By Jennifer Small, Courier Sports Editor:
Mike Campbell grew up playing in East Haven Youth Soccer.
When he reached middle school, he met one of his soccer mentors in his middle
school coach, Whit Mack, who prepared Mike to play at the high school level.
Mike was certainly ready when he reached East Haven High School
as he earned a starting varsity position as a freshman and held onto it through
his four years of high school.
“I always looked forward to playing in high school,” says
Mike, a 2005 graduate. “Making varsity as a freshman was always my main goal.”
After achieving that goal, Mike and his team went on to
qualify for the state tournament for just the second time in school history in
his junior year, which was one of the highlights of his soccer career.
Mike’s other most memorable moment was being voted captain
his senior year. The accolades didn’t stop there, however, as he was named MVP
and received the Coach’s Award at the postseason banquet.
“Being elected captain meant the world as I could show
leadership and help the team out with whatever it needed,” says Mike, who was a
center-midfielder or striker. “The other
awards were nice too, especially the Coach’s Award because it came right from
my coach, Scott Raffone.”
As Mack did preparing Mike for high school play, Raffone did
the same as Mike entered collegiate soccer at Western Connecticut
State University.
Unfortunately a back injury in the middle of his sophomore season cut his
soccer career short.
“I miss being around the team and being a part of a team—I
loved that. It was like having a second family,” says Mike. “I also miss being
on the field, showing what I can do, and just playing the game.”
Now, two years later, Mike is part of a team again—this time
at the helm of it as head coach of the middle school boys’ soccer team.
“They called Whit Mack to ask him if he’d come back, but he
referred them to me,” says Mike. “I filled out the papers and waited for the
Board of Ed meeting.”
After everything was approved, Mike was back in the game,
using the experience he gained coaching his younger sister Caitlyn’s team and
combining the styles of Mack and Raffone.
“I’ve always loved the game of soccer and helping kids get
better with their skills at a young age,” says Mike, who is now a painter. “I’m
using some of the tactics that Scott Raffone and Whit Mack used and putting it
all together. My style is to tell the kids to have fun and it doesn’t matter
what the score is. As long as you leave it all on the field, that’s all that
matters. Winning will come with playing the game.”
Mike has plenty of experience working with kids as he has
worked as East Haven’s summer camp and is
close with his sister and his brother, Zach, who is now on the high school
team.
“My brother has always pushed me to get a coaching job and
has been my backbone through everything and now I’m trying to do the same for
him,” says Mike. “All three of us played so soccer has definitely brought us
together and we share a very special bond.”
Now, Mike hopes to instill the love of soccer and teachings
of his mentors onto his team. He also hopes to build on this coaching
experience to move to the high school level down the road.
“I want the kids gain the competitive edge playing soccer
and see what it can bring to your life,” says Mike. “Down the road, I’d love to
coach the East Haven team that I played on.
That’s the main goal—that’s what I’m shooting for next.”
Pictured: Mike Campbell, an East
Haven alum, recently took over as head coach of the middle school
boys’ soccer team.
Photo courtesy of Linda LaLuna