‘The love of the game’

Published 11:30 am Saturday, November 21, 2020

Head up to the Baldwin County Soccer Complex off of Highway 212 on weekday evenings in the fall, and you are likely to find plenty of activity: Coaches shouting out instructions, practice drills being run, and scrimmages played under the stadium lights. 

These are the sights and sounds of Old Capital Soccer League’s growing travel soccer program.

Sam Mutiti is the vice president of the Old Capital Soccer League (OCSL) and a coach in the travel program. For him and the scores of other adults who devote their time to the program in various capacities, the soccer program represents an important outlet for area youth.

“It gives the kids something to look forward to. It keeps them out of trouble,” said Mutiti.

Mutiti, a native of Zambia, has loved the sport his entire life. Though he did not expressly play organized soccer growing up, he spent a lot of time in his childhood organizing teams and informal competitions for him and others to play. Later in life, he became further involved with soccer as a graduate student, helping organize intramural leagues. Despite his commitment to the sport, he never really envisioned becoming a coach himself.

That all changed when Mutiti moved to Milledgeville in 2009 to take a position at Georgia College. After enrolling his daughter, Samantha, in OCSL’s rec program, he and his wife decided to get involved with the program as coaches. This put Mutiti in contact with Mike McCabe, who until recently, served as the longtime president of OCSL.

Both Mutiti and McCabe had children who were interested in playing soccer at a higher level than the rec program allowed. Though there were some efforts to create an academy program within OCSL, early attempts did not last as teams could not keep enough players to remain viable. This left parents like Mutiti and McCabe seeking playing options for their children in other programs such as MAYSA soccer club in Madison.

While they both gladly made the sacrifice of driving out of town for their children’s training, Mutiti and McCabe knew they did not want other parents to have to resort to this option in the long run. That is when they decided to make another attempt at getting a travel soccer program off the ground through OCSL. In fall 2018, the league fielded two travel teams, one each at the U10 and U11 levels. Just two years later, the fall 2020 OCSL season boasts seven travel teams playing in levels U8, U9/U10, U10, U12, U13, U15 boys and U16 girls. 

According to Mutiti, the expansion of the program is part of OCSL’s overall philosophy of providing a variety of opportunities for area youth. 

“I love this sport a lot and I like to see many people who can play and want to play have that opportunity to play,” said Mutiti.

While rec soccer focuses on providing fundamentals of the game in a fun and fair environment for players of all skill levels, the travel program offers an option for those who want to experience soccer training at a more rigorous level. The coaches can challenge the players, and the players benefit from competing against soccer programs in other Georgia communities. 

“The goal is to get them better,” said Mutiti. “You want to see a progression.”

Mutiti admits it can be a big challenge for smaller communities such as Milledgeville to get a travel soccer program off the ground. With fewer players to draw from, it can be difficult to keep teams populated. This can result in teams borrowing players from one another in order to be able to play their games. While that can be stressful for the coaches at times, Mutiti is quick to point out that smaller programs have distinct advantages over programs in bigger cities as well.

“You get to know everybody. You get to know the players,” said Mutiti.

OCSL’s travel team coaches are starting to see the fruits of their labor, as the club is developing more of a reputation in the Georgia soccer community.

“With a few of our teams doing well when they travel and doing well at tournaments, we’ve kind of started getting some recognition by some clubs, and they’re wanting to come and play us,” said Mutiti.

Mutiti stressed that it takes many volunteers to get the job done, from OCSL board members, to coaches, team managers and parents who commit to supporting their children through the program. Coaches spend several hours per week with their teams, scheduling games, responding to messages related to the league and more. Mutiti admits to putting as much as 20 to 30 hours per week into the program during the busiest times. When asked what motivates him and the other volunteers to keep at it, his answer is simple.

“The love of the game,” said Mutiti. “Just creating an opportunity for these kids here in Milledgeville to be involved in soccer at the highest level we can provide.” 

In addition to developing their athletic abilities, Mutiti said players learn valuable skills in teamwork and often develop long-lasting friendships. He particularly enjoys seeing groups of players from OCSL continue their success on the field for the local school soccer programs.

During these challenging times, Mutiti feels that organized sports programs are more important than ever for the well-being of a community.

“Sports help to unite us,” said Mutiti. “When we’re at soccer, it doesn’t matter where we’re from. It doesn’t matter what our political and socioeconomic positions are. We’re just people at soccer, and that brings us all together.”