b'final mattersHow to be a WildcatLessons learned from my local travel soccer teamBY CASSANDRA RATKEVICH Within two seasons, the Wildcats went from a losing record to victors in the Essex Fall Tune-Up Tournament in 2015. Coach Danny instilled in the author the lesson to believe in herself. She is pictured wearing a yellow headband and holding the trophy.S ometimes you must be unconventional; perseverance is cruciala year older than me.onforplayingstill talk about years later. Danny in-in pursuing goals; always believe in yourself. Moving back to Maplewood and be- stilled in me the third and final lesson: These three pieces of advice could be quoted from the open- ginning practice with the team quicklyto believe in myself. As a young female ing lines of any generic self-help book. And yet, rather than ac- sidelinedmyexcitementathlete,Dannysencouragementand quiring them through reading a How to be the best you! story,up. It became clear my team was lessreassurancewerefundamentalinbe-these lessons were instilled in me during my years playing withskilled than the other, and I was eagercoming the soccer player I am today.the Cougar Soccer Club.to play with kids my own age. As I grew and began high school, I I began my soccer career as most Maplewood and South Orange kids do Althoughthesituationwasnotoften leaned on the three core lessons on one of the many co-ed South Mountain soccer teams. This path came to aideal for my first yearCougars, itCougarstaughtmewhenfacedwith sudden end when my family packed our belongings and moved halfway acrosstaughtmethesecondlesson:perse- adversity, whether academically or on the country to Colorado, following the relocation of my dads job. Instead ofverance, specifically the need to per- the field. naturally progressing onto Cougars after South Mountain, I continued my soc- severethroughdifficultsituationstoCassandra Ratkevich continued her soc-cer journey with a travel team in Colorado.achieve your goals. Commitment andcer career this year as the captain of both But Colorado didnt take. By the time I hit third grade, we were itching toadditional training enabled me to ac- the CHS Girls Varsity Soccer team and move back to our house in Maplewood and decided to do so before the nextcomplish my goal of making my ageher club soccer team Steel United NJ.school year. The only issue with this decision was soccer. Tryouts for Cougarsgroups team, the Wildcats. were scheduled for before the conclusion of the school year - when my familyThe subsequent two years with the and I would still be living in Colorado. The solution, crafted by my dad, soundsWildcats introduced me to the most just as crazy now as it did when he first proposed it: fly across the country forinfluential figure in my soccer career, one day to try out for Cougars.ourteamtrainer,Danny.Mytime Deciding to lean into the craziness, my dad, sister, and I boarded a flight totraining under Danny took me from Newark a few weeks later. After a cab ride to Maplewood, my sister and I com- anaveragesoccerplayertosomeone pleted our tryouts on Chyzowych Field and then returned to the airport for ourconfident enough to try out for high-flight back to Colorado.er-ranked travel clubs.During this initial experience, I learned my first lesson: sometimes you mustWithin two seasons, the Wildcats do unconventional things.went from a losing record to victors in Within a few days, a phone call came bearing the news that I had made thetheEssexFall Tune-Up TournamentThe writer is in the middle with some of her team, but not the one for my age group. Instead, I made the B team for those an accomplishment my teammatesWildcats teammates. 38/ matters magazine / winter 2022'