The old saying goes, “familiarity breeds contempt,” but it certainly doesn’t apply to the Santa Ynez Valley Union boys’ soccer squad.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite for the Pirates; the team is in the driver’s seat to win the Los Padres League with a roster of 12 seniors, many of whom have played together on youth all-star teams and clubs like the Santa Barbara Soccer Club and River Valley Rovers, since they were 10 years old.
Pirates head coach Alex Uribe, who founded the Rovers to develop young players who didn’t have the time or money to travel, said the club experience is paying off dividends at the prep level.
“These guys know each other really well,” Uribe said. “They’ve seen a lot of championships. They’ve been able to reach a lot of success through the years at different levels.”
In his 10th year as head coach at Santa Ynez, Uribe is hoping the rapport translates to a second-straight league title and a CIF championship. Prospects looked good out of the gate; the Pirates tore through their opponents, going 10-0-3, including 6-0 in league. The unblemished streak ended when the Pirates were stunned by a strong Nipomo squad on Jan. 19, losing 1-0.
Though the Pirates won’t finish undefeated, they remain the favorite heading into the second half of the league schedule. Uribe is hoping the expectations don’t get to his players’ heads.
“I think more than anything it puts bull’s-eyes on our backs,” Uribe said. “I keep telling the guys it’s all speculation because at the end of the day, the ranking doesn’t do anything for you. We need to be able to keep playing our game, take one game at a time, and demonstrate every time going out that we’re the better team.”
Coming from a serious soccer family, Uribe, a multiple business owner, also finds time to coach two youth teams and play in the Santa Barbara Premier men’s league. It’s a work ethic he imparts to his players on the soccer field and in life.
“The philosophy is to work hard, prepare yourself, and wait for the opportunity,” Uribe said. “When something happens, you’ll be able to take the position and run with it.”
Uribe’s son, Alex Jr., is the Pirates’ leading scorer, with 11 goals in 14 games. Though at times it’s difficult to be the coach’s kid, the younger Uribe said it’s also been fun because soccer has always been there, and so have some of his teammates.
“We pretty much grew up together playing in the backyards and stuff,” he said. “We’re familiar with how we move and how we pass, the way we play, the style. It’s like family; we have each other’s back.”
The younger Uribe said he’s pleased with the way the season is going, and will take each game as it comes.
“So far things are going our way,” he said. “Through our ups and downs we always find a way to win and play every game like it’s our last game.”
As the team’s senior captain, midfielder Blake Joyner said his job is to set an example on and off the field for his teammates, many of whom he played with in the Santa Barbara Soccer Club and AYSO All-Stars.
“The team chemistry just goes together really well. We gel and there’s not much arguing, we’re just a good team with good players,” Joyner said. “Knowing what other players’ strengths are is important. If you don’t know what your team’s strengths are, how are you going to win?”
As centerpiece of the offense, Joyner said he’s committed to helping the team keep a positive attitude, no matter the opponent, and make the CIF finals.
“We haven’t been there since 2005, but we’re good enough to win it this year,” he said.
In 2005, the Pirates won league and lost in the finals to Santa Maria. In the semifinals against Anaheim, head coach Uribe recalled, much of his team was either sick or hurt. A bench player who didn’t play for the whole year stepped in to knock a kick out of the goal, and the Pirates ended up winning the game 1-0.
It’s a story Uribe tells his players often, reminding them to always be ready.
“In life, things will happen,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t go your way because you don’t get the job you want or the school you wanted, but always stay focused and positive and good things will happen.”
This year Uribe said he’s “blessed” with depth, in junior striker Diego Gutierrez, senior midfielder Kenny Pina, senior defenders Javy Buenrostro and James Irvine, goalkeeper Eric Garcia, and a bench he says could start for most other teams.
Defensive midfielder and senior Alejandro Guerrero said as good as the Pirates have looked thus far, there’s still room to improve.
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“We’ve had our games where we’ve played well and others where we haven’t been able to connect and finish,” he said. “We have our days and we just try to always play as a team.
“Like coach says, we have a good team to win CIF,” he said. “I think we do, but we need to put more effort into our game.”
According to assistant coach Rick Joyner, in his third year coaching varsity, the Pirates’ biggest strength is their defense, which has held league opponents to 10 goals in seven games.
Joyner, who started coaching most of the players as children in the AYSO, where they won the state championship as 12-year-olds, said he knew his group had something special from the start.
“It’s fun to watch them all come back together and connect,” Joyner said. “They don’t get upset at each other; you don’t see any yelling and screaming. They trust each other, and they know each of them have good games and bad games.”
Joyner said his team’s fortitude has been shaped in part by how last season ended. The Pirates came in as league champs, facing off at home against University High of Irvine in heavy winds and rain, and lost 2-0.
“It was one of those games where you knew the first team to knock a goal in would be successful,” Joyner said. “We walked away wet, cold, and very disappointed.”
While the loss was hard to swallow, it taught the Pirates not to look too far ahead, something Uribe is stressing to his team heading into the rest of the season.
“We still haven’t won anything yet,” Uribe said. “We still need to move forward and prove each and every day that we can play. That’s it.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas can be contacted at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 2, 2012.
