Weymouth's Lynchpin
He was all over the place.
Manning three positions throughout the game -- outside midfielder, center midfielder, and forward -- Weymouth’s Robbie Lynch was in the thick of a highly intense soccer match with Framingham last week.
And he was there at nearly every turn, it seemed. Deflecting the oncoming barrage of shots and passes by the Flyers, and working intently with the rest of the crew up front, the Weymouth utility man helped the Wildcats buttress an attack of their own. While Lynch didn’t personally deliver any nets in resplendent fashion, his small-ball manner, his uninterrupted rhythm, was just as critical as Weymouth emerged with a 2-2 tie.
Lynch assisted on the second Weymouth goal and aided countless other plays, sustained by his fiery tempo.
“I just like to keep going hard, keep moving”, Lynch said of his on-field energy. His mindset is as simple as that, with the magnified results coming almost naturally through years of repetition.
Asked how long he had been dribbling around the black-and-white sphere, Lynch had to think for a moment. “Since I was about 3, I think”, he finally surmised, the date perhaps marking the moment he could actually break out in a run.
The enthusiasm that has come to characterize his game from that first day is fairly evident by merely watching him. But if one sought any reinforcement of that theory, they would only need to speak for a moment with his coach.
“His passion for the game … his work rate is just unbelievable,” said Weymouth coach Bill McEachern, “He’s very committed, and [on the field] it’s just crazy [to watch]. We try to keep him as involved as possible.”
When one first notices Lynch, they are not immediately struck by an intimidating sight. Standing slighter than many of his peers, the young Weymouth player is neither tall, nor stodgy, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in speed and agility. Intimidating with his skill, and the scrappy capability to stick to his opponent, one learns to watch out for Lynch. The sight of him scrambling across the pitch spurs an unorthodox concept of an imposing frame.
Despite his incredible play commitment, even Lynch admits he suffers from mental blunders and momentary breaks in concentration at times. In regards to the Framingham game, Lynch said, “We just had some mental lapses at the end. We stopped thinking for a second, got caught off guard, and they capitalized.”
He acknowledged that hard work and focus should help to avoid similar situations in the future.
If Lynch seems mature in his words, then it’s not in the traditional sense of age. The forward/midfielder/defender is only a sophomore this year. After starting every game as a freshman in 2007, the Wildcats are looking for Lynch to take on a bigger role this season, a feat that he already seems to be tackling.
It’s scary to think of Lynch’s potential, with nearly three full years to pulse his game along Wildcat Way. The beat is starting quietly, a less-than-flashy melody. But with diligence and time, with passion and instinct, this soccer musician could really get into a rhythm.
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Dear Amelia,
Great article, almost poetic. Manning and his family will have this living commentary posted on their refrigerator for a long time. His children and grandchildren will most likely read this in the generations to come.
Your fan from Cary,