Getting Their Kicks

The distributors you saw at October’s ISSA/INTERCLEAN show who had all that energy as they walked the show floor may have been soccer players. These athletes typically travel great distances on foot in a short period of time — some say they run between six and 10 miles in one game.

Bill Gray, vice president of Allied-Central Distributing of Louisville, Ky., and Ed Mascharka III, president of Janitors Supply Co., of Erie, Pa., are avid soccer players. They play competitive, serious soccer year-round.

Ed has been playing since he was about 10. He got started at a private school because back then (in the early 1970s) soccer wasn’t popular in public schools. Bill didn’t start playing soccer until he was in college. He joined his fraternity’s soccer team at the University of Louisville. “I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was 18 years old and in good shape,” he said.

Soccer is, according to one expert, “bigger than baseball, basketball and football combined.” I asked our soccer players to tell me some funny stories about the game. Neither one could think of anything humorous about their sport — they’re downright serious about it, in fact. According to Bill: “Soccer is a serious game. People get their competitive spirit going and they don’t let up. During the game, your focus is on winning. And when the game is over, you collapse.”

It became clear to me that soccer is extremely competitive. Ed has been on the same adult men’s team for 23 years. His team is one of the premier teams in the league, having won the league championship for 20 of the last 24 years.

Soccer teams take no prisoners when it comes to the games. “When we first started our team, we weren’t very good. We played against a team that had been playing since they were little kids. They just poured it on and didn’t worry about running up the score. All we seemed to do was run around in circles,” Bill said.

Both Ed and Bill play soccer at least twice a week. Bill plays in an indoor league, while Ed, depending on the season, plays both indoor and outdoor soccer.

They play that often, that is, unless they’re injured.

I always thought soccer was a relatively risk-free sport until I interviewed Ed and Bill. When I talked with Bill, he had been sitting on the sidelines for about five weeks. “Somebody fell into my knee and bent it backwards, so I had to stay away until my knee healed. My doctor said that soccer is good business for him, especially when it comes to knee injuries,” he said.

In soccer, players are allowed to use any part of their body except their arms and hands. Wrecked knees, broken ankles and broken legs are all part of the game. While it’s not an expensive game (Ed says that the only equipment you need in his league are shin pads and a number on your jersey), it is a risky game. “I hope to play another five years, until I’m 40, and then see how my knees hold up,” said Bill. Ed plans to play until he turns 45.

I had hoped to interview Ed’s younger brother, Tom, who is vice president of their company and another devoted soccer player. But he’s on a three-year vacation from the sport.

Turns out Tom broke his leg in a soccer game.

Gretchen Roufs, a 15-year janitorial supply industry veteran, owns Auxiliary Marketing Services of San Antonio. To suggest someone you think should be featured in “freetime,” contact her at (210) 601-4572 or e-mail.