<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Led by Jose Gomez, No. 14, the Mariner High School soccer players yell, "Nick!" as they prepare to take the field against Jackson High School last week. Coach Vince DeSimone's son Nick, a former Mariner soccer star, was killed in August. Photo by Cash Elston  (click to enlarge) Nick DeSimone plays in a game with his club team, the Northwest Nationals. Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Mariner High School soccer coach Vince DeSimone listens to his players during halftime of their game against Jackson last week. DeSimone says continuing to coach after his son's death helped him work through his grief.

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Mariner High to retire soccer star Nick DeSimone's jersey after the young man's murder

By Mike Cane
Herald Writer

"One, two, three, Nick!"

Those four short words mean a lot to Vince DeSimone, head coach of the Mariner High School boys soccer team. Before every game this season his players huddle and holler the chant, then sprint onto the field.

DeSimone has heard the Marauders shout the phrase a dozen times this season, but the bittersweet impact hasn't lessened. It still gets to him.

"It tears you up and makes you feel good inside," DeSimone said.

The chant was inspired by Vince's youngest child, Nick DeSimone. Nick was a talented soccer player who starred for elite club teams and at Mariner, where he earned all-conference honors before playing one season at Edmonds Community College.

The talented midfielder, who graduated from Mariner in 2006, was known for his uncommon finesse. Nick -- "Nicky" to friends and family -- pulled off all sorts of dazzling maneuvers at fields throughout the state, Vince DeSimone said.

These days, Vince DeSimone, Mariner's fourth-year coach, travels to many of the same venues where Nick once generated glorious moments. He can't help but think of what was.

"Everywhere I go, every field I go (to), we have played there," said Vince DeSimone, who coached Nick for two seasons at Mariner.

If not for an act that ended his son's life a little over eight months ago, DeSimone would have had many more chances to watch his son play.

A chance for closure, a chance to remember

Today the many people who loved Nick DeSimone will learn the fate of his killer.

Dustin Maurice Jackson is scheduled to receive a prison sentence between 21 and 28 years for the Aug. 20 murder of Nick DeSimone.

Jackson, 19, pleaded guilty to shooting and killing Nick DeSimone, who was 19, while DeSimone slept at his girlfriend's home near Stanwood, court documents said. The girl previously dated Jackson.

"It can't be any harder than what we've been through," Evie DeSimone, Nick's mother, said of the emotions she expected to feel today.

Jackson's sentencing comes three days before Nick DeSimone is set to receive a historic honor.

Before the start of Friday's Western Conference South Division soccer game between Lynnwood and Mariner at Goddard Stadium, DeSimone's alma mater will retire his No. 11 jersey. It will be the first such honor for a Mariner athlete, said Marauders head football coach John Ondriezek, who planned the ceremony.

DeSimone's uniform will be put in a display case inside the school, Ondriezek said.

The timing of this week's events was coincidental. But Friday's dedication will help people remember Nick the way he should be remembered, said Evie DeSimone, who attends every Mariner soccer game and serves as the team statistician.

"We can maybe finally get some closure. I think that's the only word to describe it," she said.

Vince DeSimone disagrees.

"There will never be closure," he said. "It will never change. The only thing that will change it is if my kid comes back, and that's not going to happen."

Too much talent

Like his older brother, Mike, and older sister, Michelle, Nick DeSimone became an outstanding athlete.

By the time Nick was 2, he was unusually good at kicking a soccer ball, Vince DeSimone recalled. As Nick and his brother, who was born a year earlier, eventually excelled in the club and high school ranks, Nick's unique talents blossomed.

Even when competing against much taller players, Nick (6 feet, 175 pounds) frequently jumped higher and used his head to knock the ball into the net, Vince DeSimone said.

"He was just unbelievable," Vince DeSimone said. "He would do things with the ball -- head the ball, pass the ball, score goals. This kid had too much talent."

In 2005 Nick helped lead the Northwest Nationals club team to an age-group state championship. He played in prestigious Olympic Development Program tournaments, was a two-time All-Wesco South first-team honoree and hoped to play one more season of community-college soccer before transferring to the University of Washington.

But there was more to Nick than sports prowess.

Raymond Fry, a former Mariner football star and classmate of DeSimone's, met Nick when they were third-graders at Discovery Elementary School in Everett. They became like brothers, Fry said.

"He's one of the sweetest people I've ever met. He was a great person. … He was more like family to me than some of my family members," Fry said.

Even opponents liked Nick. His mom said players from other schools, even district rival Kamiak, often hung out at the DeSimone home after intense soccer clashes.

Ondriezek, the Mariner football coach who mentored Nick's brother on the gridiron, said he admired Nick's outgoing personality.

"He's a person that will be missed," Ondriezek said. "He made life a lot better for a lot of people."

A dad to others

Friday's ceremony obviously will honor Nick DeSimone. It's also a chance to recognize his parents, Ondriezek said.

Vince and Evie DeSimone have actively supported youth sports in the Mukilteo School District and beyond since they moved to the area from Burien in 1988. More than 1,000 people showed up for Nick's funeral and many attended because of Vince's far-reaching impact as a coach, Evie said.

This school year Vince, who previously coached Mariner's girls soccer team, faced a difficult decision: After losing Nick, could he endure the emotional jolt of returning to coach the Mariner boys squad?

In the end, a chance to continue helping teenagers brought him back. Players asked him to stay. One even told DeSimone, "You're more of a dad to me than my own dad." DeSimone couldn't say no, and Evie, of course, returned to keep the stats.

In the traditional sense, Mariner has had a poor season. The Marauders have lost 10 of 12 games, although they've been competitive, losing five games by a single goal.

But there have been many significant victories in Vince DeSimone's eyes. Earlier this season, seven players were academically ineligible. As of last week, all seven were back.

DeSimone attributed their academic rebound to lessons they learned through soccer. They gain respect and discipline, and are motivated by a chance to be part of something positive, he said.

Sometimes they have little else to look forward to, DeSimone said: "There's a lot of kids here -- they have no direction."

Although coaching is a constant emotional struggle, DeSimone said it has helped him work through his sadness. Players do their best to lift his spirits.

"They pick up on that and try to crack jokes," he said. "They're sincere. They know."

Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.