Strohlein "the glue" for Delran
Mike Strohlein will sit down Saturday for an interview with staff members representing Sens. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker.
Mike Strohlein will sit down Saturday for an interview with staff members representing Sens. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker.
Strohlein might want to attend West Point after high school. And being nominated by a Congressman is part of the application process.
If all goes according to plan, the senior center back for the Delran boys' soccer team will be nominated by one of these senators and will walk on to Army's soccer team next season.
But he realizes there's a bigger picture involved.
"Playing soccer would be great, but this is more about wanting to give back to my country," he said. "It's just something that I think I could really lend my talents toward and make a difference."
Delran coach Mike Otto calls Strohlein "a tremendous leader, the glue that holds our team together," because in soccer - just as in life - Strohlein appears to have a firm grasp of the big picture.
This season, Otto has shifted the star senior from center midfielder to striker, and finally to center back, a position he had not played since seventh grade, all in an attempt to find a way to make his team jell.
Keep in mind: Strohlein is one of the most talented players on the team - these types of kids don't typically bounce around each third of the field in their senior season.
"But that part never mattered to me," said Strohlein, who has excelled on defense of late. "Until we clicked, until we found something that really worked, they could put me wherever they wanted.
"All I want to do is win a championship."
It's trademark of Delran soccer.
Outside of winning a state title, which the program has done eight times, nothing really matters.
Other teams say that.
Delran lives it.
The Bears (11-6-3) started 1-3-1. But after decisively knocking off higher-seeded West Deptford, 2-0, on Tuesday in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 2 tournament, the team again looks like a contender.
It's a testament to Delran's strategy of essentially treating the regular season like a science laboratory - experimenting with players in different positions and conducting stress tests against ridiculously high levels of talent - anything to make sure the team is on solid footing when the postseason starts.
One of Strohlein's most memorable games of his senior year was the Bears' 5-1 loss to St. Benedict's, widely regarded as the best team in the country.
"I just remember how fast they played, how well they moved the ball," he said. "But our team stuck together, we kept working. And we eventually broke through and scored. It was great a test for us."
After playing such high-level competition, Strohlein said, the game slows down against other opponents.
It's part of the reason why he thinks the Bears are poised for yet another title run.
Strohlein was a sophomore when Delran won its last state title in 2013.
"And that team reminds me of this one," he said. "We had a lot of young players, had some ups and downs that year, but we eventually came together. We fought through tough situations."
Other players might struggle to look past the downside of a 1-3-1 start or a 5-1 loss. But Strohlein, as he plans on showing the senate staff this weekend, is wise beyond his years.
Playing for one of the most decorated soccer programs in state history, he never doubted his team or himself. And he never lost site of the big picture.
"I've been playing together with some of these guys since I was eight years old," he said. "All we want is a state title. It would mean the world to us."