Finding a permanent position on the field is normally an evolving process for most soccer players. For Victoria Highlanders goalkeeper Elliot Mitrou, it was a matter of forgetting his shirt.
Mitrou was 10 or 11 years old, playing house league with Bays United, when he showed up one day without his jersey. The coach put him in net, and there he stayed.
鈥淚t really started with me forgetting a shirt,鈥� Mitrou said. 鈥淚 got stuck in the pipes, and that was it.鈥�
Mitrou followed in the footsteps of his goalkeeping older brother, Nick, and has since worked his way through the ranks to become a starter for both the Highlanders and University of Victoria Vikes. The 21-year-old has been a fixture in the Highlanders鈥� impressive 5-1-1 record so far this season in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League, and it鈥檒l be more of the same this weekend in Washington. Victoria will attempt to remain on top of the Northwest Division by taking on the North Sound SeaWolves (1-6-1) tonight, and the Kitsap Pumas on Sunday.
On the road, Mitrou noted, the team might have to move away from the wide-open, crowd-pleasing style they play at home to get the best results.
鈥淲hatever it really needs, we鈥檒l be willing to do,鈥� Mitrou said. 鈥淚f we have to step away with a one-nil win, or have to sit in our own end for 70 minutes, we鈥檒l do that.鈥�
Mitrou, who鈥檚 been with the Highlanders since the team鈥檚 creation, talks constantly to the players in front of him, and feels responsible for keeping the calm through emotional storms. It鈥檚 mind-over-matter toughness goalkeepers have to learn at a young age, and something he teaches kids when coaching at the Highlanders Academy and Reynolds Secondary School.
鈥淔irst and most importantly, they need to have a positive attitude to ever be in the goal,鈥� Mitrou said. 鈥淲hen I was a kid, getting scored on was like the worse thing that could ever happen.
鈥淚 would cry.鈥�
Getting told by a coach he鈥檇 be scored on thousands of times in his career, helped put things in perspective. Highlanders coach Steve Simonson now relies on Mitrou as an extension of the team 鈥� a technically skilled player who can control the pace of the game with his feet and hands, settle down his teammates, and get them out of trouble.
鈥淚t鈥檚 his confidence and presence. He doesn鈥檛 seem to get flustered by anything,鈥� Simonson said of last season鈥檚 PDL All-Western Conference 鈥檏eeper. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just been real solid for us.鈥�
Those attributes are ones Mitrou will carry into his fifth season at UVic this fall, as he wraps up a degree in economics. In 2011, Mitrou was in goal at Centennial Stadium when the Vikes claimed the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national title, with a 3-1 victory over Saint Mary鈥檚, in front of more than 3,000 screaming fans.
鈥淭hat was unbelievable,鈥� Mitrou said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be extreme and say it was the best day of my life, but it was top-5 easily.鈥�
But whether it鈥檚 winning a championship or another league game, goalkeepers need to always be on their toes. Decisions have to be made early and quick. For example, Mitrou said he has less than two seconds to decide if he鈥檒l play a ball, or let a defender have it.
鈥淚 have to decide if I鈥檓 going to to make it there or not, and I have to let my defenders know, too.鈥�
Learning to make the right choices only comes with experience, and a little luck. Admitting he鈥檚 a little crazy, as goalkeepers tend to be, Mitrou is unabashedly superstitious, having a series of rituals he performs before, during and after every game. He wouldn鈥檛, however, divulge them.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e secret. I can鈥檛 tell you,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e good luck charms.鈥�
