. OK, I’ve seen this work at the college level, can I see if this translates to the high school level and can I package the information the same way so that they’ll understand it? And the guys at Loyalsock have been like sponges. Every single thing I tell them, they soak it up just listening to what I have to say. Sometimes, the women teach me ways that I should coach just like the boys do. The guys let me know, ‘OK, maybe this will work. Or try this coaching strategy. Or maybe I should package my thoughts in a different way so it makes it easier to translate.’ It really does work well because my coaching mind is always on and it’s always working in ways that how I can get better and what can I do and how can I make this work for practical examples on the field.”
Scheller is also involved in two programs that are at two different levels. Loyalsock is a program that is in the midst of a rise. The Lancers have missed the postseason the last two years, but are 6-1 and have already matched last season’s win total. Lycoming, on the other hand, is 1-8 and has struggled in recent years. The arrow is pointing up, though, with a second-year coach and a young squad that features 16 freshman and seven sophomores.
“I’m very fortunate for the fact that both programs that I got into are very good programs. The Lycoming side is a program that is growing and I’m getting on board in the early stage and I could be a part of something special in the next couple of years. Loyalsock has a lot of veteran talent that welcomed me with open arms. …I’ve been very fortunate where all the bounces have gone my way so far and there’s nothing I can do to repay the people who helped me get the Loyalsock job and Kenny, who I helped as a college student at summer camps. That kind of got my foot in the door there at the college level and like I said, the guys at Loyalsock have opened doors for me.”
Missing Defender
When it stepped onto Memorial Field last Thursday to take on Montoursville in a big conference match-up, Warrior Run’s hearts and minds were at Geisinger Medical Center with teammate Alex Frederick, who was in a serious car accident earlier in the day.
It was evident early that the Defenders missed their senior captain and best defender. Not just because he was all they could think about but because he’s also a really good player. Montoursville’s Dominic Caputo scored 31 seconds in on a stingy Warrior Run defense that allowed just eight goals up until that point. Warrior Run rallied, though, for a 3-2 win, behind three goals from Alex Hazzoum.
“It was tough, but we all stood together,” Hazzoum said of playing without Frederick. “We actually prayed before the game. We came out positive and with good hopes for our teammate.”
Frederick was admitted to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries as of last week. Word on his recent condition was unavailable.
“For them to hold up the way they did was impressive,” Warrior Run coach Andy Bieber said of his defense.
Building confidence
After Hughesville’s 5-1 loss to Central Columbia, Spartan coach Jim Dennis spoke to his squad about confidence. He reminded his players of the struggles they faced as junior high schoolers and how far they’ve already come.
“It’s confidence. We have a lot of seniors and juniors on this team but they don’t have the confidence that they need to have. They’ve come from a team that when they were in seventh grade, we scored four goals all junior high season,” Dennis said. “Whenever we play a good team, we kind of shrink back to that mentality where we’re scared. Everytime we got the ball, we just tried to clear it away. We didn’t even try to hit passes. I know we’re better than this. If they start believing it, it will start to show.”
A few nights after the four-goal loss to Central, Hughesville came back with an impressive 6-2 win over previously one-loss South Williamsport.
DEVIN BIERLY’S TOP 5 TEAMS
1. LEWISBURG (4-2-1) — No, the sky is not falling. Lewisburg has lost two straight, but to two high-quality opponents in Class AAAA State College and district title contender Midd-West. Each game was a one-goal loss with the Green Dragon offense struggling to find goals with Ben Liscum out for the year, but they are still mighty dangerous and with all these tough regular season opponents, it will only make them better.
2. WILLIAMSPORT (4-2-1) — Williamsport put up a disappointing 6-1 loss to a strong Cumberland Valley team, but came back and routed Shikellamy, 13-0. The return of Tom Pombor will help as he scored four goals in the Shikellamy game and brother Jimmy Pombor, a freshman, is an emerging star with the goal against Cumberland Valley and two goals and two assists against Shikellamy.
3. LOYALSOCK (6-1) — The Lancers have already matched last season’s win total and look to make the postseason for the first time in two years. The Lancers have allowed just two goals all season and have outscored opponents, 31-1 in the last five games. A big game looms this Saturday when Loyalsock looks to avenge its lone loss of the season when it hosts Selinsgrove.
4. WARRIOR RUN (6-2) — Before a close 1-0 loss to a very talented Central Columbia team, Warrior Run rattled off four straight wins, outscoring opponents, 18-2. The Defenders are a very strong team from front to back, led by a dangerous midfield that features the electrifying Alex Hazzoum and brother, Tyrese. A tough stretch looms, though, for Warrior Run as it takes on Midd-West and Lewisburg, as well as an improved Milton team in the next week.
5. NORTH PENN-LIBERTY (3-0) — The Mounties are off to a hot start with three straight wins and are just three four away from tying last years total. We’ll know more about this team after the Mounties take on Sullivan County today.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK — AUSTIN LEWIS, HUGHESVILLE: After scoring his team’s lone goal in a loss against Central Columbia, Lewis came out against a strong South Williamsport team and put up five goals in a 6-2 win. In the process, the junior surpassed 50 career goals and with 54 goals, is just one away from tying Sal Saladino for the school record.
Devin Bierly covers boys soccer for the Sun-Gazette. He may be reached by email at dbierly@sungazette.com or by phone at 570-326-1551 (ext. 3112). Follow him on Twitter at SunGazetteDevin.
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