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This Bick Can't Be Flicked
By Arnold Irish (1/13/1984)St. Louis Post-Dispatch
College coaches and scouts haven't always known it, but no Major Indoor Soccer League player more completely possesses "the right stuff" than Sam Bick.
~ Tenacious and tireless in critical transition sequences.
~ Quick and aggressive enough to mark anyone out of the game.
~ A self-made attacker with a thunderfoot shot.
Those are just a few of the qualities that make Bick a natural for the "Total Soccer" concept Coach Dave Clements has brought to the Steamers. Three other Bick traits are endurance, durability and fitness. He's drawn on all in assembling his lengthy consecutive-games streak, the Steamers'longest when they meet the Baltimore Blast at 7:35 tonight at The Arena, Bick will be playing in his 98th successive game. "I don't know what it proves," said the veteran defender, with characteristic modesty, of his streak. "it certainly doesn't make me a great player. Perseverance and perspiration have done that. "An athlete who's tired is injury-prone," said Bick. "If you go into a tackle a half-step late, you're pushing yourself. "If you're fit, you don't reach your tired zone. And fitness isn't something you maintain two days a week. At my age, 29, it's a year-round thing, 24 hours a day, seven days a week - whether I'm working or on vacation." A man for all seasons, Bick knows no offseason. If he isn't distance- running, he's pumping away on his 10- speed bike ("for the heart and cardiovascular system") Or swimming. Or lifting weights. "I don't know if you'd ever wear Sam Bick down," Clements said. "Not alone, you wouldn't" In his last four MISL seasons, Bick has missed only one game - and that was because of food poisoning he got from some bad mushrooms he had cooked himself. And while he doesn't go out of his way to hammer opposing players, Bick doesn't sidestep contact, either. "I don't avoid the contact inherent in the sport", he said. "It's part of a defender's job to make contact - to let the forward feel your presence. I've stayed away from serious injuries, but I've had as many knocks and nagging injuries as anybody." Early this season Bick was slowed somewhat by a strained knee, and more recently he wore a shinguard for five games. After a broken leg knocked Steve Pecher out of the lineup, Clements began looking for someone to assume Pecher's captaincy. It didn't take long for the Steamers' coach to spot "the right stuff" and appoint Bick to the position. "I picked Sam because he's a superb professional," Clements explained. "He's a tremendous example to young players, and apparently always has been. "He's also one of our most consistent players. He's a thinker about the game. And he has a great desire for the team to succeed, even if at times that success comes at a cost to him personally. He's a staunch defender, of course, plays at a very good pace, is very strong physically and has improved in knowing when to move forward." Bick declined to speculate how long his endurance streak might last, but it could be years. After all, what are the odds against his eating some more bad mushrooms?
