All-First Coast boys soccer: Park games built solid foundation for Mandarin's Sasha Maric

Week after week, the fields at Losco Regional Park in Mandarin were calling out for Sasha Maric.

It wasn't full-size soccer in those days, just a 3-on-3 contest with friends in a tight space. And then another game, and another…

"We would always go to Losco whenever we can," he recalled. "It was always me, Adis [Mesic], Omar [Trto], Emir [Trto] and some others as well like Sergey [Rakhamimov] and Zack [Kertesz]. We would always go there and play 3-on-3, 4-on-4. I can't even count how many times we were there."

Those sessions built the skills and the lasting connections with teammates, and years down the road, they've helped Mandarin's senior defender become the Times-Union's All-First Coast player of the year for high school boys soccer in Northeast Florida.

It's the third consecutive All-First Coast award for Mandarin soccer, after forward Antonio Mancinotti earned the award in back-to-back seasons for 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Tall, commanding and powerful, Maric stands out everywhere he goes on the field as the No. 1 target for any balls arriving in the air, and he's shown that he can deal with those with merciless efficiency at either end.

The wins on the scoreboard, though, are just one part of the reward.

"I've been playing for 12, 13 years now," Maric said, "and just the amount of friends that are like brothers that you make as you play every year, it's just something that you can never forget."

SUPER SKILLS IN TIGHT SPACES

For Maric, soccer has never been too far away.

He recalls starting his soccer adventure around age 5, connected to the sport by his father, who grew up playing the game in his native Bosnia. Immediately, the chance to connect with others from a variety of backgrounds drew him to the game.

"All kinds of countries, everyone around the globe plays soccer, and I like learning about and seeing people from other cultures and countries, and showing them my culture as well," Maric said.

Pretty soon, he was joining friends for those 3-on-3 park games, a group that included many of the young players who years later lined up as teammates at Mandarin. Soon, Maric was grabbing the attention of Mandarin coach Jason Cooley on his trips to the park.

"You could see," Cooley said, "that he could do anything with a soccer ball."

For certain skills, Maric said, 3-on-3 soccer spurred his development more rapidly than the traditional game.

"That just helped us grow as players and develop in the tight spaces, the dribbling and also defending," Maric said. "It's not 11-v-11, it's tighter, so my footwork and quick movements with dribbles and stuff like that, it obviously helped."

GROWING WITH THE MUSTANGS

The leadership style for Maric at Mandarin: Typically quiet, with a sense of humor.

"He's someone," Cooley said, "who sees the goofy side."

It's a high-pressure life in central defense. Week in and week out, Maric is up for the challenge.

"If you're a forward or something and you make a mistake, you kind of just fight back and try to win the ball," he said. "As a center back and a defender, you know if you make a mistake, it could be the end of the game."

For his first three seasons with the Mustangs' varsity squad, Maric learned from more experienced central defensive teammates like Dejan Pajkanovic and Aiden Pinciq. The biggest adjustment, he said, came last summer. Now, as a senior, it was time to take charge.

"Throughout those years, I was more like the quiet worker," he said. "I was just kind of introverted, kind of quiet, and now the biggest challenge for me was to actually become a leader, to be louder and more extraverted."

Whatever the approach, it works for Mandarin.

In 2021-22, Mandarin's defense conceded only 18 goals. In 2022-23, they completed the regular season unbeaten, with 15 goals allowed. This year: another regular season, a playoff run that only ended in extra time of the Region 1-7A final against West Orange, and only 14 goals given up in 22 games.

"He brings that calm and confidence to everyone else," Cooley said.

MARIC MAGIC IN MANDARIN DEFENSE

Size and skills don't always mix for soccer defenders. Count Maric as an exception.

"He can hit a 60 or 65-yard ball, just like you see in the Premier League, from right center back to the left foot of the left winger, not a floating ball but a driven ball that gets there in seconds," Cooley said. "It's the kind of skill you don't associate with a big defender like that."

Maric said he looks up to Virgil van Dijk, longtime captain for Liverpool in England's Premier League, as a model for his defensive approach.

"It's his composure and calmness when he's on the ball," Maric said. "He never panics, never just kicks it. And also, defensively, he almost never slides. I know defenders [it's often thought] you're supposed to slide a lot and win balls, but he likes to contain players and likes to be proactive and read the different situations, not just react to everything going on."

As with many other players in the transfer portal era, the recruiting process took a while. But he has a college destination, committing to the University of North Florida under new Ospreys coach Jamie Davies earlier in the winter. He signed his letter of intent at Mandarin on Wednesday.

"It's huge for me to move on to the next level," he said. 'I've had that dream ever since I started playing."

ALL-FIRST COAST BOYS SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Sasha Maric

Senior, Mandarin

Age: 18

Resume: Led Mustangs to their second consecutive undefeated regular season, advancing to Region 1-7A final. … Scored two goals and one assist. … Four-year starter in central defense. … Signed with UNF.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sasha Maric, Mandarin: All-First Coast boys soccer award, 2024