{"id":323089,"date":"2020-05-18T06:06:10","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T20:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=323089"},"modified":"2020-05-18T06:06:10","modified_gmt":"2020-05-17T20:06:10","slug":"tale-of-2-coaches-trusted-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/tale-of-2-coaches-trusted-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Tale of 2 coaches; Trusted players"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
In this Aug. 24, 2009 photo, CNMI goalie Rebecca Newman catches the ball during their game against Hong Kong in the East Asian Football Federation Women\u2019s Football 2010 Semifinals Competition in Taiwan. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Players of the first CNMI Women\u2019s National Team looked back at their coaches and teammates and recalled the impact they created on the squad on and off the field.<\/p>\n

Patricia Coleman, Lindsay Davis, Natalie Hill, and Emily Gries-Maxberry graced the pilot episode of Footcast with Norman, a 10-part series hosted by MP United Football Club technical director Norman Del Rosario and features former members of the national teams and their struggles and triumphs as they help work toward the development of the sport in the Commonwealth. The four players, during the Saturday launch, mentioned their two coaches who had different approaches in guiding them and their teammates that held the squad together at the most difficult, yet momentous times of the group.<\/p>\n

The team had Jeff \u201cZiggy\u201d Korytoski as its first coach and Gries-Maxberry remembered his grueling workout\/practice sessions as they prepare for the first-ever Marianas Cup in 2007.<\/p>\n

Jeff \u201cZiggy\u201d Korytoski was the first coach of the CNMI Women\u2019s National Team. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe nightly runs at the American Memorial Park or the early morning uphill runs were so tough that one day I asked myself why I am doing this,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Coleman added that Korytoski\u2019s method was made more challenging by that fact that majority of the members of the team were not that young and fit and they were pressured to achieve a certain fitness level at a short period of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Ziggy\u2019s workouts really taught us to be more disciplined, how to take care of ourselves (avoid injury and observe proper nutrition), and manage our time well,\u201d said Coleman, as she and her teammates had to juggle their time going to work, attending practices, having scrimmage, and doing personal or household chores.<\/p>\n

For Davis, Korytoski got into her head, as it was him who encouraged her to dig deep and turned a bunch of recreational players into fierce competitors.<\/p>\n

In this 2008 file photo, CNMI coach Sugao Kambe gives instruction to his players during a break in their game against Guam. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHis drills pushed as so hard that there were times some of the girls were almost crying because they don\u2019t know if they can still make it to the practice the next day. However, coach Ziggy made me realized there\u2019s something in me, that I don\u2019t easily give up,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

Korytoski, a former a scout for U.S. Soccer and the Seattle Sounders and is the current head coach of the ASC San Diego, had a brief stay with the NMI WNT, paving the way for former Japanese pro player Sugao Kambe to the take the cudgels for the squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Kambe also pushed us hard, but in a caring and gentle manner. His ways and demeanor of training us was something I don\u2019t consider as punitive,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n

In this 2009 file photo, the CNMI\u2019s starting 11 pose for a photo before playing against Hong Kong. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Davis recalled how encouraging and positive Kambe was when they played a Japan Women\u2019s Football League team in a scrimmage in Japan as they were getting ready for the second Marianas Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith just about four seconds into the game, there was this player who blew past me and scored and coach Kambe was like, \u2018it\u2019s OK, go back to play,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

Kambe also coached the NMI WNT during the East Asian Football Federation Women\u2019s Football Championship 2010 Semifinals Competition in Taiwan in 2009 and witnessed history unfold, as the Commonwealth scored its first goal (Carrie Schuler) in an international match.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re happy we\u2019re able to give him that because I think after the tournament, he realized he\u2019s done with us,\u201d Coleman said.<\/p>\n

Team leaders<\/strong>
\nBrenda Schultz was also a member of the first-ever NMI WNT and her teammates looked up to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were just starting, there were people criticizing us, the players\u2019 abilities. But Brenda was there to keep the team\u2019s morale high. She stuck with us and held the team together,\u201d Coleman said.<\/p>\n

Coleman also mentioned Gries-Maxberry\u2019s influence on the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe kept as calm on and off the field. You know the situation when everyone was having challenges during trainings and games, but Emily kept everything drama free,\u201d Coleman added.<\/p>\n

Gries-Maxberry returned the favor to Coleman, saying it was the latter who encouraged her to join the team and \u201cdo it for the children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started it and though we faced a lot of challenges, we\u2019re very happy for what the program has become,\u201d Gries-Maxberry.<\/p>\n

Davis and Hill, on the other hand, picked their goalie Rebecca Newman-Schroeder for keeping the positive atmosphere on the team that started from scratch and struggled to get ready for battle against highly competitive teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecca would always have this bruises after each practice or every game for diving for those balls, as we used to train and play in potholes and wild grass at the Airport Field, but you won\u2019t see her complaining. She would always smile and was our No. 1 cheerleader,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

Natalie Hill, right, battles a Guam player for the ball during an East Asian Football Confederation tournament and in her last stint with the CNMI Women\u2019s National Team in 2013. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhether we\u2019re behind by a big or small margin, she was always there helping us pick ourselves up. I would always remember her dance moves,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n

Hill, Davis, Gries-Maxberry, and Coleman believed they had solid teammates that may not be as technical and experienced as their opponents, but can be counted on as they did everything they can and worked together to start something that would benefit the younger generation of players in the CNMI.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Players of the first CNMI Women\u2019s National Team looked back at their coaches and teammates…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":323096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-323089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}