Mother Theresa once said, “The family that prays together, stays together.”
The Pothitakis family has put their own little spin on that famous quote: “The family that plays together, stays together.”
Not many families in Iowa play the game better than Claire, Jacob and Mitchell Pothitakis. The trio are students at Holy Trinity Catholic High School, but play soccer for crosstown rival Fort Madison High School under a sharing agreement.
The Pothitakis family is putting up goals faster than a pinball machine, and the Bloodhounds’ boys and girls soccer teams and piling up the wins.
Mitchell and Jacob Pothitakis, who are cousins, have combined for 54 goals, 49 assists and 157 points, helping Fort Madison to a 13-1 record, a Southeast Conference championship with a perfect 10-0 mark and a No. 9 ranking in Class 2A.
Mitchell leads Class 2A in goals with 29, assists with 31 and points with 89.
Jacob is tied for sixth in 2A with 25 goals, fourth in assists with 18 and second in points with 68.
Claire Pothitakis, Jacob’s sister, has 24 goals and 52 points and has helped the Fort Madison girls team to a 6-5 record.
The Pothitakis family playing at a higher level
The Pothitakis family family is getting their kicks, and having the time of their lives in the process.
“It’s been so nice,” said Claire Pothitakis, a senior forward who also excels at volleyball for Holy Trinity. “Having a family that grows up in soccer, you are just surrounded by it, so you just work hard. Each day we’re outside practicing, even playing different games, you just work with them.”
“It makes the game so much easier. I’ve played with (Mitchell) my whole life. Playing with him makes it so much easier. He’s always there to make the right pass,” said Jacob Pothitakis, a sophomore midfielder. “I’ve always played with Claire and my siblings. It’s always been fun trying to compete with them. I try to do my best to play like they do.”
“We all hang out and talk,” said Mitchell Pothitakis, a junior midfielder. “Jake has always been my best friend. I like playing soccer with him and just hanging out with him. I’m close with Claire, too. It’s nice. We all get along well.”
The Pothitakis family plays at a high level. Their skill sets put them among the state’s top players.
“They both play center-midfield,” said Fort Madison boys head coach Kevin Wellman, whose son, Xander, is also among the state’s scoring leaders. “Their technical ball skills and ability to control play and make accurate passes make our team go. Mitchell’s technical ability on the ball are exceptional. Jacob is about as good as Mitchell with his technical ability. When they get the ball, they make the game go forward for us.”
“She is so incredibly skilled. She does so much for the team,” said first-year Fort Madison girls coach Carrie Burken. “I think her skills really help us to calm down in certain situations because she can possess the ball really well. But also we know that she is our go-to girl when we need to score a goal and everyone knows that, too. Every team knows that. But to have someone you can count on who has good finishing, such good skills, who can make a difference in any moment of any game … it’s huge to have that.”
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Adjusting to Fort Madison High’s soccer teams
All three of the Pothitakises have had to adjust to playing with a new team, a new coach and new teammates. And that coming after last season was wiped out because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We just didn’t have enough kids to have our own team at Holy Trinity. We have a stretch of about 20 kids in each class, so it’s kind of hard to have your own soccer team with just 11 kids,” Mitchell Pothitakis said. “I’m just glad we got the opportunity to go over there instead of having our own team, even though it would be fun to play for your own school. I like the coach at Fort Madison. I like both coaches and I like all the kids.”
“I think we found out in January we were going to share a program. We started doing stuff like indoor league with the kids from FM way back last summer and we’ve just been playing together for a while now,” Jacob Pothitakis said. “I’ve always had some friends over there. It’s nice playing with them. A lot of friends have been made over there.”
“I think at first it was different, but the teammates were so nice and so welcoming. That made it so much easier to play with everyone,” Claire Pothitakis said. “I think the first practice we were a bit nervous, not knowing what they would think of us. But they were super welcoming. Just starting to play together we were going to see how it would go. They’ve been super nice.”
It didn’t take long for the Pothitakis family, and several other Holy Trinity players, to find their places on their new teams.
Claire Pothitakis and Taylor Crabtree form a formidable duo for the girls team, and Fort Madison’s Brandy Walker is a scoring threat at any time.
“Claire and Taylor, I already knew them from last summer when they played with us for a game,” Burken said. “I think that helped, but I had no idea how it was going to be and they had no idea how it was going to be. It’s starting to work really well.”
“It’s Brandy and I as forwards,” Claire Pothitakis said. “Our coach tries to switch the lineup up just to see where people are good at different positions, so sometimes I’ll be up, sometimes I’ll be back. It’s nice to play different positions.”
The boys team is loaded with talent from top to bottom, side to side and front to back. Their ability to possess the ball and wear teams down is a thing of beauty to behold.
“It’s crazy. I wasn’t expecting this at the beginning of the year. Everybody being able to pass. Back in junior high we used to not be able to pass. But everybody is able to make a pass and beat our defender,” Jacob Pothitakis said. “The most goals we’ve let up this year is three. Chandler (Rung) and Will Larson and Will (Gager)and Anthony Barnes, they’ve always been so good at defense. They’re always there to head the ball out. And our goalies (Reiburn Turnbull and Tate Settles) have been working hard all year, too.”
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“I didn’t really know how good we would be going into it. I knew we had good players, but I just didn’t know how well we would play together. I think we’ve done pretty well,” Mitchell Pothitakis said. “It’s nice. I’m not used to having that many options to go to. Like at Holy Trinity, my freshman year we only had 13 kids on the team. At Fort Madison we have like 30, so it’s a lot different. I like it.”
“This is a seamless team right now,” Wellman said. “They are surrounded by a fantastic group of guys. And they are both great kids, very respectful.”
The Pothitakis family has come a long way in the sport through determination and hard work. They have some loft goals to chase. And you can bet that where there is a Pothitakis, there is a soccer ball nearby.
“I’ve been playing ever since I was five,” Mitchell Pothitakis said. “When I first started playing I hated it. I would just sit in the middle of the field. I kept playing and I started really liking it.”
“It’s been a long time since our soccer team, or even Fort Madison’s soccer team, has made it to state,” Jacob Pothitakis said. “It would be a nice experience. Hopefully we can keep it going.”
“We will go to (MItchell’s) house or our house and just pass the soccer ball around,” Claire Pothitakis said. “Usually there’s always a soccer ball at our feet.”
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