When University of Utah soccer player Max Flom was growing up, her club coach said, “Make the ball do what you want it to do.”
While the ball is obviously the thing that gets points on the board for a variety of different sports, Flom argues that soccer uses the ball more creatively than others.
“Soccer uses a lot of surfaces,” Flom said. “Yeah, goalies use their hands with throw-ins, but there is also heading, using the inside of the leg to trap the ball, the inside and outside of the foot, the head and the shoulders. We use a lot of different surfaces as opposed to other sports.”
The relationship the Utes have developed with the soccer ball over time is described by Hailey Skolmoski as something that has brought her comfort, confidence and enjoyment. Tuning everything out, Skolmoski said it’s almost tunnel vision — she can only see the ball and where she is headed on the field. For Flom, when she is making long strides down the field with the ball, she feels in control.
“What comes to mind is this one photo of this BYU game in Provo and the background is all blue,” Flom said. “You can imagine all the noise, but when I am in stride with the ball, I don’t hear that. It’s just this numb kind of fuzzy sound where I am so intense and in the zone. I just feel powerful.”
While the ball can be intimidating to work with under intense situations, especially since the sport gets a lot of attention for concussions when players go up for headers, it’s that phrase that Flom’s former coach told her that reminds her it is important to not be afraid of the ball.
Since Flom is a lefty, when she receives the ball on her non-dominant side it can take away some of her confidence, so using her right foot has been something she has had to work through. Skolmoski’s fear lies in injuries, something she has had to overcome.
“One of the biggest things was my ACL injury two years ago, and I couldn’t play soccer and touch the ball for however many months it was,” Skolmoski said. “Mental toughness can be an issue, too, like not wanting to touch the ball and being afraid of failure.”
Head coach Rich Manning sees these challenges day in and day out that his athletes have to push through. While the relationship between the players and the soccer ball changes as athletes get older and fight off fears, it’s something Flom and Skolmoski learned to adapt to.
Skolmoski knows the importance of the sport in her life, but never wants to forget how she got to where she is.
“As you move up the ranks in soccer, it becomes more of a job and a serious thing,” Skolmoski said. “But I have to remember the reason why I started even touching the ball in the first place because I enjoyed it and it was fun to me.”
The relationship between players and the soccer ball is an important one to cultivate because if there is only one thing the Utes can control during a match, it’s what happens to the ball when they get their foot on it.
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