"Ty’s Night"

It was Senior Night and an 8-0 mercy rule win over Dunbar, but the night was really about one special senior, Ty Collins, who set the school’s single season scoring record.

“It was Ty’s night,” said coach Robbie Schank. “Ty scored three tonight, a Hat Trick. The first goal tied the record, and the last two are history."

Schank came up with a creative way to motivate Collins to break the school record for goals in a season.

“Coach Shank pranked me the whole year and said it was his record,” Collins said with a smile. "So, I wanted to break it even more just because it was Coach Schank. And when I broke it, he told me it was a different guy."

“Early in the beginning of the season, I asked Ty if he thought he could break my record,” Schank said. “He asked me what it was, and I told him it was 30. I knew if I told him whose record it really was, he wouldn't know who it was and it wouldn't make any difference to him. Now Ty’s the best and he's got more to come.”

For the record, Kener Herrera was the previous single season record holder with 29 goals in 2020-2021. David Gomez, who scored 28 goals in 2018-2019, is the career leader with 78 goals.

Beyond the records, Schank is most proud of his relationship with Collins, who transferred into the Lely program from Naples High.

“We've built such a tight bond together since summer,” Schank said. "I've been mentoring him and working with him. This is the second-best accomplishment of Ty's. I got to watch him being baptized a couple of months ago, and now I get to see him break the school record here. I mean, the school is 51 years old, so this is a pretty great accomplishment. I think he's growing into his own. I think he's one of the best players in football. He knows the game of football. He knows the game of soccer. I think he just needed a little mentoring on the game of life. He's figuring it out, and I couldn't be more proud of him."

While Collins is proud of the record, he has his eye on a bigger prize.

“The state championship,” Collins said without hesitation. "That's what we're chasing.”

He thinks Lely, 12-3-4, has the team to do it.

"Yes, sir,” he said confidently. “We've gotta get our goalie back. Connor Alexich, he's coming back for the first playoff game. I think we'll be set. We’ve got our formation right and we're good. Good coach. A good team all around.”

Heading into the district playoffs, Naples (11-5) and Lely are the top two teams in the entire region.

"Naples is the number one team in the region,” Schank said. "We're number two in the region.”

Ironically, Lely defeated Naples in the only game between the two.

“We beat them 3-0 at their house,” Schank said. “The strength of schedule is how FHSAA dictates it. They played some big schools. They lost those, but they played against them, so that gave them the edge. They're a good team. There's nothing to take away from Naples. But I can't even talk about Naples right now because I've gotta focus on Bonita Springs. Bonita has a good team.”

Lely hosts Bonita Springs on Thursday, January 22. The winner plays the winner of the Naples-Barron Collier. Barron Collier is the defending state champion.

The state championship is the one goal that has eluded Schank in his 32 years as head coach. He feels he has the team to do it this year.

“We have all the pieces,” he said. "Anything can happen in the game of soccer. So, it's a lot of mental game more than physical. Every team out there has talent. It's just who's more mentally prepared for the games. So that's my job. I love this team just like all the rest. There is so much potential and so much possibility here that it makes me smile. This is a rebuild year. Nobody was expecting us, with only three seniors on the field, to be where we are today. The sky’s the limit for us."