Choosing Joy – The Mark Spiegel Story

Writer / Kristen Parker – Photographer / Forrest Mellott

Ten years ago, Mark Spiegel was on the fast track to a future as a soccer player. “[Growing up], my worth came from success in soccer and therefore my life was great when we won, but miserable and upside down when we lost. I was brought up with a hard-working ethic in regards to sports, school and life. I thank my parents daily for that. …With my perfectionist attitude, I quickly gained recognition for playing the way I did. It felt good. I felt invincible. I felt like I was in control. After a successful high school career of lots of goals, only A’s and a beefy resume, I followed my gut to Butler University to play soccer for a coach that preached community and teamwork. I red-shirted my freshman year because of a groin injury but earned my starting position at center mid by the time preseason started the next year.”

Unfortunately for Spiegel, his world was about to change. At the beginning of his sophomore year, “Three practices [into the season]; a ball knocked long in a scrimmage, caught me by surprise and hit me in the back of the head. MY WORLD CHANGED. I suffered brain trauma that included bruising and swelling in the frontal lobe. I have had a headache every second of every day since and I continue to battle symptoms of post-traumatic stress that include memory loss, insomnia and concentration problems. I was forced to drop out of school and was in many ways lost.”

For the next couple of years following the accident, Spiegel lived with his parents in Kansas City. After two years of watching life pass him by, Spiegel decided to “jump back in.” He began doing distance running, as well as volunteer coaching. “It made my head hurt worse, but my Soul feel better,” he said. “It gave me a purpose.”

He also became involved in ministry with Young Life, an organization which ministers to high school students, and one in which Spiegel had been a participant when he, himself, was in high school. Through a variety of circumstances, Spiegel became a wilderness guide, first in Colorado and then in Japan. He eventually ended up back in Colorado, where he spent the next few months praying for wisdom regarding what to do next.

At the time, he had a friend living in Carmel who was also involved in Young Life. Therefore, Spiegel rented car a car, and with only a futon and his clothes, he arrived back in Indiana. He got in touch with his former coach at Butler, who helped him get back into coaching. “I’ve been coaching full-time for 6 years, but I really started when I was in high school. I would run summer camps for younger kids. In addition, my dad has been a Track and Football coach for 35 years; he always told me that I’d be a coach one day. So it was kind of inevitable.”

Spiegel came to his current coaching position three and a half years ago when Matt Wilhoit took over as Director of Coaching at South Central Soccer Academy (SCSA), formerly known as Center Grove Soccer Club. Spiegel is the Director of the Academy, the Club’s introductory travel program for U8-U10 players.

In addition to coaching, Spiegel also went back to school. After returning to Indiana, he approached Butler University about re-enrolling and possibly reinstating his scholarships. The university initially declined scholarship approval but “My mom wrote a letter that only a mom could write and they changed their minds…they gave me my scholarships back,” Spiegel said.

He has continued his pursuit of a degree in secondary education. Spiegel graduated in December with High Honors; “Every word I read [for school] made my head hurt worse, but I realized the purpose behind it. I was taught to finish what you start,” he said.

With so much devotion to teaching, it’s difficult to imagine that Spiegel would want to be with kids after his workday is over as well. “If you’d asked me 2 ½ years ago, when I went back to school, I would have said that I would not continue coaching. I was going to work when all my friends were getting off work; I was on a different schedule. But now I realize that I’m really passionate about it, and can’t imagine giving it up,” he said.

Spiegel and his Academy coaches are all passionate about their work with the players. “We want every child in the Academy to feel celebrated…and in that celebration that there’s room for failure, so a kid isn’t afraid to fail; we also try to get the most out of each child and find out each child’s potential.”

He continued, “We are super-relational [at the Academy]; we build the relationship first, and then we talk about soccer. [And then] we play a high level of stylish soccer; it’s not just about showing up and having fun. We emphasize development…it’s not just about winning.”

This doesn’t mean that winning isn’t important. “I’m super-competitive,” confessed Spiegel. However, he won’t sacrifice player development just for a win. “If it’s little Jimmy’s turn to play goalie, and I know that every time he’s goalie, he gets scored on three times and he’s always out of position, I’m still going to play him in goalie, so that he can develop as a player.”

“Choosing consistency is the key when you work with kids every day,” he said. “And the kids choosing to show up and choosing to be all-in for 75 minutes at a game or practice. That relates back to my life. Every day I wake up and have a reasonable excuse to have a terrible day and to make it all about me. But my motto is ‘Choose joy’. I’m not happy about the pain, but I choose joy.”

About Kristen Parker
A life-time resident of the Center Grove area, Kris graduated from IU Bloomington with a degree in Journalism. She is the blessed mother of two active, home-schooled boys, and is passionate about her faith, her family and making her budget stretch.