Season In Review: UltraFooty — Morris Elite

By: Trevon Lloyd James

Someone once said, “success is not final and failure is not fatal.” For the UltraFooty — Morris Elite U23 football program, the path to a championship saw both success and failure. It was never going to be linear and it was never promised to be easy, despite how the season started…

Four wins, zero losses

For gaffers Dylan Evande and Jordan Saling there was never going to be a project too big or a task too tall. That said, this project might have been their biggest to date. Any good house, one worth living in for years to come at least, comes with a solid foundation. And that’s where Dylan and Jordan started with their new football team. Drawing from the core values of UltraFooty (professionalism, quality and intensity), the leaders of the young group challenged their players to come up with their three values that would be the brand of the group going forward. They came away with T.E.A., trust, effort, and accountability.

For many young guys in the squad this would serve as the roadmap to their future successes. The program came with a wealth of talent, evident through their whopping seven different goal scorers and nine assistants this season, and they got off to a flying start. Their record of four wins and zero losses, highlighted by a gutsy one — nil victory against Ironbound SC, served as a confidence boost to a squad that featured a bevy of players with bright futures.

Breakout Stars

Leadership often chooses its best suitors regardless of titular decrees. However, Dylan noted that the guys that he and Jordan originally expected to step up did just that. Captains Yasin Ali and Mateo Cobos served as the litmus test for the rest of the team. The skippers provided the blueprint and that is why they found themselves in that position.

However, UltraFooty in being rooted in the art of training and preparing the next generation of footballers were able to uncover diamonds in the rough.

Anthony Nole, #17: A player who took advantage of every opportunity and epitomized the old adage of making a coach’s job hard in all the best ways. Nole got off to a flying start and once given the opportunity, he never looked back

Jason Alves, #23: He, like many players under 23, had shown glimpses of talent that reminded his coaches of true impact players during pre-season. It wasn’t until the season kicked off, Dylan recalled, that in a specific game, Alvez recorded three tackles inside the box. It was at that moment, Dylan and Jordan knew they’d struck gold.

Murilo De Olivera #10: A special player with elite goal scoring ability. The key to his success was “unlocking” his potential. This was done through UF-ME allowing him to showcase his capabilities and really enjoy the game. Once Olivera was able to do this, no one was able to stop him.

Testing the Limits

Complacency is — arguably — the number one driver of decline in successful young people. And after a hot start, Dylan noticed that what started as a building block toward success, morphed into a feeling of over confidence.

“At the start of the season, we had the correct mindset and approach,” the boss said, “but guys got complacent, cocky, even.”

As game five approached, the uneasy feeling of discomfort set in among the leaders of the team. One of the most uncomfortable feelings as a coach is watching your players get comfortable.

There was less emphasis on training, winning seemed to be viewed as a right to be given and not a privilege to be worked toward. This, Dylan says, was the perfect set up for their match against Kingston Stockade. Stockade’s game was described as “relentless” and “dynamic.” There seemed to be more hunger from a team that perhaps had felt what it was like to lose in the U23 league. Three — nil was the score. No goals for UF-ME, but a wealth of learnings to take from a harsh defeat.

Assessing the why

“For the first time, I saw that look,” Dylan stated. Their next game? A seven — one victory, and not a loss to follow.

It’s simple, Dylan noted, “we learned the art of victory through losing.”

The coaches attribute the teams run toward the championship to the week of practice following their loss. With bruised egos and frustrated leadership came the best weeks of preparation and performance to follow.

“We began assessing the why,” Dylan noted, “we wanted to get off of auto pilot and learn to set our standards high and expectations low.”

Low expectations sounded confusing, but Dylan went on to explain that your standard is what you demand of yourself, UF-ME demanded an undefeated season and a championship. Your expectation is what you see in yourself. Confidence isn’t bad, but high expectations can serve to yield disappointment if you don’t set a focus on your standards.

The reason for UF-ME’s failures and successes alike this season was simple: expect nothing, demand everything.

As a wealth of talent is lined up for next season, Dylan made it clear that no spot for any player is guaranteed. His challenge — as guys go off into their college and high school seasons — was for each of them to figure out what kind of player they wanted to be. With character and discipline at the forefront of their messaging, UltraFooty’s method was validated in victory this year.