FULL DISCLOSURE: this is very much a personal blog that
reflects on many years enjoying my son play professional soccer. This will almost certainly offer no wonderful
insights into anything … and will likely be simply a cathartic essay that any
dad would do when his son grows up, has child(ren), and tries to settle into
his profession. So – no reason to read this or flame me … this is pretty much
just a personal thing that (by intent) ends up on the Internet.
The MLS 2016 season begins this weekend and, amazingly –
improbably – surprisingly – Chris Wondolowski is prepared to enter his 12th
season as an MLS player. He is very
fortunate to have played for only 3 head coaches (and by my estimation the 3
best head coaches). He is even more
fortunate to have started with Dominic Kinnear and now be back again with
Dominic Kinnear (more on that later). He
is tremendously fortunate to be with his home-town franchise that has built an
amazing stadium and management/ownership team that has put together what I
believe is a fantastic team heading into 2016.
So – how does a dad who devoted significant portions of his
life playing, coaching, and watching soccer process the fact that his son is
entering his 12th year as an MLS player? Truth is – I can’t process it. This is so far beyond my wildest imagination
that I simply cannot get my head around it.
Some nostalgia: in Chris’
first year, in training camp before he ever was offered a contract, he and I
would talk every day on the phone and every day I would tell him: “work your ass off and keep your mouth shut”. And then he got signed – he was told in an
airport gate coming back home that he was going to be signed to a Developmental
Contract and he called me and it still will be one of the top 20 days of my
life. That first year he worked his way
up to the 18 man roster and made a road trip to Columbus – I went to watch him
(think Southwest Airlines to Columbus ... that's not the most direct flight you'll ever take) – and he didn’t get into the game BUT the Quakes
won. I think either Ronald Cerritos or
Alejandro Moreno got the goal (they may both claim it now) – it made it a good trip.
I had to look at the sjearthquakes.com website to actually
count how many years Chris has played (isn’t that a great thing for a dad?) –
and I saw that he has 23 assists in his career … and 25 yellow cards. We all know that over 90% of those yellow
cards are because he can’t keep his mouth shut on the field with the referee. You can all blame me for that – that is what
we call “modeled behavior” (unfortunately - sorry).
To watch my son grow as a player and a man under the
management of Dominic Kinnear, Frank Yallop, and Mark Watson – is probably the
most rewarding thing I could ever imagine.
I believe every dad has his limitations – but when Chris is able to fill
in my fatherly-limitations with mentors like Dominic Kinnear, Frank Yallop, and
Mark Watson???? How great is that? Throw in all the fantastic assistant coaches
(Spencer, Tim, Steve, Ian, etc) – and the USA coaches (Bob and Jurgen with
their amazing assistants) … and I sit in awe and appreciation at the full life
of learning that my son has enjoyed in his last 11+ years.
So we head into the 2016 season. Chris gets to play with some of the best
players he has ever played with – at every position. But I get to watch and enjoy. We all know that the sands are always
slipping through the hourglass … but as the lower part of the hourglass is
collecting the majority of the sand – it tends to make us appreciate the
current season more.
Go Quakes – we are blessed with a solid 2016 team and the
best stadium in the league. I am blessed
to go to the games with my beautiful wife – fantastic daughter in law,
crazy/gorgeous granddaughter, her soon-to-be sister, and my other sons and
daughters (and their less-crazy granddaughters) … HOW
FREAKING GREAT IS THAT???? What a dream come true.
Final thought – by the way --- the extended Wondo Family
totals about 10 season tickets for the Quakes.
I want to extend that to 20 next year. Mrs. Wondo and I will be in the front row at BC9 section at Avaya Stadium for as long as the Quakes are playing.
