It still burns inside me every time I see it unfold in my mind. It was my junior year in high school and we were playing for the county championship against North Carroll. After ending the game knotted at 1-1 and playing two scoreless overtimes, both teams lined up for the deciding event, a penalty kick shootout.
They went first and missed their shot. I made mine. Their second player stepped up and missed his as well. Mike Haddock buried his. Their third player missed his and the table was set. In a best of five scenario, we only needed one of the next three players to make their kick and the counties were ours. We missed our third shot. They made their fourth. We missed our fourth shot, then they made their fifth, making it 2-2. It came down to our last shooter and he froze. In our team huddle he practically begged not to shoot so another player stepped up to take it and, you guessed it, missed his shot. After eighteen total kicks we watched the Panthers celebrate as newly crowned champs.
I've been involved in three shootouts as a coach that were equally as stressful. When my oldest was an under-8 player we lost a shootout, another 18 shot affair, and then had to clean him up, talk him off a ledge, then drive him to his first Holy Communion.
Several years later after a 0-0 draw in a State Cup game, my middle son was the keeper playing against a Maryland Olympic Development Program keeper from our opponent. When he saved two of the five shots, it should have been a victory for us but we missed two then lost on the sixth kick.
Last year our high school girls beat Sherwood in a playoff game in overtime when our senior captain drilled the fifth shot to send us on to the next round, a memory we will keep with us for a long time.
There's a strategy involved in how you line up your chosen five and you want to make sure your best shooters are involved when the game's on the line. That's why I was baffled when Portugal left one of the best players in the world, arguably the best player at Euro 2012, Cristiano Ronaldo, to take the last shot. When Cesc Fabregas buried the last shot to send Spain to the finals there stood Ronaldo, having no chance to make his mark. As they did with Nani, why wouldn't the coach move Ronaldo up in the order to ensure even a chance at a fifth kick? Leaving Ronaldo out of the lineup is like keeping Larry Bird on the bench in a free throw contest.
Being a keeper in a shootout is a no-lose situation. No one expects you to save them all. But taking the shot is another. When you're 12 yards away with no defense, it should be money in the bank. If you're not a confident player, don't shoot. Ronaldo is probably the most confident player in the world.
People talk about pressure situations but as General George Patton said, "Pressure makes Diamonds." It looks like Fabregas is shining a bit more than Ronaldo this week.
