Bain, Hissong set sights high

Stonewall Jackson player, coach have one more year together on the pitch

By Jeremy Stafford - jstafford@nvdaily.com

It was a glorious vision to behold at Radford University.

The luscious green grass, the crowds which filled the stands at Patrick D. Cupp Memorial Stadium, and the illustrious scene that comes with being one of the best soccer teams in Virginia.

That was in 2006, when Stonewall Jackson coach Nate Hissong led his team to the state final against Clarke County.

The Generals lost that game, but Patrick Bain, an eighth-grade soccer prodigy, took in the sights and sounds of the state tournament, and hoped he might one day be a part of that experience as his older brother, Nathan Bain, had been that year.

"Just being around it my eighth-grade year, I really wanted to play," Bain said. "Watching them go all the way to the finals is so cool.

"My brother being a part of it is definitely a big factor, too."

Not that Bain, The Northern Virginia Daily's Boys Soccer Player of the Year, wasn't connected to the team in some fashion. Though he was too young to practice with the Generals, Bain was a team manager, and so he watched from the sideline, game after game, as the Generals romped their way through the district and regional tournaments.
And along the way, Hissong, The Northern Virginia Daily's Boys Soccer Coach of the Year, made a promise to the young Bain, who had buried himself in a life of soccer since he was 5.

"That's gonna be you one day," Hissong told Bain as the older Generals marched off the field following a match against Nelson County in 2006.

Hissong knew about Bain. He knew that he had grown up playing on recreational and travel teams around the state, and he knew that Bain played for the Roanoke Star, which is now the No. 1 ranked travel team in the state in Bain's age group.

So it was no surprise when Hissong kept that promise the following season, when Bain became a starter for the Generals as a freshman.

But even Hissong admits that he was astounded by the way Bain took over practices.
"I knew that he had ball skills -- I didn't expect him to be so dominant, even his freshman year," Hissong said. "He didn't have as many goals and assists ... but his ball skills were phenomenal and at a level that I hadn't seen before."

And so the four-year countdown began. Four years for Bain to once again return to Radford; four chances to fly on that soft bed of Radford grass and compete for a state title.
He made it back there in three years, facing George Mason in the state semifinal round, and it was certainly an exciting journey.

A year ago, Bain led one of the more potent offenses in the area. With crafty forward Armando Moreno up top, Stonewall Jackson could score on nearly anyone; conversely, nearly anyone could score on Stonewall Jackson, specifically district rival Wilson Memorial. Three times the Generals suffered losses to the Hornets in 2008, the last of which came in the district tournament final.

So Hissong worked his magic. He revamped the defense, moving Colton Koontz from midfield to centerback alongside Dylan Dawson, and bumped outside backs Emmanuel Vasquez and Juan Luna closer to the halfway line to support Bain and Lupe Cardoso in the midfield. Just as important, Bain solidified himself as a screen midfielder, a position prevalent in the English Premier League which necessitates a quick and fleet-footed midfielder to zip from touchline to touchline, filtering plays out of the defensive third.
Both Bain and Hissong agree that while Bain has exceptional offensive abilities, it's his defensive aggression, his desire to keep the ball in the Generals' possession, that makes him an unrivaled talent in the area.

"If there's one aspect of the EPL that I try to bring to the high school field, it's that defensive hunger, and the strength they play with on defense," Bain said. "They just want it so bad."

But Hissong admits that while it's certainly a windfall for any coach to have a talent like Bain on the field, it also provides a peculiar predicament for a coach during practice.
"It's been a challenge for me to provide training sessions that benefit him, and raise the skill level of all the players," Hissong said. "It's been a challenge for me to get everyone up to the level of Patrick. ... I've had to raise my knowledge of the game in response to players like him."

Hissong took certification courses through the National Soccer Coaches Association and, with Bain at the helm, has molded the Generals into an elite program. The Generals gave up only 19 goals in 22 games this past season, and Bain's 25 assists set a single-season school record.

Moreno's 33 goals is the best in the area.

And Hissong has come a long way from his first year as a head coach, when he led a second-year program at Strasburg to a forgettable 0-14 season.

But since then, Hissong has shown time and time again that few tasks are too daunting for him. When Manassas Park filtered Moreno to the center of the field in the Region B quarterfinals, Hissong exposed the Cougars by spreading them wide. When George Mason beat Stonewall Jackson deep for three goals in the region final, Hissong made sure that in the state semifinal, his center midfielder always dipped into the backfield to protect the defense.

The Mustangs' offense was held scoreless in the state semifinal, but George Mason eventually won on a penalty kick in the 75th minute.

And though Bain and Hissong will soon return to the pitch with the common anticipation of returning to Radford for Bain's final hurrah, there are plenty of questions left to deal with in the offseason.

With Wilson Memorial jumping up to Group AA next year, Stonewall Jackson may not play an elite team until the region tournament; and with the taste of the state tournament still fresh in their mouths, Hissong must find a way to keep the Generals focused on winning the district and the region.

"Obviously I think the goal would be to return [to Radford], but I would worry about losing sight of how to get there," Hissong said. "I would hope that's possible, but some of that is out of my hands."