Ebert Honored as MISL's Top Rookie
by Arnold Irish St. Louis Post-Dispatch
No matter how many soccer awards
Don Ebert wins in his life, the
Steamers' leading scorer will never
forget his summer of discontent or the
help he received from a stranger, who
later became his teammate.
Ebert was honored Monday night
when he was named the Major Indoor
Soccer League's rookie of the year, and
he reflected on the progress he's made
this season. But, mostly, he
remembered the bad times and the
support he received from Carl Rose.
A nearly unanimous choice, Ebert
earlier in the day had been denied even,
honorable mention on the MISL all-star
squad. Two Steamers, forward Tony
Glavin and defender Steve Pecher,
made the first team. All-star and
rookie-of-the-year balloting were conducted
by the Professional Soccer Reporters Association.
"I was really confused last
summer," recalled Ebert, who the
previous December had waived his
final year of college eligibility (after
leading Southern Illinois University-
Edwardsvlle to the NCAA championship)
and had been picked No.1 in the
North American Soccer League's amateur
draft by the New York Cosmos.
"The Cosmos didn't play me one minute and let me go in late June,
and I got a call from the United States coach in mid-July telling me I'd been dropped from the national team and wouldn't be going on a preseason trip with the World Cup team. From the top of the world, I'd gone
to being rejected twice in less than a month, and I was beginning to doubt
myself. I even wondered If I ought to go back to school, and I never cared much for studies. I'm not a student per se, and I was in college mainly for soccer. My agent kept saying, 'Don't worry, we'll get you in with St. Louis,' but I'd never played indoor soccer. Oh, I'd played a couple of times in a gym - in a tournament at Meramec or UMSL - but never with boards or glass or on a carpet."
Disillusioned, Ebert "forgot about" training. "I'd sit around and have a few
beers," he remembered.
It was about that time, last July, that he met Rose, a veteran defender
who had just come off a strong season with the fledgling Steamers. The
club didn't sign Ebert until August, but Rose suggested Don work out with a
bunch of players at Castle Oak.
"Carl was out there with EJ (Emilio John), Eric Delabar and a lot of local
guys who could play," Ebert said.
"We had some pretty intense matches, and I had 10 weeks to learn
how indoor soccer is played. But not under game conditions. I made my
mistakes under no pressure. Including preseason camp, I had two and a half months to get ready, and I needed that. You can't step in and play.
I felt sorry for Greg Villa, who came in cold just after camp ended, and
sorrier still for (St. Louis University All-America) Steve Sullivan, who
joined us in November after his college season was finished."
Rose took Ebert under his wing.
"We had a lot in common," Ebert said. "Carl had been (passed over) in
outdoor soccer and (passed over) by Canada's national team, so he knew
what I'd been going through. I was pretty depressed, but he wouldn't let me stay down on myself. Once I began practicing every day with Carl and the others, I didn't have time to mope around any more. He wouldn't let
that happen."
Ebert said having a good rookie has been gratifying to him.
"I couldn't have hoped for this," he said. "I set lower objectives for myself. I would have considered 25 goals a productive season. When I got 46, that was icing on the cake. I'm happy indoor soccer is the type of game that suits my style of play. Indoors, you have to play faster. Perceive situations quicker. Anticipate better. It's helped my ball control immensely. I read and react better because of the pace.
"Outdoors, the field is 120 yards long. The pace is almost a walk.
There's nowhere to hide indoors. Outdoors, if your man gets loose, somebody else can pick him up. Indoors, when (Buffalo's Dennis Mepham goes by and you don,'t go with him, the result is a goal. The ball's in the back of the net, and everyone else is marked up, so you know who's responsibility the goal is,and so do 18,000 spectators."
Although known for shooting; Ebert says that part of his game still needs
work.
"Guys like (Butfalo's Iubo) Petrovic and (Stjepan) Cordas score a lot of goals, but they do much of it from 10 feet out, and I want to develop a more powerful shot. "Outdoors, I used to pick the corners, hut there the goal is
wider. Indoors, there are no corners to pick. A goalkeeper can stretch out and cover nearly the entire goal. You've got to blast it by him.
If there's a rebound and the keeper's down, shoot it over him.
"I think you can crank up better indoors, too. If you're wide and high
outdoors, it's a goal kick. Subconsciously, you know the same shot indoors is coming back into play."
Ebert remembers "being a little scared" at the beginning of this season.
"When (Steamers Coach) Pat McBride signed me, it might have been
my last chance in soccer," Ebert said.
Now, with the MISL rookie award in his possession and the Steamers
challenging for the league championship, his future seems certain to include a long string of goals
And with each one, an imaginary announcer will whisper in Ebert's ear,
"Assist to Carl Rose."
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