NWO Soccer Weekly (Boys) Coach of the Year - Andrew Screptock

Toledo - Springfield (Holland) over the last 5 years have started to see a trend that in most year they did not see...yes in the early 2000s the Blue Devils were a easy win for many NLL foes but this past fall they were poised to be one of the elites in northwest Ohio - and they were close.  The Blue Devils advanced to the district final for the first time in school history before falling to eventual Regional finalist Anthony Wayne.  First-year head coach Andrew Screptock, an alumnus of Springfield helped change the environment into a winning environment and building elite players - this fall the Blue Devils finished second in the NLL with an overall record of 14-3-2. 

Courtesy of Toledo Blade

"Coming into the year I think a lot of people thought we peaked since we graduated 9 [seniors] last fall. At times last year, the chemistry was not there, it was a little bit more individuals, but this year the chemistry and working together throughout the year gave us a bit of an edge" said Screptock. With working together and creating a winning environment - come players and Springfield has been very blessed with quality throughout the years and including this year with great seniors such as Sean Miller, Nick and Joe Yeager, Josh Siers, Steven Sekerak and Jacob Schultz. "Those young men were special, they created an environment that all of our younger players fed off of. They should be proud of the foundation they laid [getting to a district final] and now it is the younger players turn to start building it piece by piece". With the shift in Springfield soccer - it is good to say that the younger players are coming through a different environment than most did when they were younger. With the new travel leagues being instilled in the Holland/Springfield township area players are getting a chance to get out and play at a more competitive level. "Recreation leagues were the only thing around in my time coming through - now we are getting club players that start out at Springfield and see themselves going to a more competitive clubs like Pacesetter, TFA and the Toledo Celtics. So it is a great thing to be able to go and work with the younger players and encourage them to take their game to a better level when reaching high school" said Screptock - the Blue Devils ultimate goal is to win a district title and continue to develop players and see them have success.  "We are going to graduate a lot this year including a lot of goals up front and quality defending and goalkeeping but the best thing is to keep pushing these guys and building. We want to have the success and continue to challenge for NLL and district titles and become one of the elite programs in the area." said Screptock. On behave of NWO Soccer Weekly we like to congratulate first-year head coach of the Springfield Blue Devils Andrew Screptock on being named the first-ever NWO Soccer Weekly (Boys') Coach of the Year. We wish you nothing but the best and continuing to build your program.

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