Press "Enter" to skip to content

Won’t Bak down

Senior Frank Bak has been the centerpiece of the Bradley attack for the past four years. Photo Kayla Johnson.

If you’re looking for a playmaker, or what many people know as “No. 10,” then Frank Bak is your man.

As a senior on the Bradley soccer team, Bak is the epitome of what it means to be a Brave. He’s a leader and a player ready to attack. Throughout his career, his position has changed from being a forward, to a left wing-back, to an attacking midfielder.

“[When I was younger], I always played forward or winger,” Bak said. “I’ve moved back to the midfield more, which I think fits me better now because of how [Bradley] plays. When I was younger and lighter, I was a lot faster, obviously. Having grown up and gotten stronger, I’ve slowed down a bit. I feel attacking positions are more for me.”

Before becoming a Brave, Bak played for Sockers FC Chicago, a U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) team. As a Bradley freshman in 2015, he was named 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, made the MVC All-Freshman Team and received an honorable mention for the All-MVC first team. In 2017, he was named to the All-MVC second team.

Flash forward to today, Bak is the Braves’ active leader with 25 career points (eight goals, nine assists) in 65 games. Maybe that’s not as many goals and assists you’d expect from a veteran forward, but that’s not the only thing he’s known for these days.

Bak dons the iconic No. 10 jersey for the Braves, a number recognized with playmakers, such as Lionel Messi, Pelé, Neymar Jr. and Luka Modrić. As a team catalyst, Bak helps control the team’s offensive efforts unselfishly and is usually involved with plays that lead to goals. He may not be the one scoring or assisting them, but through his ball control, technique, creativity, passing ability and vision, he can help get the team there.

“I feel that stats don’t always show what you bring, because a goal and assist are the last two things that happen,” Bak says. “[I can remember] last year, there were a few situations with set pieces where I sent in the main service, or dribbled by a couple players, passed the ball off, and then my teammate passes to the eventual goalscorer. I think the goals and assists didn’t show the quality I have.”

Bak provided three assists in seven appearances so far in 2018. He’s been a huge asset in helping Bradley secure its second-longest undefeated streak in program history (12 straight games). The Braves also secured one of the longest unbeaten runs in the country (5-0-2) to start the fall season, until ultimately losing to the 2017 MVC champions, the University of Central Arkansas, last weekend.

“Collectively, I think [the team] has done really well, but we need a little more consistency,” Bak said. “[Individually] every year I want to build off what I did the last year. Freshman year, I had five goals and two assists. I struggled a bit my sophomore year. But as a left wing-back my junior year, I got three goals and four assists, and that’s pretty good. I don’t think [those stats] completely showed what I contributed to the team last year, though.”

“This year, I already have three assists [in eight games],” Bak said. “I want to be even better, so I hope I can get six or seven goals this year, and hopefully maybe four or five assists total. I want my stats to look good this year because I want it to help me moving forward in soccer.”

Once Bak has completed his fourth year of eligibility in collegiate soccer, he plans on continuing to play soccer professionally. Becoming a professional soccer player is a dream of many young players, and it’s been Bak’s dream for a while now.

“I want to continue playing past this year,” Bak said. “Statistics are important, but I don’t think that’s the only way you can make it to the next level. With [coach Jim DeRose’s] help and stuff like that, they can help me out, because they know what I bring to the table.

While the end of Bak’s collegiate career is coming to an end, he’s been nothing but thankful for the experiences he’s had, and how Bradley has helped make him a better person off the pitch and a better soccer player on it.

“My experience at Bradley has been very positive,” Bak said. “I think it made me grow as a person and as a player. Obviously different playing styles [over the seasons] has grown my game as well. I think coming in as a freshman, I wasn’t really too sure what to expect. I think my freshman year went really well. After that, I struggled my sophomore year a little bit, but I think I had a good turnaround season my junior year. Now my senior year, we’re doing really well. I think we’ll continue doing really well throughout this season.”

Copyright © 2023, The Scout, Bradley University. All rights reserved.
The Scout is published by members of the student body of Bradley University. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the University.