About five games into my senior season as a member of the Arrowhead Union High School varsity soccer team, we matched up against Whitefish Bay. Ten minutes in with the ball at my feet, I dribbled around two defenders and the ball soared into the box—only to be missed just left of the post. 

Coach Staus didn't care about the shot or the miss. Instead, he said, “They can't stop you.” 

Coach Staus gave me a boost to finish one of my best games as an Arrowhead Soccer player. He gave me words that stuck with me for 80 minutes. Wiping any doubt away from my mind, Whitefish Bay couldn't stop me. Coach’s words made me unstoppable.

With one of my best performances of my high school career, Coach named me as player of the game. I couldn't have been happier.

Coach Staus has been my coach ever since I could remember. Since I was six learning the basics of what to do and how to do it, to trying to make history in a state tournament, he was by my side coaching me through it all. 

Through my many years as having coach Staus I learned that above anything else on the field, and off, was that good character is the top priority. 

With countless hours of studying film and making sure everything was right, coach would come into every practice ready for us, ready to get going, not wasting any time. 

Apart from being my coach, he was also my teacher for Coach and Officiating. Coach Staus made the class more than just a grade, but a life lesson, something I could use when I get older. It wasn't about letters or a percent, it was about cracking open my shell, and figuring out what kind of person I was. It all may sound crazy that a coaching class could do that, but he made it that way.

Alongside being a coach and a teacher, It wouldn't be fair to not mention the many hours coach Staus put in for the community and the younger ages of our sport. With many camps run in the summer for youth soccer, he makes it the enjoyable experience that every parent would want for their kid, you can drop your child off and know that they will be a part of something great, even if it's for two hours.

Without coach Staus, it would be hard to imagine how my soccer career would have played out. I will always remember the dedication that he had for the sport, the community, and for us. He pushed me everyday, even if I was in a bad mood, I would always want to go to practice knowing that I would have a great coach, and even more importantly, a great person.