Since transferring to Plattsburgh State, it has not taken Max Delavalle long to make an impact.
Before the preseason, not many players on the team were familiar with this new face. Most of them had the same question on their mind: What is this guy going to do to help us win? Junior forward and childhood friend Alexis Archilla had some insight to the rookie’s attributes.
“I grew up playing with the kid,” Archilla said. “We played in a lot of tournaments together.”
The tournaments Archilla recalls molded Delavalle into the player that he is today. As a child, Delavalle was infatuated by not only soccer, but baseball as well.
As the years went on, Delavalle started to lose interest in the game of soccer. Just when he was about to hang up his cleats, his coach made him an offer that would change his life. Delavalle was asked to play for a local travel team known as the Washingtonville Blue Knights.
This experience really urged me to stick with soccer,” Delavalle said.
By the age of 7, Delavalle gave up on his dreams of becoming the next Sammy Sosa and instead focused his aspirations to someone more along the lines of Lionel Messi. Delavalle began to perfect his craft and over the years, he has taken his skillset to another level. This is something that Archilla had the pleasure of observing this summer.
“I had the opportunity to train with him during the offseason, since we live so close together,” Archilla said. “I know we played against each other a lot, but I was able to see some dramatic changes take place in his game over the course of our training.”
To view more videos, visit our Multimedia page.Delavalle’s game was not the only aspect of his life that underwent dramatic change recently. This time last year, the 20-year-old Rock Tavern native was competing with the Monroe Community College team. Fast forward a year, and he is now suiting up in Cardinal red. All this change can take a toll on someone, but Max seemed to remain calm throughout the whole process. This is not much of a surprise to his fellow peers.“He’s got this really calm demeanor about him,” close friend James Kennedy said. “I can see the calmness translate to his play on the field. He doesn’t really change much when I see him in games.”
This tranquil mindset has proven to serve as an aid to Delavalle’s skills. His teammates as well as his coaches are impressed with what he has brought to the team. Delavalle is the type of player that can fill any position on the team. His versatility has proven to be the most useful of his skills.
This characteristic caused head coach, Chris Waterbury, to reminisce.
“He really reminds me of junior Ryan Miller in the way he plays,” Waterbury said. “He can play a lot of different places, and that opens up a lot of options for us as a team, just like Miller does.”
Waterbury is not only a fan of Delavalle’s style of play but also of his demeanor as a person. The head coach enjoys to “bust” on Delavalle, knowing that he will be able to take the joke and give it right back to him.
Delavalle has had a unique journey on his way to PSUC, but all that matters is he’s here now, and he’s ready to play.
Email Kevin Morley at kevin.morley@cardinalpointsonline.com
