Greg Roberts’ 500th career win almost never came, because the Snider boys soccer coach nearly wasn’t coaching long enough to accomplish the milestone.
“I had a couple of seasons where I said, ‘This is my last season,’ ” Roberts said Wednesday. “I keep coming back. One season I wasn’t coming back because I couldn’t handle the kids anymore, and they had terrible attitudes. Then I figured I am not going to let a bunch of kids run me out. I told my wife after my kids were done playing that I would coach year to year as long as I am enjoying it.
“I am giving back something to a sport that I like, and the kids also take away something from it besides just learning soccer.”
So Roberts was around to see his Panthers beat Huntington North 4-2 on Tuesday and get the postgame water dousing in celebration of his 500th win, raising his career record to 500-163-17.
“It’s going to take some pressure off, but I wasn’t really focused on that as much as where we are at in our season,” Roberts said.
Roberts, who will turn 60 on Tuesday when Snider plays South Side, has been coaching the Panthers’ boys program for 34 years. He was part of the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association’s first Hall of Fame class in 2006. Roberts, who was inducted along with Canterbury’s Greg Mauch, was the only one of the five inducted coaches who has never been to a state championship match.
