Schrock of Ages
by Oliver Carlos
Stephan Schrock is the most popular and well-loved active Azkal. I’m sure he will go down in history as one of the country’s all-time football legends together with Phil Younghusband and Chieffy Calindong. Schrock may be in the homestretch of his very colorful playing career, but his still making waves not only in the local league, but also internationally. He is dubbed by the local media as the greatest football player in Southeast Asia. He’s been Schrockin’ and rollin’ these past several years!
Stephan instantly won the hearts of the Filipino football fans the moment he joined the Azkals. He was flashy, fleet-footed, skilled, smart, and spunky. Whenever he gets the ball at the wings, people would cheer wildly as he brings out his trademark dance-with-the-ball moves to elude his defenders. He had his Azkals jersey no.17 hitting the shelves of sports stores. It’s the best seller among local football shirts.
I was blessed to see Schrock up close and personal in a handful of occasions in the past few years. I watched him play at the Binan Stadium whenever his Ceres team faces off with the Stallion Laguna team in the Philippine Football League (PFL). I was surprised to see him play a different stye of football from what I used to see when he was with the national team. With his home club, Schrock was all over the turf! He played all positions, except goalkeeper. You’ll see him play striker, then shift to defender, then on the next minute, he’ll be a midfielder. He played all those roles with excellence too.
In the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, I had the privilege to introduce him to the crowd before the Philippines vs Timor-Leste match. I was the voice of the Binan Stadium. My most cherished SEA Games moment came when Schrock made a goal. I delivered on the microphone with all my best: “G-G-G-G-G-Goal for the Philippines!!!!! By player number seventeeeeen…. Stephaaaaaaaannnn Schhhrrrrrrocckkkk!!!!”. Then all hell broke loose, the stadium erupted in jubilation!
In the recently concluded 2020 PFL bubble season, Schrock had me admiring him once again, but this time, with his character and wisdom. In a pre-tournament forum, Schrock frankly berated a young player from another team who commented that they will “play and hopefully win.” Stephan was quick to say that the youngster’s team will lose with that kind of attitude. He said “You don’t have vision, young man. You don’t say ‘hopefully we’ll win’, you should say ‘we will win!’” Schrock is saying that one should visualize the winning moment even before the game hasn’t started yet.
In another interview, Schrock said that while he was in Germany, he watched on video his team training for the tournament. He noticed 3 players who were not serious in doing the drills. He said that when he would arrive in the Philippines, the first thing he’ll do is to teach these 3 guys a hard lesson. He trains and plays wholeheartedly and with excellence, and he would demand his teammates to match his level, or intensity at the least. He leads by example.
Schrock announced that he is planning to go into coaching when his playing years are over. It would be a player’s dream to be in Stephan’s team. It’s great to have a certified winner for a coach.
In life, we all need a person like Schrock. We need an older person to guide us thru life’s difficult and uncertain stretches. God sends such people in our lives, they are called counsellors. We read in Proverbs 11:14 (MSG):
“Without good direction, people lose their way;
the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.”
We should not be too proud and have a know-it-all attitude. Let us have the humility to listen to our elders and mentors. Look for people who are more mature than you, not necessarily in age, but in their walk with the Lord. God uses them to send to us his precious words of wisdom. If we heed their counsel, we will have a better chance of winning in life.
