For The Tribune
Cole Allman had a choice of playing any of any one of several sports when he entered Trinity Lutheran, but he decided on soccer because he played it earlier in his career, and he likes the teamwork involved in the sport.
“I like soccer in general because it’s not too big of a team for it to be overwhelmingly annoying that you have to deal with that many people, and it’s small enough to where it is a team because you can talk with these people pretty much individually, and the game is constantly back-and-forth,” he said.
“It’s hard to score. You have to work at it. We had two or three matches where we actually tied.”
Allman said he played soccer from age 5 until fourth grade, then gave up the sport after breaking his arm.
Once he got to Trinity Lutheran, Allman resumed his soccer career.
He played different positions out on the field, and also served as the Cougars’ backup goalie.
“I really liked center midfielder,” he said of his favorite position on the field. “If I would have played back (middle school age) I probably would have been a little bit better at it. I liked being really aggressive and just getting the ball and passing it to people.
“I pretty much tried to take the ball or shut down people in mid-field. Being physical was fun. I wasn’t very aggressive my freshman or sophomore years, but I got more aggressive my junior and senior years.
Allman said he felt like the second half of matches was the most important half for the Cougars, and that is when they played their best soccer.
“For our team, it was always the second half,” he said. “The first half was us trying to get together as team and see how we were going to play, and see how the other team was going to play that day.
“Once the second half rolled around, after we had our little pep talk at halftime, we figured out what everyone was going to do, and just went out there and played.”
The Cougars played some Saturday matches, their home matches in the late afternoon, and some of their away matches at night.
The senior said communication was another key to having success.
“I actually talked a lot during soccer, but our team this year didn’t talk as much,” he said. “It was kind of hard to figure out where people were on the field at some points. Talking in general helps people recognize where you’re at, what to do, how to react to situations.”
Allman feels that all athletes need to be mentally strong to succeed in sports.
He said he battled performance anxiety his freshman and sophomore years, but he feels like he has improved on the soccer field the past two years.
“Just go out there and play your own game and let your teammates help you,” Allman said. “You have to trust your teammates.”
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Parents: Stephanie Holle, Josh Allman
Siblings: Tess, Liv
Sports: soccer 4 years
Athletic honors: won sectionals sophomore, junior years
Plans after high school: attend Ball State University, study aviation
Favorite food: spaghetti
Favorite TV show: “Game of Thrones”
Favorite musician: Elton John, Electric Light Orchestra
Favorite movie: Forrest Gump
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Q: Why is important to score the first goal?
A: “With our team it was pretty important to get the first goal. If we got scored on, some people would just get scared and give up. But, usually if someone scores one goal it doesn’t matter. I’d say by the end of the end of the year if someone scored one goal it was fine. We could just as easily come back.”
Q: What was it like playing on your home turf?
A: “I liked the home matches. It was fun not having to drive two or three hours and then get home late. I really did like Christian Academy’s field.
“At the beginning of the year we were kind of off-and-on in our matches. Later on we would just kick it into gear and bring it to those schools that stomped us last year because we had so much endurance and we would always be able to stay on the field with them.”
Q: Have you enjoyed your time at Trinity Lutheran?
A: “I’ve made a lot of friends and I’ve been able to connect with the teachers on a more personal level which allows me to learn a little bit better, and have fun in the classroom.”
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