Right or wrong , my friend is gone. And with him his program. Let me go over the history of the situation. It is painful but needs to be done.

My friend coached soccer for twenty seven years. We played against each other for a number of years. We always beat his teams and he was impressed with what we did. Six years ago I had a chance to help him and he and I coached together with him until his death. We spent hours on the net, phone and exchanging letters.

I changed what he was doing with his team. At the wake, one daughter complained that all he talked about was the Dutch System. "What is the Dutch System?" she asked. I heard about that later, after the funeral. About four hundred students were at the funeral service. My friend was well loved and respected.

I will miss my friend more than you can imagine. We argued and did not agree on many topics. I had to go back to square one to explain some things that I thought were important. It was not that that my friend was stupid, but rather that we had different philosophies about the game and training. I did not win games nor did my friend. We worked things out. We created a program and trained the team to fit in the program.

And it worked. We ended up recently with a record of only one loss during the regular high school season, and we were promoted as a result. The plan for next year was to play in the top division, with a chance to play each team once during the season. It would have been an awesome season. What now?

My friend`s daughter missed the point. I did not teach the "Dutch System," but rather I gave my friend a system of play. There is a difference. That is what worked and made him happy. I think that he died a happy man. He won his division title with only one loss and was named "Coach of the Year."

I must add that we went to Holland one summer and he loved his stay there. He loved the training and games got him very excited, but not the food, I must admit.

I will miss my friend. He was a challenge to me and now he is gone. My life has changed. I will coach a college team in the fall, but it will not be the same. I feel empty and useless. I like a real challenge and he gave me one.

There is a need to help the youth of America. I do it willingly for nothing. I am not a fool but rather one interested in making the game of soccer work in this country. My deceased colleague was fascinated with the game. Systems of play. Practice. Set plays. He wanted a training program in the town that did not start at the top, but at the lower level. Growing, growing, growing. Making things work.

My friend is gone. My wish is that his program will continue, without him and without me. That would be great. He was devoted to the game, and his daughters do not understand this. Outside of soccer, how many really know what we are talking about?

Do not mourn for my friend; I will do that. Not well, but I will do it. Rather hold up your heads and make this beautiful game go forward to help the youth of America.

My friend would really like that.

Alan Maher