Ron Chesney wanted more out of his soccer life than just outstanding high school and collegiate careers.
So he remained at Western Maryland College as an assistant soccer coach in the fall of 1993 after playing four years for the Green Terror.
Just being associated with soccer after graduation was fun for Chesney, but the job soon led to an opportunity that was almost too good to be true.
The former South Carroll High striker was offered a chance last spring to return to the playing field with the Baltimore Bays of the United States Interregional Soccer League.
Chesney worked out with the Bays during the outdoor season and signed with the team before the indoor season began.
The door for a tryout with the Bays was opened when then-Western Maryland coach Matt Robinson suggested to Bays coach Kevin Healey that he take a look at Chesney and some other Green Terror players.
"We were getting ready for the 1994 outdoor season," said Healey. "And we played Western Maryland in a tournament last spring. That's when their coach [Robinson] suggested that I take a look at Ron."
It has not been easy for Chesney to get a lot of playing time on a team with such skilled indoor veterans as Billy Ronson, Mark Mettrick and Joe Barger.
But Chesney, 23, has been patient and is willing to pay his dues as a role player while hoping for bigger and better things in the future.
He also has accepted a move to less glamorous positions of defender and midfield from his usual position on the front line.
The reasoning for that move is simple, said Chesney.
"They have a lot of guys with good offensive skills who have been playing indoor soccer a lot longer than I have and have a better touch," he said.
Chesney works in auditing and accounting and can easily fit two weeknight practices and a weekend game into his schedule.
Chesney scored a goal in the first home game of the season for the Bays against the Reading Freedom (a 15-5 Baltimore win) at Du Burns Arena on Nov. 12.
Chesney remembers every detail of that goal, his only score in the six games he's been with the Bays. He has played in four games.
"It was the third quarter and I was dribbling the ball down field and the defenders were laying off me," he said. "So I went right to the top of the key and hit a shot that skimmed off the top of the crossbar and went into the net."
The Sykesville resident was so ecstatic after the goal that he gave Healey a high five as he went running off the field.
Healey called Chesney "a quality kid who has raw skills, good speed and strikes the ball well."
Healey said Chesney can come into a game with a lot of energy, create havoc and lift the team's performance.
"He has the determination and will to improve and should get more playing time as the season goes on," said Healey.
In the outdoor game at South Carroll and Western Maryland, Chesney was an impact player.
In his senior year at South Carroll, he helped lead the Cavaliers to the state finals, where they lost, 2-1, to Sherwood.
At Western Maryland, he led the team in points (goals and assists) in his junior and senior years and was captain both seasons.
So what about the future?
"Sure, I'd like to move on to something bigger like the Spirit in the future," he said. "But right now I'll take whatever playing time I can get. . . . It's also the kind of team that allows me to work a 40-hour-a-week job and still play and stay in shape."