Viking striker explodes to solid start
By Jim Hague
Before the 2011 high school soccer season began, North Arlington boys’ head coach Jesse Dembowski asked his senior forward Tyler Krychkowski to provide a little more scoring this season.
That wouldn’t be an easy task at all, considering that Krychkowski scored 25 goals last year as a junior, going from the unknown Viking player with the long last name to one of the more feared goal scorers in northern New Jersey.
“I knew he had it in him,” Dembowski said. “He just had to find his confidence. It took a little while for him to get going last year. We needed him to play well from the start.”
Krychkowski knew that he was going to be a marked man this year, that he would be the one Viking player wearing the bulls’-eye, the target of every Viking opponent.
“No one really knew me last year, so it was a little easier,” Krychkowski said. “But I like the challenge of being the one they want to stop. It makes me work harder. It’s actually more fun for me, because I know that teams will be doubling me, trying to stop me. I don’t mind it at all.”
It didn’t take long for Krychkowski to set the tone for the new season. Just 18 seconds into the first game of the season against neighboring rival Lyndhurst, Krychkowski scored his first goal of the season. And he didn’t stop there.
In that first game against Lyndhurst, Krychkowski scored an astounding five goals, leading his team to a 5-1 victory. He then added a goal in a win against Secaucus and had three goals in the Vikings’ loss to next-door rival Queen of Peace, giving him nine goals in the first three games of the year.
It’s safe to say that Krychkowski is well on his way to living up to his coach’s expectations of being a more productive player than last year.
For his efforts, Krychkowski has been selected as The Observer Athlete of the Week for the past week. The talented senior, who also plays basketball at North Arlington, was a recipient of the Athlete of the Week honors as well once last year.
Krychkowski is stunned by his early-season scoring prowess.
“I never thought I would be able to start off with that much of a bang,” he said. “Once I scored the first goal 18 seconds into the first game, it gave me such a boost. It felt really good to get five in the first game of the season. It’s definitely boosted my confidence and I hope I can score a lot more goals and we can win a lot of games. I know I’m the goal scorer on the team and I have to be the one to get the goals for us.”
Dembowski said that he has been working with an innovative Krychkowski in order to find more ways for the senior striker to score.
“Tyler has been coming up with different formations,” Dembowski said. “And they’ve been pretty successful.”
Dembowski said that Krychkowski even scored a goal after he was moved to defender in an attempt to curtain the scoring binge just a little.
“I put him at defender, but he had a great run from the back and was able to still score,” Dembowski said. “He just keeps putting them in. I think he’s getting a lot more chances to score, but he’s also able to shoot with both feet and he’s also confident with his shot. He’s not relying on the extra touch to get closer to the goal. He’s shooting it earlier and he’s been effective.”
Krychkowski said that his teammates have been working hard to get him the ball in good position to score.
“My teammates are looking for me more, so that makes me feel good about myself,” Krychkowski said. “They have faith in me and they know that I can score. I just hope I can keep it going.”
Krychkowski said that he likes the fact that people recognize him now _ even though spelling his last name might still be a chore for some.
“It helps because maybe some colleges will get to know me more as well,” Krychkowski said.
Krychkowski said that his ultimate goal would be to play on the college level, like his older brother, Tom, who is currently on the roster at New Jersey City University.
So far, no colleges have offered any packages to Krychkowski in terms of scholarships, but give it time. Getting nine goals in a week will certainly open some eyes.
“I’m hopeful to get some sort of scholarship,” Krychkowski said.
Krychkowski said he spent a lot of time in the offseason improving his physique.
“I feel like I’m bigger and stronger this year,” Krychkowski said. “I ran a lot in the offseason and that helped me get a lot faster. I have good stamina and I feel good about my footwork. When people are seeing my name right now, they know I’ve either gotten much better or I’m getting lucky.”
Dembowski knows that luck is not a part of it.
“He has been phenomenal,” Dembowski said. “He has great skill and great speed. It’s hard to stop Tyler. He’s strong and physical and knows the game. I just hope it keeps going that way and the ball keeps rolling the right way for him.”
Krychkowski is pretty confident that will happen.
“I just knew that this was my year,” Krychkowski said. “I’m a senior now and I just felt it was my year.”
Sure is turning out that way.
