An Archer's Volley

So many meanings behind that title as you’ll find out in this Collision Magazine exclusive interview with Michael Archer. First of all, the wordplay? Ingenious. An archer (the dawgs with the bows and arrows) volley fire. A “volley” like hitting a soccer ball before it hits the ground (sports yo). Or sending wicked burns right back at the sender. It’s a return… and in this case, it’s the return of perhaps the greatest US player of all time: Michael “Archer”. See what I did? I hate to admit, but my wit is at an all time high. Enjoy. 

-RJ

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It's true. Legends never die, because he's back! Yes, we're talking about the McRib at McDonald's. Oh hey Michael!

Hahahaha yeah. You're right. Legends never die. Although you know, it just takes 11 months for the McRib to pass through your body for it to come back. 

But seriously, I'm excited that you're willing to officially announce your return to power soccer. You know, when most people retire, they take up golfing. But seeing how you have a severe handicap (pun intended) and can't muster up much more than a two-foot putt using your club(foot), what have you been up to? 

I’ve actually taken up putt-putt! Putt-putting is for retired disabled people… 

Yeah dude it's been good to take some time away to spend with the kids, get the kids going in sports, focus on family and focus on my career for the last year, but hey, I'm ready to get back at it.

Prior to your retirement, you'd been losing for quite a while. So, it's good that you and your new team already have something in common. What are you most excited about joining RHI Sudden Impact?

MAAAN! You thought really hard about these questions. I love it. That was really the issue was that, been losing for a while and I definitely wanted to take a break. And I think the most exciting thing for me this year is going to be just playing so relaxed. No pressure. I'm okay with being the cheerleader on the sideline. I don't care. As long as I'm there and around people wearing a jersey, I'm happy. So, if I can help, then great. But, I would like to help in any way. So, I think that's the most exciting thing. And then, of course, when we win, that's going to feel good to be back on top. You know, I’d been on top for a while. Prior to the losing for a while. 

The highest mountains also have the lowest valleys. That's quite presumptive of you that you think you're going to be back on top. Is that really what your goal is here?

I mean, I don't know if it's a goal. It's a fact. I mean, it's going to happen. We've got a lot of good talent on the team and… I'll be on the sideline probably.

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So for those that don't know the history of Power Soccer, at least early days of USPSA, the Circle City Rollers and RHI Sudden Impact probably had the biggest rivalry. I guess Sudden Impact kind of won in the end now that Circle City's gone. Classic case of “if you can't beat em, join em”.  Do you have any memories of how heated that rivalry got?

I'd like to say that the person that's asking these questions did the exact same thing. Actually to two different teams. Let's not… Yeah.

Yeah I'm gonna edit that out. Moving on-

No, that's going in, dude. That is going in. Yeah though, it was one of the biggest instate rivalries there is right in power soccer I think. And so we're in Indiana obviously and it's like Purdue and IU, right? They absolutely hate each other and when you're watching the games I mean it's just so intense, and that's how I felt with Circle City and Sudden Impact. I thought that it would always be back and forth throughout the season. We’d win a couple matches and then they'd win a couple matches. So it was such a toss up and then when all three Dickey’s joined, it was phenomenal because we beat them…. the first time. It was a perfect storm really in a good way, you had all three Dickey’s on the team together. You had some other good role players back in the day that were on that team and to beat your rival like that when the chemistry of that team was so good, felt really good. There were some intense moments and I remember talking trash to one of the Dickey’s and I'll let you guess who that could be. But yeah, I remember me and him going at it on the floor and just jawing back and forth and the referee was actually having to get involved and kind of separate us a little bit. And as I turned to go back to my half, I thought, “s***, that's f****** awesome.” I loved talking s*** to that kid so much. 

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Side note: this is how I envisioned this next question to go:

Your wife-

But that didn’t happen unfortunately. Would’ve made for some juicy Collision exclusive drama. A collision of Michael’s hand and my face! Anyways, back to the show.

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Your wife Alyssa has been super supportive of your soccer career. What did she say about your retirement, and what does she say now about your return?

So, she's always been supportive of me and… that's exactly what you need, is a supporting cast behind you and she's been there through a lot of it and when I wanted to retire she was supportive of it too. She understood the decision and we thought about selling the chair and then, I really wanted to get rid of it because I was just done. And then she kind of was talking to me about just why don't you save it, and hold on to it for a little bit and just see what you want to do. And then when I decided that I wanted to come back, she was all about it. So she said, "I told you so. Don't get rid of that."  I mean obviously I could sell that chair for quite a bit of money and then we could have used it for something else and… she was very selfless and just told me to keep it.

That’s really cool to hear… she knew how much it meant to you- or how much it would mean to you. You have a family, you have two kids. What do your kids think about you coming back?

So, my son, he's been playing soccer for probably four years now and he's developing, getting better, and he's all about soccer. And he's out in the backyard playing all the time and the kid wants to get better. and he is getting better. But one of the biggest things that gives me the assurance to come back is that for this Halloween he dressed up as me… and he went to school and he put my team USA jersey on, one of my medals on and went to school, took a little scrapbook of what we had and he went to school as me and he said it was the best Halloween costume ever. That melts my heart, and for him to talk about all these great players Messi, Ronaldo and Mbappé, he idolizes those people but when he sees me play, he really enjoys it. So he's excited. I can't say the same about my daughter, but my son is super excited and just can't wait for me to get back on the pitch.

Your kids are great. Must have been from my influence on them when I was living down there. So although I’m a hermit on social media, I guess in a way I am an influencer!

That is true. They do take naps just like you. And they go to bed early. Yup.

Do you remember, and, so this is a 100% true story for the folks at home, do you remember when that kid at Nationals said that you were washed up like Tom Brady? You remember that?

Of course, I remember that. I'll never forget that. And that reminds me of a time when, we were at a tournament and there's this one kid that told me that he could beat me one on one. And I was like I'm not gonna mess with it. And he goes on and on and he just kept saying it and kept egging me on. And finally, I said, "You know what? f*** it. Alright.” So, we go down on the court and I beat him. It was nothing. It's like his chair was off the entire time.

So, those comparisons to Tom Brady… did that cause you to retire only to unretire just like TB12 thinking that that was the secret?

Yeah yeah…. TB12, you can't compare me to that guy when I'm an Indianapolis Colts fan. When the commercials come on that he's on… MUTE. I don't watch any sports broadcasting that he's on. No chance.

I was gonna continue the TB12 comparison with a player-coach comparison. Guess I’ll refrain from that to avoid any embarrassing comparisons back at me. You retired along with your dad Mike Hayes. It's a dynamic that you see often in power soccer where a kid and their dad is their coach. What was that dynamic like and how did you benefit from that connection?

When we got on the court,  it became a coach-player mentality. It never was a father-son mentality. He pushed me hard and pushed me to the limits to where, there were times where I just wanted to give up and not play anymore because it really took the fun out of the game. But, I realized how much he was pushing me to be who I am today and who I was back then. Then the same, with him, I pushed him a lot too to be better and to help him. So that dynamic was incredible. And I am forever grateful for that.

One of my favorite pictures is, and I was there for when it happened, there was a championship and it probably was on Father's Day, being that that's how USPSA does their thing. At the end as the final whistle blew, Mike ran at you and jumped at you and gave you a big hug. That picture I think really encapsulates what that dynamic could be. What memories stick out to you?

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Yeah, I mean we had a lot of those moments and that's huge. That picture… They say is worth a thousand words, right? And that moment you mentioned was more than I said earlier that when we cross the line it was a coach and a player relationship but when we would win a championship and win big games it became more than that for me and him and that chemistry just grew because I never wanted to disappoint him on or off the pitch. When we saw those good moments and that moment where he ran and jumped basically into my lap, gave me a hug. Yes, it was Father's Day, but it was so much more than that. I can't really put that into words for sure. Yeah, that's definitely one of them. I think, another big one was when we won the first World Cup, even though he wasn't the coach, I just remember him in the stands and how proud he was as a father.

And there's a picture out there that shows the fans when we won and that was at the buzzer he had his hands up in the air and just his head back and it was such a proud moment for me and him, and that's one that sticks out. I mean we've had a lot of memories together but those two are definitely some of my top favorites.

So looking forward. New team, new coach. Are you keeping your number 32, or are we going to see a new number?

No, it's going to be changed…

You heard it here first folks. We're going to see a new number. Is this a Collision exclusive inside scoop?

I'll spill the beans. Yeah, it's #1. Why else would it be #1?

The way you came clawing and crying back to power soccer should be telling enough to those considering: heed warning. What do you say to those who want to give up on soccer like you did? 

First of all, soccer gave up on me, so I didn't come crawling back. Soccer came back for me. You could see it was struggling and it was calling my name to come back. Which is why I'm #1 now. 

Last question, because it’s getting close to my bedtime. Where do you see Power Soccer growing?

I think Power Soccer has a lot of growth and a lot of opportunity because a lot more can be shared nowadays. So, I think, having the right people in the right spots to what you're doing here in making our stories come alive, and I think I see a lot of potential there. We really need to do a better job at growing the pool of players. So I hope that there's not a stall here because that would be really bad for the sport and would stunt the growth. I hope in the next, say, 10 years, there are people that are like me and you and Jordan and a bunch of other guys and girls that are, kind of on the older side that are close to retirement. I retired, but who's to say that, there's not five or six that are top athletes right now that aren't close to retirement, pretty close to me, maybe even a little older than that. I’d see the sport growing in more player developments if those retiring players stay involved from a teaching standpoint.

Thanks for taking the time to be the first interview. It means a lot and it means more than just you being potentially the best player to ever play the game, but it also means a lot being a friend.

Absolutely, man. Yeah, it was great. I'm honored that you asked me to do this and to be the first one. Hopefully, it's great and then you get more interviews and probably way better people that are going to interview than me. Hopefully you get better. Hopefully you get your s*** together and actually have some structure around a f****** interview.

What a great note to end on. 

-RJ

P.S. Don’t forget to share this with your grandma in the mobility scooter.

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