WHITEHALL – In both sports and life in general, it’s not always about how you start, but how you finish.

A very good example of that is the 2021 Whitehall boys soccer team’s season.

After starting the year 1-7-1 and losing 9-1 to Shelby on Sept.  8, veteran Whitehall head coach Bryan Mahan somehow had the feeling that his team was finding its footing.

As it turned out, the old coach with so many championships was correct.

Over the final seven games of the regular season, the Vikings posted an impressive 6-1 record and finished the regular season 7-8-1. They were also 5-1 in league play,  good for second place in the West Michigan Conference behind Shelby.

Now the Vikings can seriously consider themselves candidates for another district championship in the state tournament, which begins this week. Whitehall will host Fremont in a first-round game on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

“We had injuries at the beginning,” said Mahan, 52, about the early season struggles. “We had to make it up with some other players who weren’t quite sure what to do. We kind of have it behind us now and have figured it out. They’ve really started to fight for each other, and it’s been a nice turnaround with great improvement.”

Mahan says the ugly 9-1 loss to Shelby turned out to be a great motivator for his team.

“That was one of the worst games we played in years,” he said. “We hit rock bottom, but everything changed after that. The attitude in practice changed, and the guys didn’t want to be that team. To be where we’re at now is a big step. We’re playing well and they’re all excited.”

During the impressive turnaround, Mahan achieved his 350th win as the Whitehall coach with a 2-1 road victory over a very good North Muskegon squad on Sept. 30.

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Mahan said about reaching the milestone victory. “My team didn’t know, and I don’t think anyone knew. Then after the game, I thought I’d tell a couple people. I went out and had a drink afterward, and I was more wired about the win over North Muskegon than I was about 350. It was a big, intense game and we squeaked it out. For this team to beat North Muskegon was a big deal.”

While the 350 win mark is impressive, Mahan actually has many more victories, if you count the ones in other sports he has coached over the years at Whitehall.

Mahan has coached the soccer team since it launched in 1994 as a co-ed squad. He also coached the varsity volleyball team from 1994-1996, girls soccer from 1997-2006, and assisted with the boys track program in 1996.

Mahan has also been assisting with the girls track team, which included his daughter Alexandria until she graduated last spring, for the past three years.

“I’m not sure how many wins I’ve totally had,” he said.  “I’m sure it’s probably well over 400.”

Mahan moved from Plainwell to the Whitehall area in 1994 after being convinced to take a teaching job at the high school and help launch the soccer program. It didn’t take long for him to plant roots.

“It was my first adult job,” Mahan said about his time in Whitehall. “I met a girl and we started a family. We loved the school and both kids went to school here, and my son played for me. My wife taught here in the system for more than a decade. We live in town and we’re all about this.”

Mahan credits his longevity as coach to the acceptance his family has given the soccer program.

“You have to have a family that buys into it,” he said about the man fall nights when he’s at the field more than home. “Coaching takes a lot of time, and you have to have family support or this doesn’t work. If you don’t have that, you don’t feel comfortable.”

While his wife may have a say in when Mahan’s coaching career will end, for now he has her support as he attempts add to his resume of a state runner-up finish in 2008, three regional titles, 10 district titles, and 10 or 11 conference titles.

“I’m starting to not be young,” Mahan said. “I’m looking at it and paying a lot more attention now to different stuff, like has the game passed me by? Do I give it to someone younger who can take it to the next level? I think I can still build a team, but my wife will have something to say about that when the time comes. But I’m not rolling for a while.”