Jason DeVos on Mattocks.
http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=436064
http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=436064
It was 10:35am on March 9, 2012. Luke Wileman and I stood in the corridor outside of the Vancouver Whitecaps dressing room at BC Place in Vancouver. We'd been there for a few minutes already. We were early (as we usually are) for the Whitecaps' practice, which was scheduled to begin at 11am. There wasn't a soul to be seen outside the dressing room, as all of the players and coaches were already inside preparing for training.
The time is etched in my memory because it was then, at 10:35am, that Darren Mattocks came strolling down the hallway. Big headphones blaring, he didn't look like he had a care in the world. He certainly didn't look like a rookie who was late for the last practice before his first game as a professional soccer player. He bowled on by and walked into the dressing room - the last player to arrive by a wide margin.
I turned to Luke, completely bewildered by what I had just witnessed, and asked him, "Is he having a laugh?" (I'm paraphrasing - my choice of words were far more industrial than that.)
"That would NEVER happen in Europe. No chance. The senior players would crucify him for that. And the manager would have him banished to train with the youth team."
I couldn't believe what I'd seen. In 18 years as a professional player in Canada and the UK, I'd never seen a young player show such blatant disrespect for the rules and hierarchy of a football club. 'First to arrive, last to leave' is a principle that all rookies (apart from Mattocks, clearly) adhere to religiously. They do so because they know that they not only have to impress their manager, but more importantly, they have to impress their teammates. They have to earn the respect of the senior players if they are ever going to be considered one of them.
You see, experienced players can suss out a fraud in less than one training session, and it doesn't take long for them to figure out if a young player comes with an ego. Those egos don't last very long though, because the senior players simply don't tolerate them. They chip away at the arrogance of youth, exposing flaws until the young player sees the light; that they aren't the finished article and that they have to work hard if they are ever going to fulfill their potential. It is a humbling that involves brutal honesty, but it teaches young players humility and mental resiliency - two vital ingredients in having a lengthy professional career........