Monday, Oct. 13, 2008

Work ethic defines Collinsvillle goalie

COLLINSVILLE -- Being a tad undersized might be one of the best things going for Robert Randant.

"I'm not as physically blessed as I wish I was," said Randant, a senior goalkeeper at Collinsville High. "I'm a hair under 6 foot. I wish I was 6-2, 6-3. It's almost motivation to work harder. You have to work at your skills."

The soft-spoken Randant clearly has done that. Beyond the height issue, Kahoks coach Chris Digirolamo said Randant has few weaknesses, as indicated by his seven shutouts and 0.76 goals-against average.

"His leadership in the box is second to none," Digirolamo said. "He commands his back line extremely well. His air game is huge. He commands the box with a presence. Teams can get penetration on us or throw balls in the box and you know Robert's going to be there. If he can't make the save, he'll get the ball out of danger.

"He has a knack to be in the right place at the right time to make a big save. Athleticism is huge for him. He's put a lot of time and effort into it. He's been dedicated to it for years. It's his love, it's his passion, so he's really excelled."

Randant pays attention to his statistics, particularly his shutout total.

"That's actually sort of tough to ignore, the shutout thing," he said. "You always try to go out there and not give up a goal."

But there's more to being a goalie than stats.

"It's just basically an inner feeling you have on how well you're doing," Randant said. "You just say, 'I feel like I can play a good game today.' If you look at your goals-against average and it's low, that's a bigger confidence-booster. It's all about feeling good and confident."

Friendly rivals

Randant and Belleville West junior Kent Kobernus are considered by many to be the best goalies in the area. The two are friends, having played together in Metro United, now St. Louis Scott Gallagher.

Randant hesitates to compare himself with Kobernus.

"Experience-wise, we've gone through the same things," Randant said. "We both learned a lot from our coach, Dale Schilly (of Scott Gallagher), in the off-season.

"We're not different kinds of goalies. We just go in there and try to do our job --keep the ball out of the goal. That brings us together as having a lot of similarities."

Digirolamo would take his chances with either goalie in a key game, but has grown accustomed to watching Randant.

"They're the perfect complement for each other," Digirolamo said. "Some of the deficiencies Robert has are strengths of Kent's. A big one is size. Kent has a 6-1, 6-2 frame and Robert's 5-10, 5-11. I know when scouts come out to look at the two, they're going to look at the bigger keeper first. That's probably Robert's biggest downfall. He doesn't have the physical size Kent has, but he makes up for it in more ways than one."

Digirolamo considers Randant the Kahoks' best keeper in more than a decade.

"We had Mike Bolandis in 1991, we had Brett Boerm in 1992 and we had Clay Hunter in 1993," the coach said. "I don't know if we've had any goalkeeping of that quality since then. For Collinsville, it's been a good 12 years since we've been able to petition for a goalie and say he's the top in the area. But I honestly feel in my heart he is."

Randant also credits Tim Henson for his development. Henson, the former goalie at Granite City High, is a Collinsville assistant who also works with the Scott Gallagher netminders.

"I'm lucky enough to have Tim Henson as a keeper trainer," Randant said. "He gets to see the best and worst with me."

A serious setback

Randant was injured early last season, suffering a fractured left arm at the elbow after being undercut in a road game at Springfield High. He missed most of the season, but returned late in the year and was able to help the Kahoks reach the quarterfinals of the Class AA state tournament.

Bobby Niedzwiecki, a sophomore last season, replaced Randant and played effectively, and Digriolamo expressed concern that Randant wouldn't be sharp after the layoff.

"Coming back from an arm injury --especially when you're going up for an airball, you're undercut and break your arm --you're questioning whether he's going to have the same tenacity," Digirolamo said. "Is he going to have the same aggressiveness? Can he win the ball? Can he command the space? Can he have the same kind of presence on the field?

"It was questionable his first couple of games back. Then he realized, 'I can do this. I'm not going to get hurt.' That's probably why we made the state tournament last year: He got in a groove and it's continued since then."

Randant said missing the bulk of season has made him more appreciative of being strong and active this year.

"You definitely don't take things for granted as much," he said. "You cherish every game, every training session, and you're thankful that you're healthy enough to be out there playing with your friends, with the guys.

"Bobby Niedzwiecki held on quite well last year. But it was tough to see the team out there playing well when I couldn't be out there. I was just sitting on the sidelines."

Back to state?

Like last season, Collinsville is getting hot at the right time. The Kahoks (11-4-2) have won five in a row heading into the last week of the regular season and are taking aim at another state-tournament berth.

"We've got a lot tougher matchups in regionals and sectionals," Randant said. "But I definitely think we've got the right mix of younger guys and older guys who have been there. We know what it takes to get there. That's important. We've got coaches who have been there. They know what it takes to get us there."

State-tournament berth or not, Randant has four more years of soccer ahead of him. He will officially sign with Division I Evansville in February.

"I've verbally committed," Randant said. "I'm real excited to go there. I really like the coach, Mike Jacobs. It's a good, up-and-coming program."

Digirolamo expects Randant to excel at Evansville --on the field and off.

"I don't think it matter what Robert does in life. He's going to be successful at it," Digirolamo said. "Soccer has been an outreach for him where he can show his skills and take him to the next level at Division I. Then he can pursue the things in life he wants to do."

Contact reporter David Wilhelm at dwilhelm@bnd.com.