By Nate Thompson
LocalSportsJournal.com
NORTON SHORES – There’s a fine between overconfidence and understanding how to win in the postseason.
Western Michigan Christian is promising it’s not overlooking any opponent as it begins its quest at defending its Division 4 state championship, yet the Warriors are still brimming with confidence.
“We realize we need to play everyone equally, but overall, I think we’re just as confident (entering the postseason) this year as we were last year, if not more,” said senior forward Charlie Buursma, a four-year varsity player, and the son of head coach Ben Buursma. “At the same time, our coaches have made us realize that we have a target on our backs, so we can’t get overconfident.”
Western Michigan Christian senior Charlie Buursma has been one of the leaders as the Warriors head into regional soccer action. Photo/Randy Riksen
The Warriors kicked off district play with a 2-0 victory over rival Muskegon Catholic before routing Ravenna and North Muskegon to claim the district title.
The Warriors open regional action Tuesday night against Marcellus Howardsville Christian at Holland High School.
It wasn’t difficult to peg the Warriors as a choice to end up at the Division 4 regionals in Holland, or further beyond, like the Division 4 finals in Grand Ledge. WMC finished its regular season with a 15-2-3 record, but did not win its league title, the Alliance League, which was captured by Wyoming Lee, a squad ranked in Division 3. Lee upset WMC on Sept. 21, 2-1.
Even with that blip on their schedule, fourth-year head coach Ben Buursma said he feels his squad is prepared by again playing against tough competition throughout the season.
“I feel confident going into the tournament because of the schedule we’ve played, but unfortunately we didn’t see the same results as we did a year ago,” he said. “But even though we graduated seven, including five starters, we still have a lot of returners who gained valuable experience in last year’s run.”
The scoring punch is a little different this season. Instead of relying on a pair of 20-goal scorers like they did last season in Ashton Leffring and Gavin Riksen, the Warriors are much more balanced this fall, as Buursma said they have around six players who have scored eight or more goals, led by junior Tekalegn Vlasma, Charlie Buursma with 12 and fellow midfielder Ben Pollock with 11.
WMC soccer Coach Ben Buursmal presents the district soccer trophy to his team. Photo/Randy Riksen.
With Buursma, Pollock, senior Jake Hwang and junior Cole DeJonge, the Warriors’ midfield is loaded with talent and experience.
“We’ve always been a possession-based team,” Buursma said. “We’ve got great ballhandlers throughout, but I believe this year we have more pieces we can draw on.”
Charlie Buursma agreed, saying sharing the ball becomes fundamental with so many goal-scoring options.
“It’s good to know that any number of my teammates can take over,” he said. “I can pass to anyone and not worry about trusting their decision on what they’re going to do with it.”
In goal, junior Daniel Minasina had to wait his turn, as he was the backup to Jared Olsen a year ago, but Buursma said he has shined between the pipes this fall.
Charlie Buursma said it would be a dream come true to finish his prep career with another state title. It would make it extra special to celebrate again with his dad. It didn’t begin rosy, as Charlie said he heard some rumblings that he didn’t deserve to be on the varsity roster as a freshman 4 years ago.
“It was not all positive,” Buursma admitted. “I heard that stuff and I didn’t like it. It just was more motivation for myself to prove that I belonged.”
Buursma said even today, his dad gives him daily reminders that he needs to play quicker, but not to try to do too much by himself.
“Play quicker and he’ll also tell me a lot to let the ball do some of the work,” Buursma said. “It’s not always just my job, but let it be the team’s job. It’s a lot easier to see the game that way.”
Ben said he got to coach two of his other children, daughter Ella and son, Theo, in youth soccer, but never had the opportunity to coach Charlie. That was until Ben replaced David Hulings as WMC’s coach 4 years ago.
“We’ve definitely had some conversations around the dinner table,” Ben said. “Sure, there’s been challenges, but for me, it’s been very rewarding. I believe it’s deepened our relationship, and I’ve seen a ton of growth in his game since his freshman year.”
