Senior Andrew McClanahan won’t look back on his childhood and just remember the championships — he will also remember spending almost every day after school playing soccer with his two brothers. He won’t only focus on his high school games. Instead, he will remember Stoll Park. Memories of the chained up soccer goals will rest along with images of pristine high school goals. The beat-up dirt fields will stick in his mind just like the synthetic turf ones.
Spending hours every day perfecting their dribbling and shooting. Playing Wembley, a game in which two players work against each other to score on the third, almost every day as kids. It didn’t matter what the season was, Andrew could be found at Stoll Park playing with his brothers, sophomore Derrick and now freshman in college Bryce.
“Those times are the best,” Andrew said. “We would literally be playing for hours and so that was the most fun. On the field there were a lot of good championships won and games won and all those big moments are huge, but playing with them is definitely something I’ll remember when I’m older.”
The McClanahans first started playing soccer in elementary school. Although three years separates the oldest from the youngest, they all played on the same recreational team and have all played on the team at East.
It all started when their dad, Brandon, started a soccer team at their elementary school. Soon enough, Derrick was also good enough to start playing with them.
“It was pretty much just the sport of choice [my brother in law and wife] all liked it so I got the boys into it,” Brandon said. “They didn’t ask to play another sport, they loved soccer. They all just stayed with it instead of switching sports or trying other things. They decided to play both seasons of soccer instead of going to football or baseball or whatever.”
Although Bryce didn’t like the idea of playing with his younger brothers at first, he eventually grew to enjoy it.
“At first, being the bigger brother, I wanted to be independent,” Bryce said. “I was like ‘What is my brother doing here’ but soon enough I remember he scored his first goal and it was kinda something that I won’t forget because we always just pushed each other in practice.”
For Derrick, being the youngest brother is something that makes him to want to live up to the expectations of his teammates.
“At first it was kinda crazy because I was 10 and they were 14 and 13,” Derrick said. “I’m small for my age anyways. It was kinda scary at first but it helped me a lot now that I’m grown up and playing high school ball now.”
However playing on the same soccer team isn’t the end of their love for soccer. Derrick and Bryce keep the competitive spirit alive as they play each other in FIFA 14.
Their Playstation 3 is turned on. Bryce and Derrick sit next to each other on black gaming chairs, joking back and forth. Bryce wears his Manchester United shirt, Derrick wears his Lionel Messi jersey. Derrick gives the ball to a Barcelona forward and one of his favorite players — Lionel Messi. He holds down L1, hitting a perfect chip shot. Derrick presses the right stick to the right. Messi raises his right index finger to his lips, quieting the crowd.
“Usually I have always won in the past,” Bryce said. “But recently he has been winning so it is probably his turn to start dominating on me now…I’m the louder of the two of us when we are playing so usually I’m the one joking around with him just laughing and stuff so when he scores he will do a celebration where the guy is telling me to quiet down.”
Although the McClanahan brothers are competitive, they say that their relationship would not be the same if it wasn’t for soccer.
“Outside of soccer I look at Andrew and D as my best friends,” Bryce said. “[Soccer has] definitely brought us closer together…It made us closer and just knowing where each other are coming from on and off the field. I’m blessed to have that opportunity to play with both my brothers.”
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