By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
None of Seaman's current boys soccer players were even born during Tim Collins' previous one-year head coaching stint with the Vikings, which produced a fourth-place finish in the 2002 Class 5A state tournament.
Veteran soccer coach Tim Collins talks with Viking sophomore Lowell Ogden during Tuesday's 1-0 Seaman win over Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But 22 years later, including a 13-year stint as the coach of the Washburn University women's team, Collins is back at the Viking helm, kicking off his second stint with a 1-0 non-league win over Emporia Tuesday night at Seaman.
"I was so nervous before the game started,'' Collins said. "I knew we can do some good things and I knew that we had good ideas. Our execution -- what coach doesn't want better execution? -- but when we needed it, it was on tonight.''
Senior Ethan Geiger (17) scored the game-winning goal in Seaman's 1-0 non-league soccer win over Emporia Tuesday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Ethan Geiger scored the game's only goal at the 9-minute, 46-second mark of the first half and both teams had scoring opportunities the rest of the night, but Viking freshman Landon Geis (first half) and senior David VanLeeuwan (second half) combined for the shutout in goal for Seaman.
"The thing I'm proudest about is the shutout,'' Collins said. "It was a little bit of a struggle and we created chances, but we have to be a little more dangerous in the attacking third.''
Collins, who coached a state championship team during a decade-long run at Topeka West, also coached the Shawnee Heights girls in 2016 and returned to the high school coaching ranks last spring as an assistant coach for Kyle Seevers' Viking girls team before stepping in to fill the vacant Seaman boys coaching position after talking with school administrators.
"I had to think about it a little bit, but having worked with Kyle and Ty (Hurla) in the girls season I had a lot of fun and Kyle and I are dear friends and I thought, 'Well, let's see what it's about,' and then the boys got really excited so one thing led to an another and here I am,'' said Collins, who teaches English at Seaman.
"I love the kids and I owe a lot to USD 345 and I owe a lot to the high school. They've been very good to me and this is a good group of men.''
And now Seevers and Hurla are serving as Collins' assistants this fall.
"We work really well together,'' Collins said.
Seaman will be back in action Thursday night, traveling to Manhattan for a non-league contest.
SEAMAN 1, EMPORIA 0
Emporia (0-1-0) 0 0 -- 0
Seaman (1-0-0) 1 0 -- 1
Seaman -- Goal: Ethan Geiger. Shutout: Landon Geis, David VanLeeuwan.
