I got the mic: Tommy Cusack, Ocean City boys soccer

(Tommy Cusack is a senior on the Ocean City High School boys soccer team. He’s helped lead the Red Raiders to consecutive South Jersey Group 3 championships and is a team captain this year as Ocean City goes for a 3-peat of sectional championships. Glory Days Magazine publisher Dave O’Sullivan recently caught up with Cusack to talk about the start of the season, Cusack’s love for Taco Tuesday, and what his mother is always on his case about.) Sully: How do you feel like the season is going so far compared to what you might have expected in the preseason? Cusack: It’s be a rough start compared to what we’ve done in the past. In the preseason, I thought we looked pretty good, but we still have a lot of work to do before we round into playoff form. But I think if we keep working at it, come playoffs we’ll be ready to go. Sully: I know coach Aaron Bogushefsky was trying to upgrade the schedule a little bit this year and give you guys some tougher games to help you get ready for the playoffs. Is that something the team is really looking forward to, or are you nervous about that? Cusack: We knew it was going to be tough. We were kind of nervous because we weren’t sure how we were going to do, but we all understood it was best for the team that we face these challenges now because that will make us better later in the season. Sully: What’s been the toughest part about this early season schedule? Are you seeing things you didn’t expect, or is it just a matter of trying to get some new players incorporated into the lineup? Cusack: From the start, we’ve been seeing some high quality teams that we usually don’t see until toward the end of our schedule. And we have some new guys who have to learn our system and get used to playing together. We need to build up our chemistry and get used to playing as one team. Sully: How much different do you feel as a soccer play now compared to when you first stepped on the field four years ago as a freshman? Cusack: You have so much more responsibility. You have to help run the team, help out everyone and make everyone work more as a unit. It’s a lot more responsibility. Tommy Cusack heads off the field following Ocean City’s 1-0 win over Mainland in mid-September. Cusack and the Red Raiders snapped a 3-game skid with a dominating win over Vineland on Wednesday. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Sully: Do you ever look back on that first day of practice freshman year and think, ‘man, I didn’t know what the heck I was doing’? Cusack: Oh yeah. I was not prepared at all. Especially for the conditioning. Sully: What’s it like taking on that captain’s role? Like you said, there’s a lot more responsibility as a senior. How do you view your role this year as a captain and one of the leaders of this team? Cusack: You have to make sure everyone is doing the right thing, both on and off the field, and making sure everyone is playing the way we want Ocean City soccer to be known as. The pressure is big, but I enjoy it. I like taking on that role of being in charge and helping to lead the team. Sully: How tough is it this year? You are coming off back-to-back South Jersey championships and you know all these other teams are gunning for you. Like coach said after that Mainland game, you guys are getting everybody’s best shot. Cusack: Every single game you have to bring 100 percent effort because everybody wants to beat that two-time South Jersey championship team. So you have to give everyone your best game because you know they are coming with their best game. You just have to give it your all every game. Sully: How much do you guys rely on that experience from the last couple of years of playing in big games and knowing you have the talent to win a South Jersey championship? Cusack: We use that a lot. A lot of the younger guys tend to go to the experienced guys to help them fight through different challenges because they haven’t really been through it, but the guys who have been around have dealt with it the last three or four years so we really build off the experience we have. Sully: For people who don’t know or didn’t grow up in the towns around here, what is that Mainland vs. Ocean City rivalry like? Cusack: It’s huge. There is always some sort of trash talking in some form, and then during the game it gets a little chippy. There are always huge fan sections, players trash talking. It’s fun, but it does get pretty intense. Sully: Have you ever completely flopped on the field and gotten away with it? Cusack: No, I hate that. That’s not my style of play. Sully: Coach Bogushefsky, does he ever take those sunglasses off? Cusack: I don’t think I’ve ever seen him — except for at the team banquet — without his sunglasses on. Sully: What’s the most annoying thing about high school? Cusack: Just doing all the work. Especially now, keeping up with all your deadlines for college. It gets to be a lot when you just want to have fun and play soccer, but you just have to worry about when this is due, when that’s due. But it all works out. Sully: Did you ever eat something for lunch at the school cafeteria and then in the first half of the game that day you are regretting it? Cusack: I don’t buy school lunch, but there’s a really good taco place a block away from the school where on Tuesday you can get dollar tacos. You definitely feel that during practice or a game that day. But you can’t beat dollar tacos. Sully: Are you into surfing having grown up in the Ocean City area? Cusack: Yeah, I do a lot of that. I work with the beach patrol. Sully: What do you think would be the coolest beach to go to, anywhere in the world? Cusack: Definitely somewhere in Hawaii. I went there once as a kid but I was too young to remember it. I’d definitely want to go back there. It’s pretty much paradise there, all year long. Sully: If you could play on any World Cup team other than the United States, who would you play for? Cusack: I like Spain. I would definitely play for Spain. I’ve always like them since I was a kid. Just the way they pass the ball, they have that triangle passing, and they can be pretty unstoppable once they get going. Sully: What kind of plans do you have for after high school? Cusack: I definitely want to be an engineer. Wherever the job takes me I would go, but I would love to get a job in Ocean City, have a house here, have kids here and just live in this town that I’ve grown to love a lot. Sully: What’s something your mom gets on your case about all the time? Cusack: College applications. Every day it’s ‘did you do this one? Did you do that one? Are you up to par on your deadlines?’ Sully: What do you think you’ll remember most about your high school career after you graduate? Cusack: For soccer, it would definitely be having fun and winning with my teammates. You just have great friendships playing throughout the years. Away from soccer, just hanging out and making good memories. That’s definitely something I’ll be missing. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]