MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Playing varsity on a Class AAA soccer team is hard enough, but it’s even harder when you’ve only been in the United States for two years.
Enter Ahmad Mikky, a senior striker at Morgantown High.
Immigrating from Palestine, Mikky joined the Mohigans’ soccer squad last year. Learning how to work around his new teammates and coaches, Mikky didn’t make much of a splash.
“He’s grown well with the team,” MHS coach Sam Snyder said. “He has been a joy and works extremely hard. We love his will and hunger to play and his drive toward goals. This is his first year of really getting ‘it’ with the team. At first it was him learning a new school and country, so it’s been fun to finally coach him this year being able to speak and work with us while coming in with a fresh start knowing everything.”
That ‘it’ factor Snyder mentioned has propelled Mikky to the top of the stat sheet in multiple facets. He currently leads the team in goals (18) and points (44), is second in assists (8) and is tied for third in steals (14). All combined through his 13 starts, he averages 1.4 goals and 3.4 points per match.
Even while leading the team Mikky remains humble, noting his coaches as the main reason he’s worked to reach the top — something admittedly refreshing coming out of a high school player.
“I work hard every day, even if we don’t have practice,” he said. “(When I first came here) our coaches helped me (with technical skills) and gave me advice to improve.”
Mikky’s drive also comes from the team’s mutual desire to improve from last year’s 7-10-2 record. The senior wanted to come into 2019 playing smarter rather than harder — a major issue that plagued the young Mohigans last year. This year, the team is playing a stifling transition game and finding the gaps to make quick shots and wear down opposing defenses.
Mikky’s attack is by far the fastest and most vicious. If you give him space in the wing, you better hope he doesn’t fake out your keeper. If he breaks through the middle, his upcoming shot is going to have enough heat behind it to burn the tips of the grass. And if he gets into the box, chances are the Mohigans are going to get a goal.
“Sam tells me ‘You need to change your runs, you don’t have to cut every time,’ and that helps me a lot (to keep making goals),” Mikky said.
Another column Mikky leads in is hat tricks — four, to be exact. Once more, he credits others for his success. Although, most of his goals and shots on goal have been carried down the field by himself, his midfielders and fellow forwards have set him up for a slew of shots as well.
“We have a good team,” he said. “I like playing with them. They’re like my brothers.”
And although he undoubtedly has natural talent on the pitch, Snyder notes that Mikky focuses heavily on the intellectual side of the sport, too.
“Ahmad just loves the game. A lot of (times) in class — I’m his English teacher — we talk about the game,” Snyder said. “He’ll ask questions about film and we’ll break it down. Bottom line, he’s a student of the game.
“(That being said) he’ll ask questions and we’ll decipher whether it was the best option in the system (on tape). He grows every day with it, gets better with his teammates and knows when he makes mistakes. In class, he’s a joy and works hard. He’s a good dude.”
And who’s better to learn from than Snyder, who’s soccer IQ has led his team to a solid 10-4 record so far this season. A team that averages 4.5 goals and 4.8 assists per game, has 138 steals and has out-scored opponents 58-18.
“Coach Sam helps us a lot telling us about our games and how we do,” Mikky said. “We improve ourselves finding gaps and targets, playing our games like it’s our last. We want to win.
“Sam pushes me every day, (and in class) he tells me what to improve on.”
Now moving into his 11th year of playing soccer, Mikky’s first goal is that of any high school player: Win sectionals and regionals to fight for the AAA state title. But after that?
“I’d (like to) play in college,” Mikky said. “I grew up playing soccer and would like to finish with it. I’d like to play for WVU (if possible).”
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