2016 Combined

Matt Sykes is a man of faith.

Ayear ago, faced with an uncertain future in soccer, Sykes contemplated bis options and listened to GOO. After a lot of prayer and patience, Sykes said GOO told him to go William Carey Unh·ersity in Hattiesburg to play soccer. Earlier this year, Sykes faced more uncertainty and was called to return home to Columbus. Although he wasn't sure why God wanted him to leave W'tlliam Carey and end his soccer career, he believed something would work out. "It was a really hard decision giving up being a player,• said Sykes, who was a standout goalkeeper at Heritage Academy in Columbus and at f.ast Central Community College in Decatur. "It wasn't until I got home that I understood why I bad to leave." Sykes said a conversation he had with his father, Greg, in late January or early February gan~ him peace that he bad made the right choice. Earlier this month, Sykes' faith was rewarded when he was named the new girls and boys soccer coach at Starkville Academy. "Ifyou would have told me I was going to be a soccercoach when I was giving up (being a soccer player) I would have laughed and told you you were crazy," Sykes said Wednesday. "I had no clue why God wanted me lo come borne." Sykes said a talk with his father helped make things clearer. He said he asked bis father why he stepped away from his work as an assistant football coach at Heritage Academy. Matt Sykes said his father told him be would not have had an opportunity to work with Joe Caruso and Eric Dubose as a part of East Coast Baseball, a Christ centered, nationally recognized baseball organization, if he didn't leave Heritage Academy. He said bis father has developed an amazing friendship with Caruso and Dubose and has enjoyed the work be has done for youth baseball players at showcase events throughout the region. Sykes said that conversation helped ease his move to Columbus in February and allowed him to look ahead to his next challenge. He didn't have to wait long. After helping out as an assistant baseball coach at Heritage Academy earlier this year, Sykes said he received a call from Starkville Academy and was asked if be would be interested in being the school's soccer coach. Sykes admits it will be an adjustment, especially since he still has about a year and a half left before he completes his degree in business at Mississippi State, but he said his goal is to give back to his players and to instill a love for the game of soccer like coaches have dooe "itb him. "So maoy times athletes talk about a coach who had made a difference in their lives," Sykes said. "I pray I can be one ofcoaches that 10 years from now nobody knows how many games we woo but they remember the relationships that we built in that time." Sykes hopes to bring stability to a program that bas seen a number of coaches in the last few years. In 2015-16, James Hawkins serYed as the girls soccer coach at Starkville Academy, while Cole Andrews worked as the boys soccer coach. Robert Gardner and Brad Smith also have worked as coaches in the program in the last several years. Sykes was an All-District goalkeeper at Heritage Academy in 2012 and 2013. He also was a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools All-Star in 2013. He earned second-team Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College (MAC.JC) honors and was a MACJC All-Star in 2014. Even though he had eligibility remaining at William Carey (he was redshirtcd last year), Sykes said he is "truly blessed" to have this opportunity. "lam going to take it straight from f.ast Coast Baseball and have the Starkville Academy soccer program be a Christ-centered program that not only makes great athletes but also makes young men and women who will be leaders in the world,• Sykes said when asked what be "'Ould be like as a coach. "Being fresh out oftbe game, I think I will have an advantage knowing the game for strategy and things to give us a chance to \,fo." Sykes said his experience juggling his studies and soccer at William Carey will help him when he tries to balance his academics at MSU and his work as coach at Starkville Academy. He hopes to follow the example set by Heritage Academy boys soccer coach Joe Asadi when be works "ith the girls and boys at Starkville Academy. "He is the man who made me lo"e soccer," Sykes said ofAsadi, who was his coach at Heritage Academy. "He had a \·ery simple technique that wasn't based on he was going to make me good at soccer, but he said, 'Hey, this sport is fun and you're good at it.' He didn't really force it upon me as much as he said, 'This is a fun sport.' He really connected with me. He made it personal. I don't think there was a player he didn't anempt to get to know.... You could see in his eyes and bear in his voice how passionate he was about soccer." The Starkville Academy girls soccer team "ill play host to Greemille St. Joseph Catholic High School on Thursday, Aug. 4, in Sykes' first match as coach.

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