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I once played a game of rec soccer against a team with Seb Harris on it. As a defender, I was less than enthused when I realized he was going to be playing forward that day. For the most part, though, he was fairly quiet, until a cross came into our box in the second half. I elected to mark the player in front of me, a girl who stood maybe 5’4″. Seb crashed the back post, unmarked, and put home an easy header for the goal.
As frustrated as I was at myself for leaving him all alone like that, I quickly realized it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. While I’m of respectable height – 6’0″ in cleats – I surely would’ve met the same fate as so many other defenders who tried to stand in the way of one of Harris’ thundering headers.
Dave Edwardson arrived at City in 2013, part of a crowded midfield group that included Kevin Taylor, Latif Alashe, Spencer Thompson, Locky Savage, and T.J. Van Slooten. As the season wore on and injuries took their toll, Dave rose to the top of the depth chart. His play over the course of that unbeaten regular season only served to cement his place. By the end of the Cass era, his leadership qualities had become evident, and with Josh Rogers’ retirement, there was never any real doubt as to who would inherit the captain’s armband.
Most admirable was Edwardson’s willingness to sacrifice the bodies of opposing players for the good of his team.
And, every now and then, he’d fire in an absolute banger.
As Dave and Seb’s on-field roles diminished over the past couple of seasons, their status within the club only grew. There’s no point in building a culture if it’s not passed on to the next generation, and the two of them embodied the culture of City perhaps to a greater degree than any other players who’ve worn the Rouge and Gold.
With City’s move up to the pro level, there will be, by necessity, a more cutthroat approach to roster building and player selection. We may take on guys whose first and only goal is to earn a paycheck, there will be loan signees in the squad for short spells, and there will inevitably be fewer local products in the side on a weekly basis.
Simply, it will be harder than ever to maintain that City ethos among those who take the field wearing our crest. It’ll be up to the next group of veterans – Stephen Carroll chief among them as the new permanent captain – to carry the fire and show the newcomers who we are, what we stand for, and how things are done around here. Their job has been made a little easier because they’ve learned from the best.
