Former teammates of Mike Mikulin return for annual soccer camp

Katie Carter remembers her first year of coaching soccer at Geneva Junior High School out of college.

>“It was a great group,” she said of the seventh and eighth graders. “They were a strong group of kids.”

>During a game that season, Aaron Comer, a defensive specialist, asked Carter if he could shoot the ball.

>“He was at midfield,” Carter said. “He booted the ball. The keeper came out and it went into the net. I was so happy and excited for him.”

>Comer, Pietro DeMichele, Chris Sholtis, Andrew Austin and Matt Mikulin were former Geneva High School teammates of Mike Mikulin, who died at the age of 20 in an automobile accident on Thanksgiving Day in 2006.

>They showed up to this year’s Mike Mikulin Soccer Camp, an event which brings younger soccer players together for fun, learn and give back to the community.

>“Mike was one of my best friends,” Sholtis said. “I felt it in my heart to volunteer and be part of the camp. I wanted to show my support and love for the Mikulin family.”

>Carter has been running the camp for 13 years.

>The camp didn’t take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

>Comer came up from Daytona Beach, Florida with his wife, Alexis and youngest son, Micah, 5; DeMichele coaches girls basketball at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, where Mikulin played his first two years of high school, and Sholtis lives in Canton and works for Sherwin Williams as a sales representative, but spent the week at the camp.

>“This is the 20th year, Mike would have been 40,” Comer said. “I still have a pair of Mike’s soccer shoes. The Mikulin Family means so much.”

>Carter said this year’s camp, which ran Monday through Thursday, had about 75 participants.

>First-year Eagles girls coach Wesley Burns said 15 players assisted Monday through Wednesday.

>“Several of the girls attended the Mikulin camp when they were little, and now it’s fun for them to have their turn to help some of their former coaches, and work with them to teach the next generation of players,” Burns said.

>Geneva sophomore Elli Burns said the camp is a great way for the community to unite.

>“It brings high schoolers and past graduates back to help teach the next generations how to play,” she said.

>Alex Lee, an upcoming Geneva senior soccer player, assisted with the event.

>“It means the world to me to be able to help out at the Mikulin camp,” he said. “Since growing up, I was able to play at the camp every summer.

>“It’s great to be able to see everyone come together and share the love for the sport I grew up playing, and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity.”

>Carter said the arrival of Comer, DeMichele and Sholtis and their families was planned ahead.

>“Mike’s mom [Patti Mikulin] let me know last week,” Carter said. “It was nice to see those kids that I hadn’t seen in a while.”

>Comer said Mike Mikulin was one of a kind.

>“I think about him every day,” Comer said. “It affected me a lot when he passed. I remember how funny he was, and how great of a soccer play he was. He never acted liked a superstar. He brought us together.”

>Comer said the 2003 Geneva team didn’t allow a goal in the Northeastern Conference.

>Mike Mikulin would have turned 40 Thursday. The last day of the camp was moved inside to the Geneva Recreation Center due to poor air quality.

>“With any kind of event, you remember when it happened,” Carter said. “I’ve done this camp for 13 years. You get both feels.”

>DeMichele said Mikulin was a good friend and teammate.

>“Mike had a glowing personality,” DeMichele said. “He loved the game of soccer. He had a fun, unique personality that brought people together.”

>Sholtis said Mikulin was a leader

>“He was such an amazing soccer player,” Sholtis said. “He was such a great player, but so humble. We were in the same graduating class, but I looked up to him. It’s an honor to call him my friend.”

>Camp instructors were: Lily Benetka, Elli Burns, Benjamin Burr, Ashley Dewey (a Geneva graduate), Jack Kerns, Peyton Kerns, Gabriella Kohl, Alex Lee, Lauen Limpert, Mya Palinkas, Zoey Presutti, Alexis Ross, Aubrie Ross, Jenna Ross, Riley Virant and Ryley Woodworth, another Geneva alumnus.

>Behind the scenes assistance came from Abby Carter, Riley Carter, Ron Carter, Jen Limpert, Gabriel Reyes, Marcela Rodriguez and Scott Carley. Rebecca Kerns and Jose Marquez are Geneva soccer board members.

>In addition, Paul and Patti Mikulin, Mike’s parents, were at the camp.

>In May, the camp presented $1,500 scholarships to recent Geneva graduates Julia Fallon and Bradley Walls.

>Fallon is planning on attending Thiel College for school and to play soccer.

>Katie Carter said the whole idea for the camp is to enjoy the game Mikulin, a 2004 Geneva graduate who played at Division II soccer power Barry University in Miami, loved.

>“It’s about giving back to the community, and keeping Mike’s name out there,” she said.