Cady earns state recognition

He hasn?t been at the helm for very long, but the Mid-Prairie boys? soccer coach is making plenty of noise for the Golden Hawks.

Pat Cady earned an award from the National Federation of State High School Associations and received the Coach of the Year award for Iowa in boys? soccer.

?It?s pretty nice, being just my second year as a head coach,? Cady said. ?It?s quite an honor for me to get this recognition, and there are a lot of great coaches in the state, so to get this award is fantastic for the program.

?We have great kids, great parents and a great community and hopefully it?s a reflection on the administration and that they made a good hire in a coach. It?s going to give me a bit more drive to continue having the program go upward.?

Cady?s nomination for this award came from the combined success of his team, and what he?s done for soccer in the community and for the state.

The second-year head coach was an assistant at Mid-Praririe for five years before taking over the program, and noted a few of the programs which have helped build the young soccer program into a state-qualifyer just last season, taking second at the state tournament last season.

?In the second year (as an assistant coach), we decided to start an AAU program, which is no different than what basketball or baseball would have in place,? Cady said. ?I?ve worked with that program for seven years now, and we are starting to reap the benefits of having younger kids get the experience of playing in Iowa City on the weekends.?

That experience has helped the Golden Hawks become a potential contender for years to come.

?They are learning chemistry early, have confidence and understand the game,? Cady said. ?We are only 10 years into soccer at Mid-Prarie, and it?s coming around to a point where it?s starting to be more of a recognized sport in the community.

?I?m in it in the long haul to make soccer better for the whole community. Someone needed to get in there to promote it, and it took off.?

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, which kicks off in April, Cady and the Golden Hawks lose a talented bunch of seniors from the 2014 state qualifying team, but he is excited about the prospects of a new season.

?We?ve had some open gyms, and we?ve had a great turnout,? Cady said. ?The mood is phenomenal and these guys are ready to go. We?ve lost some talent, but the guys who came off our bench last year, probably would have started for any other program, because we had that much talent.?

Absent from this coming season?s team will be the top-five goal scorers from the 2014 team, as well as all of the players who saw varsity time in the net.

The top returner statistically is senior Abduhl Msabah, who scored four goals, as well as picking up two assists on the year.

With a new crop of seniors in play, they want to make their own legacy, and lead their own state tournament team.

?I was looking through some stuff, and we have 11 kids coming back who had varsity experience last year,? Cady said. ?We are looking forward to another incredible year, and the talk among the kids is that they want to go back to Des Moines.?