Lawrence pulling double duty at Indian Creek
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Arsenal's 2-1 victory against Nottingham Forrest on Saturday morning provided a great start to the day for the Lawrence household in Jefferson County.
That's because husband Danny is always willing to rise early, even on his day off, to watch his beloved Gunners. Mrs. Lawrence is happy to join her husband in support.
But Mr. Lawrence isn't just watching as a fan. He's looking for tips, pointers, ideas, anything he can use to transfer from the pitch at Emirates to the one at Kettlewell.
Danny, also known as Coach Lawrence, is currently in his second year of his second stint as the boys' soccer coach at his alma mater, Indian Creek. He's also a first year Redskins coach, though that wrinkle is a relatively recent development.
Former girls' head coach Kate Calissie took a job at Oak Glen high School and is now an assistant coach for the boys' team at Harrison Central.
Lawrence decided to help his alma mater out and opted to coach both the boys' and girls' teams.
Yes, he's a first year and second year coach at Creek.
If Lawrence says soccer is life, he's not being overdramatic. Take him at his word.
"The (girls) asked me about Saturday or Sunday practice and I said no, I need a break," Lawrence said with a laugh. "Arsenal is on in the morning and I have to watch my team play. My goal is to have the (boys and girls) love the game as much as I do.
"My wife is understanding and always says 'Dan loves soccer more than me.' She is supportive and wakes up and watches too."
Lawrence girls' team debut didn't go as well as he'd like with Creek falling to St. Clairsville, 7-0, on the road. The coach saw a noticeable improvement during the second half and witnessed some things he liked about how his team played.
"We solved some mysteries and now will have more defined roles, but it's going to be a work in progress," Lawrence said. "I got to the team really, really late (in the summer) and we had eight practices before (Friday). We weren't all the way ready, but it'll be a different story come
September with us. But right now, we're building slowly."
Building slow, and trying to figure out how to give enough attention to two full rosters--one that is still learning about its new coach, and one that lost a ton of seniors and dealt with a real worry about having enough to field a team.
When there's a practice scheduled, both teams practice. The boys start first, with the girls coming in later and Lawrence and his assistants make it work.
"We kind of stagger the practices," Lawrence said. "We built in 45 minutes with the boys, the girls overlap 30, and then girls have the final 45 minutes. While they are doing warmups, stretching, and knock-around grills, the boys can finish and then I can focus on the girls."
For a bit there was a contingency plan ready that would see a few of the girls' team members playing also on the boys' team.
It's allowable this year, provided the girls don't play more than 21 halves.
That plan may still come to fruition, but Lawrence's boys' team has a roster 14 strong now.
"It's a rule they put in for soccer that they can play on both as long as they stay within 21 halves," Lawrence said. "I was going to use that a lot but we're seeming to have enough."
If there's a conflict, Lawrence can leave drills behind for the teams to work on. He makes sure to build in days off too. Both teams are working hard and Lawrence wants to make sure his teams are fresh, both for soccer, and equally as important, school.
"We give them a day off if they need it, I want to make sure their grades are good because school is just as important as soccer," Lawrence said.
It's a lot to ask, but Lawrence is more than willing to make it work. He loves the game, and admits he's had a lot of fun coaching the girls' too.
"They are not used to my sense of humor yet and we're still learning about each other," Lawrence said. "But this is a good group of girls, and they are great to be around."