- November 26, 2024
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The Out-of-Door Academy Head Coach Dave Walker paces in front of his bench, looking out onto the soccer pitch, his face a mix of tension and concern.
His son, Dylan, a junior mid-fielder who also stars on the football team, has just made an errant pass and is visibly frustrated.
“Out of your head, Dylan,” Walker calls to him. “Next play, let’s go!”
Walker resumes his pacing, occasionally calling out directions to his team. Walker, in his first full year as head coach of the boys soccer team, is not a soccer lifer. That role belongs to his assistant coach and ODA Athletic Director Andres Parra.
Walker, who has spent his career working in sports medicine and is the head athletic trainer for the USL Championship Tampa Bay Rowdies, doesn’t need to have spent a lifetime in the game to be aware of one crucial fact — that the ODA boys soccer team is on the precipice of something special.
Last season, ODA won a school record 14 games, advancing to the regional semifinal of the Class 2A state championship tournament before losing to Canterbury School of Fort Myers. This year, Walkers said ODA is primed for another deep playoff run, armed with more depth and versatility than in years past.
Returning to ODA’s soccer team are eight starters, including senior striker/forward Josey Rubinstein, who was named the 2A-District 11 Player of the Year in 2023-24. Rubinstein paced the Thunder in goals last season with 19 and was second on the team in points with 42.
“If Josie can repeat what he did last year, then good things are going to happen,” said Walker. “I think that he has better pieces around him than he did last year.”
Those pieces, on the offensive end, come in the form of players such as Thomas Mesia, a junior attacking midfielder who started as a sophomore, scoring seven goals last season. Through six games, the 5-foot-11 Mesia has come into his own, scoring three goals and logging a team-high four assists.
Also emerging on the frontline is sophomore talent Rowan Triola. Triola, who spent time on the varsity team as a freshman, is currently pacing the Thunder with four goals through six games played, including one against Southeast High.
While stamina is certainly a priority for the Thunder — the team began off-season conditioning as soon as the school year started — depth of roster is what has paved the way for an offense that is averaging 3.5 goals per game.
Through six games the Thunder sports a 3-1-2 record. Strong, but not completely dominant. What stands out, however, is the offense is not carried by one individual.
In 2023, Rubinstein and senior forward Zack Weisblatt accounted for over half of ODA’s goals scored on the year.
This season has been a different story. Rubinstein, who missed two games playing quarterback for the football team, has only scored once. Through ODA’s first six games, 10 players have scored a goal.
“There are no individuals on the team,” Walker said. “You could’ve thought Josie or Zack with their numbers last year might’ve been more self-centered, but they weren’t like that at all. I’ve got kids who have no problem subbing in for somebody whether it’s for an injury or just a water break. On top of that, I’ve got three or four kids who can play multiple positions.”
One of those players is sophomore Quinn Duffy, a junior varsity call-up, who filled in at midfield and center back last season while some of Walker’s key players missed time playing football. Over the off-season the 5-foot-10 Duffy added bulk to his frame, strengthening himself for competing against opposing attackers. The work has shown — through six games the utility man has scored two goals, including one against Southeast High, to go along with 13 steals.
As multi-faceted as the offense is, Walker believes the strength of the team is the back line, with three of the four starters returning from last season. Anchoring the back line are Walker’s son Dylan, who led the team in recoveries last season despite missing five games due to injury, sophomore Emiliano Torres, who currently leads the Thunder in steals, and senior Coby Rosenthal, a three-year varsity starter. A stout backline allows for more fluidity in the offense game — Torres, Walker and Rosenthal can push the ball downfield to playmakers like Mesia and Rubinstein without having to worry about opposing players leaking through the defense.
A strong defensive line lends itself to ODA’s style of play, one that emphasizes time of possession as a way to stress opposing defenses.
“We like to possess the ball and use that to break lines and attack. We stress that everyone’s got to be able to defend. Even if you’re an attacking player, you’ve got to be able to defend,” said Walker. “If everyone wins their battle, then the team wins and that’s kind of our game model that we play by.”
The Thunder’s style of play does more than just elevate their chances of winning, however. It embodies what the program is all about: playing together, as one, with no part greater than the sum of its whole. "I'm blessed, because I have 18 kids who are fully committed to being successful for the team, themselves and the school," Walker said.
