The view from the goal box at a soccer game is unique.
The way John-Ramses Thomas explains it, it’s downright poetic.
“You love the atmosphere, the cut grass, leveled to perfection. Freshly white-painted lines. Game day is the best day of the week,” said the starting goalkeeper for the Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors after Friday’s practice.
“I, as well as every other player on my team, and all of the coaching staff, are fully prepared and eagerly awaiting such a vision.”
Their next opportunity in game conditions comes this evening on their home pitch, East River Soccer Complex, as the Warriors (3-4-2) take on the Carolina Dynamo (4-3-1) in a Premier Development League match.
It will be “Faith & Family Night,” with activities beginning at 4:30 p.m. with a cookout, local praise band, and cornhole tournament, all leading up to the 7 p.m. opening kick.
“We are really pleased with our team’s effort in a shortened week of training,” said King’s Warriors Head Coach Scott Reitnour. “We have made the necessary tactical adjustments to give our team a competitive advantage on Saturday. We love playing at home. The starting whistle can’t come soon enough.”
The King’s Warriors beat the SC United Bantams 3-1 in their last game, breaking a 13-game non-win streak on the road.
Thomas said that win “has done a lot already, not just for me personally, but for the team. It shows in the conference that we can compete at this level and excel at this level.”
“We believe that with that win is momentum, and also relief. But that momentum will go into this game (Saturday), and into the other five games of the season.”
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Thomas has been a standout for Wayland Baptist University, an NAIA school in Plainview, Texas, since he first took the field in a game for the Pioneers.
He was the goalkeeper of the year in the Sooner Athletic Conference as a freshman and last November was named the conference defensive player of the year after his junior season.
Last fall, he recorded 58 saves, an .817 saves percentage and a 0.76 goals-against average.
“In my conference, we’re one of the best teams,” he said. “But it’s not by chance, because three years ago, we were one of the worst teams. But through hard work, dedication, and good coaching from my coach, I believe that we have excelled very well over the past three years.”
His current environment is similar to what he left behind in Texas, he said.
“The off-the-field teachings from Coach Reitnour that I get is comparable to what I do at school,” Thomas said. “I go to a Christian school, so the ideas and philosophies that are taught by both programs are almost the same, basically.”
“It also helps young people, especially young men, in these difficult times, to really step up and face adversity.”
That attitude carries on within the team.
“I believe that, as Coach says, it’s easier to play for the man next to you than to play for somebody in the stands. It’s like going to war, basically, and in war, you only have the guy next to you.”
Goalkeepers get to direct action from their unique vantage point on the pitch. That suits Thomas fine.
“I like to be the guy pulling the strings,” he said. “You have the most important job, with the least — attention, you could say.”
“We goalkeepers, the three of us, we try to work as hard as possible, every day.”
They are assisted by an “excellent” line of backs.
He said, “We’ve made mistakes in the past; I’ve made mistakes, (but) we have been in every game. I mean, we have shortcomings, in terms of chemistry and all of that, but individually and together as a unit the back four has been very resilient.”
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Thomas was born in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, just off the South American coast.
When the topic of his hyphenated first name came up, he explained, “My dad has one son, and he’s a very Christian guy, and he believes that the father Ramses had one son ... who led Egypt out of all the misery.”
“This is what he told me, that I would lead something out of misery.”
So does he consider himself a leader?
“Everybody’s a leader,” he said quickly. “Everybody on my team, individually, they have some leadership role. ... They have all won some award that has made them a light, on the team. I can’t just say me, personally. I do my part to help lead, but we all encourage each other. One family, one unit.”
Thomas has 17 saves and eight goals allowed in four matches in which he has taken his position in front of the net. He and the King’s Warriors defense is improving through lively practices that test their ability to withstand attacks from every direction.
“Practice is, what I like to say, a dress rehearsal,” he said. “What you do in practice is what you implement in the game.
“But, at the same time, if you train harder than you play, the game becomes easier. You don’t really take it easier, but you tend to do things much more comfortably in the game than opposed to, if you just ease through practice and go through the motions.”
What will that mean for the team’s win-loss record in its last six games?
“We wait and see,” Thomas said. “Football is an unpredictable game. You cannot predict what’s going to happen. But we, as the Warriors, we continue to devote our time into pursuing excellence, and to trying to portray the right way, and the Christian way.”
The King’s Warriors will remain home for a 7 p.m. match next Thursday with the River City Rovers from Louisville, Ky.