He stands still like a statue, with short hair and a burned face, as if he were staring at the sun. Leyden Soccer emblem on his shirt with calves bigger than his neck. His hands are in his pockets. He grew up playing soccer and now coaches the youth. The green in his eyes reflects the soccer pitch he grew up on, like an old TV. It all started back in Addison Trail but continued here to Leyden for Valintis. Varsity Boys and Girls Soccer Coach Mark Valintis is an American who teaches at West Leyden High School.
Mr. Valintis talks about his reasoning for becoming a teacher: “Both of my parents were teachers, and from a young age, I kind of saw the impact that they were able to have on young kids growing up, and I wanted to be able to help do the same thing.”
Valintis twirling his fingers like a kid excited to say a story expands on his time as a D1 soccer player: “Played for Eastern Illinois University down in Charleston. It was actually a great time. Went all over the country against future professionals, played against people that went overseas to play. Got a really unique perspective on college that not many kids can get.” He then talks about his favorite season in college: “It was my sophomore year. We made it to the plane of the NCAA tournament. We went up against Buffalo, and unfortunately, we lost. But that was our best season. We were ranked in the top 25 in the country for a little bit that year. So good memories from that.”
Not only does he teach but also coaches, his reasoning for becoming a coach is the following: “I played sports my whole life, and some of the most influential people I’ve ever had were coaches and playing sports. You learn a lot about yourself. You learn a lot about life, and, you know, having gone through a pretty extensive athletic career, from high school club to college, figure that like to share some of that experiences and create some kind of the same environments for kids here.”
Valintis with a stare of one like Coach Carter, further talks about his career as a coach: “Every season is my favorite because I get a new group of kids, and even though some of the kids around the team from previous years, the dynamic of every team is different and it’s unique. And we have so many good kids in here, I tell everybody you know around we don’t have knuckleheads in our program. We have a lot of good kids. And every team has been a blast to coach, and it’s always fun to see them go from coming in as freshmen to leaving as seniors, all the kind of growth that they made, both on and off the field.” Valintis mentions his memorable moments as a coach, he says, “I don’t necessarily have a favorite memory. I think I get one every year. So like this year, after they scored the golden goal, just to see the team run across the field to celebrate with each other and the fans. Was cool. Last year we hit a last-second shot to beat Morton at their place. So it’s cool to see the kids celebrate that every year, we seem to have a special moment or two that sticks out of my mind. And so I don’t have one that’s a favorite, but I have one from every team.”
“Coach Valintis has a lot of experience when it comes to high school soccer. He always expects us to exceed expectations because he knows the potential of our team. Due to his experience with coaching, we tend to trust him and coach Rossetti when they give advice.” said Rogelio Herrera a Junior on the Boys’ Varsity Soccer team.
Even with kids, Valintis continued to coach and teach. The following is what he said, “It was hard. You know, when I was younger, I only coached one sport, only for soccer, when they were younger. So I was home a lot with them, and I was taking them to their activities and around a lot. And once they started getting a little bit older and into the middle school and high school, and didn’t have as much as many activities, I kind of picked up more coaching here simply because I enjoyed doing it, and they were able to kind of get through high school without too much help and guidance from myself.”
Valintis plans to stay a coach to guide Leyden High School to a state title one day. Win or lose, Valintis is there to keep the hard work with his bright green eyes set on the pitch ahead of him.
