St. Louis Missouri – December 2021 – Mick McLaughlin, who has been playing soccer since he was four, has set a goal of getting a scholarship to play soccer in college after he graduates from CBC High School in 2023.

“I've always had a passion for it,” Mick McLaughlin said. “It's what I want to do when I'm older. I just really love soccer.”

For Mick McLaughlin that love of the game has translated to the hard work, as well as the development of abilities you need to succeed at the next level.

“Mick is a phenomenal goalie with great hands.,” said Jeff Locker who Coaches McLaughlin’s JB Marine Soccer team. “He reads the game very, very well.”

“I think one of the things that brings to the team is his ability to read the game in real game time,” Coach Locker said. “He also does a great job of helping direct the team.”

“Technically I'm really good,” Mick said. “And I'm also really good with my feet.”

“My angles are always good which makes it hard for the other team to find a good shot. So then I don't have to make it a spectacular save, unless it's a really good shot,” Mick said. “And I can always rely on my hands to hold a ball.”

Mick McLaughlin combines natural athleticism with coachability. He is learning the things he needs to learn to stand above the rest.

“Smart, right? He is reckless when he needs to be and cautious throughout,” Mick’s father Dan McLaughlin said. “He has also learned how to use his speed to get that extra step that he needs to get.”

For Mick McLaughlin, soccer is a family tradition. It is in the bloodline.

“My dad played Division-1 soccer at Quincy and played top level club all throughout his career,” Mick said. “My cousin (Patrick Schulte) goes to St. Louis university and is currently playing there. He played for a Scott Gallagher in the D -A and he has also been to some of the national team camps.”

“They kind of helped me know what I needed to do to get there and how I need to do it,” Mick said about his family influence on his game.

“Probably most of what he is right now is the same thing I was, but through my experience and just being mature as a 49 year old, now you start to think a little bit more about what does it take?” Dan McLaughlin said. “What type of discipline does it take?”

“What type of effort does it take off the field on the field,” Dan said about helping his son improve as a player. “I am just trying to instill in him that there's a little bit more than just coming out to practice, showing up to a game.”

Those lessons have instilled in Mick a work ethic that coaches love to see in players.

“Mick is one of those players that will show up to practice early and stay late to work on the things that he knows he needs to improve upon,” said Coach Locker. “Mick also puts in a lot of time on his own, working on his fitness and his game.”

McLaughlin demonstrates leadership on and off the pitch.

“Mick is a phenomenal leader,” Coach Locker said. “He directs traffic from playing goalie, right from the back making sure everyone's where they need to be.”

“(For me leadership is) taking control, telling people what they needed to do when they need to do it,” Mick said. “But being a good leader is not always yelling at them. It is talking to them constructively.”

“Mick knows that he has got to put in the work off the field, put in the work on the field and put the work in, in school,” Dan McLaughlin said. “I think he has the capabilities to do that. He has the drive to do that.”

“Just always remembering that what you do now, you have to do better the next day,” Mick said.   

In addition to exhibiting the commitment to continually improve his game, Mick McLaughlin shows a level of confidence to stand out among the best at his level.

“I am confident,” Mick said. “I don't think anyone in the state is better than me. And I think that cockiness - - you can be a little arrogant -- but you have to have that in order to be a good goalie. You have to believe in yourself.”

“I'd love to have ten more Micks,” Coach Locker said. “There is no doubt about that.”

 --George Sells, StorySMART